Prom Ride (2015)

PROM RIDE is a typically poorly-made indie horror flick with a novel premise, at least: it's a film about a bunch of teenagers being stalked by a maniac (yawn) except they're trapped inside a limousine on their way to the prom. Yep, it's single location time, but my heart sinks when I note that the same guy writes/produces/directs a picture because chances are he'll be overstretched and that's the case here. The horror content is severely truncated and the camerawork more likely to induce a headache than anything else.

Very low-budget, amateurish horror film that seems to be mostly the one-man show of Kazeem Molake, who wrote, produced, edited and directed and, according to the credits, executed all sorts of other tasks as well, including voicing the disguised killer who hijacks a Hummer limo carrying eight seniors to their high school prom. Molake clearly has some talent and skill, but not enough to know where he needs help, especially with regard to sound recording, which is pretty terrible, not that the dialogue you can hear is at all memorable or interesting.This is the kind of home-made film where all the background extras are credited, probably in lieu of payment. It makes use of lots of footage supposedly taken from various security, hand-held and cellphone cameras, but doesn't adhere strictly to the "found footage" aesthetic. The best thing about "Prom Ride" is the editing -- Molake manages to stitch together all these different vantage points coherently, in a way that doesn't lose viewers, though there are a few instances where it's not quite clear what was happening. He keeps the film visually dynamic, which is no small feat in a movie where the action is confined to a small space for much of its run-time. It's not especially visually creative -- we don't see anything here we haven't seen before, though I did like the killer's mirror mask -- but shooting from so many angles and sources on such a low budget and stitching something together that isn't a complete mess is an achievement in itself.Alas, the story is inane, as are the characters, if they can even be called that. "Prom Ride" is an object lesson in how to write so blandly that we spend what feels like hours with these seniors without getting to know or understand them at all. Perhaps that's just as well, given that their actions and motivations make no sense, and aren't remotely compelling. Cutting the bizarre musical number that looked like an audition reel for "High School Musical" could have helped. Cutting the entire poorly executed news-footage framing device would definitely have helped. But nothing can create interesting characters except good writing coupled with good acting, neither of which is on display here. Very little is asked of the attractive cast, and that's exactly what they deliver.Molake may go on to do much better work down the road. If he does, "Prom Ride" is probably something he and everyone else involved with it will want to bury.

I usually try not to rip into a movie so severely that it seems I might have an ax to grind with the particular genre, but in this case, I'll throw caution to the wind."Prom Ride" is a movie that (a) should never have been made; (b) is one of the most vile and contemptible movies I have ever seen; (c) forces the boundaries of good taste to the limits; and (d) tries to take the torture porn genre to new heights. The story goes something like this: prom night, eight seniors are all dressed up, dad has rented a rolling house (in the form of a stretch limo), everybody drinks, secrets are revealed, and (just about) everybody dies. Along the way, the viewer is forced to watch rape, forced oral sex on a loaded gun (with the executioner giving instructions on how it should be done), a girl who has to urinate in an ice bucket--all the while taping it on her phone in front of her friends--people forced to strip, a lesbian made to wear the clothes of one of the boys because she "wants to be a man." Oh, and that "product" in the ice bucket, well, it is thrown in the face of one of the teens. There is some sort of "twist" ending that did not work at all, but did leave a small possibility of a sequel. I'll alert the media.This big old turd deserves to be flushed as soon as possible. My idea of a good time is NOT having to watch such depraved acts. The torture here is put squarely on the shoulders (and in the eyeballs) of its viewers. The particular version of the movie I saw was rated R, and should have been rated NC-17. I say no one under 18 should be allowed to view this. It takes vile to a whole new level.

I watched the movie with somewhat of a lower expectation as the movie's budget wasn't on "Independence Day" levels, that said, I was pleasantly surprised by how good "Prom Ride" turned out to be. I'll not get into many details about the plot to avoid spoiling it for others, but I can say that the acting was not bad at all and I thought the movie delivered well. I have to say, Deanna Pak's performance stood out the most. If there's such a thing as scary and fun all in one in a horror movie, Prom Ride is it. I had a few laughs, and I also had my heart rate to increase. A good movie does that. Would I watch "Prom Ride" again? Why yes, yes I would.