31 Days of Horror…Prom Night (1980) Movie Review!

The early ‘80’s brought us a resurgence of the slasher genre with multiple films stemming around holidays and special events. One of my favorites from this time is Prom Night released in 1980 starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Leslie Nielsen.

The movie begins with your typical back story highlighting a tragedy that ultimately gives the killer their motive for future events. Ten year old Robin Hammond dies after being taunted by four older classmates (Nick, Wendy, Jude and Kelly). The four make a pact to keep the truth about Robin’s death a secret for fear they will be sent to prison for their role in her death. When her body is found, a previously convicted criminal is wanted for questioning in her death and is badly burned in a car accident while running from the police.

Six years later, Hamilton High School is preparing for their prom. While the Hammond’s are still dealing with the tragedy, the rest of the class is concerned with who is taking whom to the dance. The years and strain of the four’s secret has created new dynamics with their relationships and Nick is feeling the guilt even more now that he is dating Robin’s older sister, Kim. To top it all off, the four receive strange phone calls and the severely burned man has escaped from the institution where he was sentenced. The escaped inmate is suspected to be returning to town to exact his revenge. When the police find the body of the brutally murdered nurse the convicted criminal kidnapped during his escape, the police are on edge and add security to the school dance as a safety precaution. Unfortunately for the scheming four, even these precautions are not enough to protect them from the killer as he vents his rage by murdering them one by one bringing the audience to the ultimate conclusion where the identity of the killer is revealed.

As with many of the successful movies from this time, Prom Night earned several sequels and a remake in 2008. I have seen the remake and though the changes were sufficient to not irritate me severely, I still regard the original 1980 version in higher regards.