Prom Night (2008)

Director:

Nelson McCormick

Writer (WGA):

J.S. Cardone (written by)

Release Date:

11 April 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

It's Midnight Everyone's Ready To Go Home...But Someone Has Other Plans.

Plot:

Donna's senior prom is supposed to be the best night of her life, though a sadistic killer from her past has different plans for her and her friends.

Plot Keywords:

Nightmare | Chase Scene | Escaped Convict | Hotel Renovation | Aunt

Awards:

2 nominations

US Showtimes:

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Cast

Brittany Snow	...	Donna Keppel
Scott Porter	...	Bobby
Jessica Stroup	...	Claire
Dana Davis	...	Lisa Hines
Collins Pennie	...	Ronnie Heflin
Kelly Blatz	...	Michael
James Ransone	...	Detective Nash
Brianne Davis	...	Crissy Lynn
Kellan Lutz	...	Rick Leland
Mary Mara	...	Ms. Waters
Ming-Na	...	Dr. Elisha Crowe (as Ming Wen)
Johnathon Schaech	...	Richard Fenton
Idris Elba	...	Detective Winn
Jessalyn Gilsig	...	Aunt Karen Turner
Linden Ashby	...	Uncle Jack Turner

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for violence and terror, some sexual material, underage drinking, and language.

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

USA | Canada

Language:

English | Italian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS | DTS

Certification:

South Korea:15 | USA:Unrated (unrated DVD version) | Iceland:16 | France:-12 | Sweden:15 | South Africa:13V | Ireland:15A | USA:PG-13 (certificate #41474) | Canada:13+ (Québec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Finland:K-15 | Australia:M | Singapore:PG | UK:15 | Malaysia:U | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB)

Filming Locations:

Biltmore Hotel - 506 S. Grand Avenue, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Alliance Films

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: During the scene when Miss Waters is about to announce Prom Queen and King, when Crissy says "Where the hell is she?" (referring to Lisa), her lips do not even come close to matching what the audio says.

Quotes:

Ronnie Heflin: I want to make a toast. To my little queen... No matter what happens. Cheer?
Bobby: Cheers.
[as they all toast]
Lisa: [turns to look at Crissy and then back] If that bitch wins... I'll hurl!
Donna: Ok, I'm sorry. Would you just explain to me, why do you care? What do you get? A bouquet of roses and a tacky tiara you can only wear to proms?
Lisa: It's not about what you get. It's like, it's about the honor, you know. It's about the respect of my peers.
Bobby: [laughing with everyone] Are you serious?
Donna: That's the geekiest thing you've ever said.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Features Can't Hardly Wait (1998)

Soundtrack:

Apologize

This is how badly we've regressed?

I'm not particularly fond of remakes, or to steal the modern jargon "retellings", but this film truly peeved me off. The original Prom Night, while not in my humble estimation a masterpiece, still realized what it was... horror. There are some simple things to remember when making a horror film. Suspense is crucial to maintaining the interest of the audience. Sorry folks, but a white knuckle film this was not! The scares were cheap, and foreshadowed terribly. (A good example of scare which has been done to clichéd excess now, is the cat jumping out of the closet, followed soon there after but a now unexpected appearance by the villain of the film) This film couldn't successfully pull that off, so how could I expect it to fulfill any of the other conventions of horror film. There needs to be a likable hero or heroine. This film doesn't have one. The person I most identified with was the head detective. His calm demeanor, but level headed approach to the escape of a killer was what more films of this ilk should have. Common sense approach to events that occur. (If you're running from an Axe wielding psycho, you turn and sprint in the opposite direction. Not jog, whilst looking back ever three seconds, gaging the killer's progress, only to trip over every branch and inanimate object in your path.) If you friend disappears, you don't go looking for them alone. And if you suspect foul play you tell someone, not investigate yourself. These clichés are tired and well overplayed. In the horror genre in general, and in this film in particular.