Prom Night IV: Deliver Us from Evil

In 1957, Father Jonas (motivated either by religious zealotry or demonic possession) kills two horny teens in the parking lot of Hamilton High on Prom Night. The killer priest is apprehended, drugged into a comatose state and locked away by church officials. 34 years later, Father Jonas escapes and makes his way to an old seminary. Meanwhile, two high school girls ditch their prom to go to a remote summer home with their much-older-looking boyfriends. And, since this is a movie, that remote summer home and the old seminary turn out to be the same place. Which puts the two couples directly in the path of the demented Father Jonas. Other than the opening sequence and the fact that the contemporary scenes take place on Prom Night, this movie doesn't really have any connection to the other Prom Night films. It doesn't even really make sense that the contemporary scenes are set on Prom Night, since they're also set in the Winter. Are Winter Proms a thing? I know they shot this movie in Canada, but come on people.

Rating: 50%

(Image from Wikipedia)

Prom Night III: The Last Kiss

Prom Night III is essentially a toothless, gender-swapped parody of Prom Night II. In Prom Night III: The Last Kiss, the ghost of Mary Lou Maloney haunts a high school student named Alex. Setting off a string of spooky murders, which put a real damper on Alex's relationship with his milquetoast girlfriend. Whereas, in Prom Night II, the ghost of Mary Lou Maloney haunted a high school student named Vicki. Which set off a string of spooky murders that put a real damper on Vicki's relationship with her milquetoast boyfriend. Of the two, Prom Night II is easily the better film. That's not to suggest that it is in any way a good movie, but at least it has the decency to be batshit-insane. Prom Night III is more like a direct to video American Pie sequel. It's cheap, winking, horndog goofery.

Rating: 49%

(Image from Wikipedia)

Prom Night II

aka Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II

Prom Night II was never supposed to be Prom Night II. The movie was originally called The Haunting of Hamilton High. It was only after some extensive reshoots that it became part of the Prom Night franchise. But despite the reshoots and new title, the final product has almost nothing to do with the original Prom Night. And I couldn't be happier about it. Not since Howling II have I seen a movie so utterly and hilariously bizarre. I'll give it this, it's never boring. Any time you think things are about to get predictable, the movie takes a very strange turn. A lot of really strong, strange choices were made during the various stages of production on this movie and I applaud those choices. Bravo, you maniacs. Bravo.

Rating: 52%

(Image from IMDB)

Curtains

In Curtains, John Vernon plays a (what's a kind word for abusive?) difficult director in search of an actress for an upcoming film. After stranding his first choice in an insane asylum, he invites several potential candidates to his secluded mansion. Surely nothing could go wrong under those circumstances. It took almost three years to complete Curtains, following several rounds of rewrites and reshoots. The final product is a little disjointed. There are, however, a couple of decent kills in the film, most notably in the ice skating sequence.

Rating: 59%

(Image from Amazon)

Prom Night

Prom Night, released in 1980, feels like a leftover from the 1970s. It's probably the only slasher movie to feature both a custom van and an extended disco dance sequence. If it weren't for the cast, top billed Leslie Nielsen and scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis, this movie would probably be easily forgotten. That's not to say it's not worth a watch though. It might lean a little heavy on red herrings and horror movie tropes, but it's not without its charms. The recent blu ray release from Synapse Films is easily the best looking home video version of the movie. Avoid the bargain bin releases of Prom Night as they are most often non-anamorphic and feature a blurry transfer of the film.

Rating: 68%

Fun Fact: Jamie Lee Curtis, who played Kim, did uncredited voice work in Escape from New York and Halloween III: Season of the Witch.

(Image from ca.movieposter.com)

My Bloody Valentine

My Bloody Valentine is a slasher movie from 1981, filmed in Sydney Mines, Cape Breton. Like many of the early slasher films, My Bloody Valentine centers around an event linked to a holiday. In this case it's a mining accident on the night of the big Valentine's Day dance. Harry Warden, the miner/psychopath involved in the accident, swears vengeance on the town of Valentine Bluffs (no, that's seriously what the town in the movie is called) so long as they continue to hold the dance. The town bans the dance and a number of years pass before the local horny youths (they look too old to be horny teens) decide to bring back the Valentine's Day celebrations. Then, wouldn't you know it, people start dying.

Rating: 77%

(Image from iconsoffright.com)