10 Great Horror Movies That Fell Victim To Franchise Fatigue
6. Prom Night IV: Deliver Us From Evil (1992)
"Prom Night had sequels?!?," I hear you cry. Why yes, it actually had three. And the less said about that awful remake, the better.
The 1980 Canadian slasher film starring Jamie Lee Curtis may not have been a runaway hit at the box office, but it earned enough money to warrant a sequel in 1987.
Doing away with the slasher element, the next two films would focus on ghostly former student Mary Lou Maloney and her vendetta against Hamilton High. Bringing in increasing elements of comedy and outlandish supernatural plots saw fans turn away from the movies, and returns diminished to the point that 1992's Prom Night IV only saw a single day in a Canadian theatre upon release. Geez, must be a pretty terrible movie, right?
Prom Night IV: Deliver Us From Evil does a complete 180 from the films preceding it and reverts back to the series' slasher roots. Telling the story of Father Jonas, a deranged priest hellbent on eliminating the "sinful," the film follows four teens as they celebrate their prom night at an isolated woodland cabin. Unbeknownst to them, Jonas stalks the former monastery aghast and enraged at what he sees.
Set in the snowy woodlands of Canada, Prom Night IV offers a wonderfully creepy wintry atmosphere and goes for a much darker tone than we've previously seen in the franchise. With stalking shots aplenty, the film raises the issues of morality and religious conflict among its teen victims and reverts back to atmospheric tension in place of gore and awkward comedy. The nail-biting final chase is slasher film gold and ensures that this little-seen fourth entry in the Prom Night franchise is definitely worth a look.