10 More Most Shocking Horror Movie Unmaskings

9. Alex Hammond - Prom Night

Smiley Movie
AVCO Embassy Pictures

If Carrie and Halloween had a disco-infused, mildly dull baby, it would undoubtedly be named Prom Night.

Dubbed a cult classic in some quarters, the reality is Paul Lynch's 1980 picture is a snorefest with bland kills and some proper ropey performances. A little out of tune with the rest of Prom Night, though, the ending provides a genuine emotional gut punch once the killer of the film has their mask removed.

For those not familiar with this slasher affair, Prom Night begins with the accidental death of ten-year-old Robin Hammond. Mocked by four older classmates when she turns up at an abandoned convent, Robin ends up falling to her death. From there, the movie jumps forward six years as said classmates - and Robin's older sister Kim (Jamie Lee Curtis) - are getting ready to attend their prom as dead bodies begin to pile up.

Throughout Prom Night, it's teased that the balaclava-clad killer of the film is either an escaped sex offender who was falsely blamed for Robin's death, or that it's Robin's father - who also happens to be the school principal and is played by Leslie Nielsen (yes, that Leslie Nielsen).

With the action of Prom Night concluding on, well, prom night, the feature's big unmasking shows the killer to be Robin's twin brother Alex. For a bang average slasher, it's a massively poignant moment to see an emotionally broken sibling driven to murderous vengeance for the loss of his sister all those years ago.

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Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.