PROM NIGHT
Prom Night is a claustrophobic state of affairs. To be subjected to this risible affair for 90 minutes will undoubtedly push you over the edge into insanity…contemporary American horror cinema has finally reached the slow burning bottomless pits of hell.
Nelson McCormick Written by: J.S. Cardone Starring: Brittany Snow, Scott Porter, Johnathon Schaech, Jessica Stroup, Dana Davis, Collins Pennie, Kelly Blatz, James Ransone, Idris Elba Distributed by Screen Gems, Alliance Pictures & Sony Pictures Released on June 6th 2008 in the U.K. Review by Oliver Pfeiffer
rating: 0.5
Quite why American audiences flocked to see this monumentally turgid slasher horror is beyond comprehension. Because it has to be one of the most ill-judged, uninspiring, predictable and fleetingly spineless snooze feats I have been subjected to in a long time and thats coming after a decade long run of relentlessly bad post-Scream shockers. What makes it worse is the arrogance of both its 'I have watched and studied every suspense thriller/horror film imaginable to prepare for this' director, (who also apparently fancies himself as a bit of a Hitchcock expert) and its sordid lack of any conceivable (or intended) humour or indeed tangible suspense. Taking its titular cues from the apparently passable original 1980 Jamie Leigh Curtis (and Leslie Nielsen!) shocker but banishing any other connections from conception, Prom Night 2008 went through 5 grueling years of development hell to reach the fundamental decision to go for a dumbed down no strings attached traditional stalker pic, about an escaped murderer hunting down his former prey on her titular prom night. Apparently scriptwriter upon countless scriptwriter couldn't decide whether to go the psychological route and invoke some substance into the piece, or throw caution to the wind and faithfully remake the original bugger, so it was decided to develop a run of the mill classic old school thriller. So let me get this straight it took this motley crew (the writers behind I Know What You Did Last Summer, Click, Vacancy and The Thomas Crown Affair 2!) half a decade to go for the later and make a simple, boring, reproduction of every other Scream spin off you have heard or seen of...with one startlingly exception this one beats them all to claim the prize of most gutless clichéd riddled rendition ever! Apparently we have reached the crescendo of blood and gore with the Saw and Hostel series and therefore Prom Night is geared toward bringing us irrefutable heart pounding and jump inducing scares without the graphic violence. I wouldn't have minded if former TV helmer Nelson McCormick showed at least some evidence that he actually knew his craft, (after all he claims to idolise the raw is real supremacies of vintage chillers Deliverance and Dead Calm). But instead he has about as much flare as a fart in the wind. His determination to squeeze palpable suspense out of scenes is as clichéd as they come even though he claims his intention was to always be one step ahead of the audiences anticipation. Give the audience some credit will ya! If you have a moment when a gorgeous scream queen opens a mirrored cabin to extract something out of it and then closes it the first thing you expect is to have the boogieman suddenly materialise behind herfollowed by the startling wake up revelation that it is just the reminisces of a nasty dream. As for walking toward instead of away from the boogiemanwell now your just taunting us to throw popcorn at the screen arent you? Prom Night follows a group of excitable shiny toothed teens as they endeavor to have the school send off of their lives. Brittany Snow (Keppel) is the psychologically damaged formerly stalked girl whose family was bumped off a few years back right in front of her eyes by her psycho stalker teacher. He was jailed for the event but was subsequently rendered too insane to be granted the death penalty. Thus when prom night beckons he launches an elaborate escape to get back with his intended love and wreck havoc on anybody that stands in his way. As played by Johnathon Schaech (8MM 2, Road House: Last Call) hes about as menacing as they come well for all of five minutes anyway - until our director decides to cruelly unveil him and show him up for the walking cumbersome that he is. Hes not even allowed to hide in the shadows long enough to evoke dread, as his movements are continuously tracked by a prowling camera, which therefore leaves little to the imagination. More scary is the talentless cast (the usual T.V names) who parade around as if they are in a Nivea commercial and bleep out lines with so much hearty depth and conviction that you swear your watching the latest episode of The O.C. not a brainless slasher film. Prom Night goes even further to insult the audiences intelligence. When Brittanys step parents learn the unsettling truth that the killer has sprung loose from jail, their lazy excuse not to go rescue her from the killers clutches is for fear that she could slip back into her previous haunting psychosis. How considerate of them, why interrupt her special day to save her life. Dispute the risible attempt at evoking tension and heart-pounding suspense I had a sneaking suspicion that at least there would be the customary twist revelation alas this never came about and I came to the conclusion that we actually know everything we need to know about this film within the first 10 minutes. Prom Night is an unquestionable psychological state of claustrophobic affairs. To be subjected to this risible tactless and shockless funhouse affair for 90 minutes in an enclosed theatre will undoubtedly push you over the edge into insanityContemporary American horror cinema has finally reached the slow burning bottomless pits of hell.