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Prom Night (1980 film)

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Prom Night
File:Promnightfilmposter.jpg
Theatrical poster for Prom Night
Directed byPaul Lynch
Written byWilliam Gray
Robert Guza Jr.
Produced byPeter R. Simpson
Richard Simpson
StarringLeslie Nielsen
Jamie Lee Curtis
Casey Stevens
Anne-Marie Martin
David Gardner
Melanie Morse
CinematographyRobert C. New
Edited byBrian Ravok
Music byPaul Zaza
Carl Zittrer
Distributed byAvco Embassy Pictures (theatrical); Anchor Bay Entertainment
Release dates
July 18, 1980
Running time
90 min.
CountryCanada Canada
LanguageEnglish
BudgetCAD$1,600,000 (estimated)
Box office$14,800,000 (USA)

Prom Night is a 1980 Canadian horror film starring Leslie Nielsen and Jamie Lee Curtis, directed by Paul Lynch. The original music score is composed by Paul Zaza and Carl Zittrer. Echo Bridge Home Entertainment released a new widescreen DVD of the film on October 2, 2007. The remake to the movie is scheduled to be released in 2008.

Prom Night was filmed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada from August 7, 1979 to September 13, 1979. The film also spawned three sequels in the next ten years. The film's tagline is "If you're not back by midnight... you won't be coming home."

Plot

Four children, Wendy Richards, Jude Cunningham, Kelly Lynch and Nick McBride are playing a game of hide and seek in an old, abandoned schoolhouse in 1974. The children begin to bully Robin Hammond and she falls to her death from a window. The children make a pact to tell nobody about the incident and pretend it was an accident.

Six years later, Robin's family deal with the anniversary of her death. Kim and Alex, Robin's brother and sister are preparing for the school prom, which is being held that night. During the day, Kelly, Jude and Wendy receive obscene phone calls. Kim and her boyfriend, Nick, decide to go to the prom together while Jude is asked by an easygoing weed smoker named Seymour “Slick” Crane. Wendy has no option but to go with the school rebel, Lou Farmer. While getting changed from gym class, Kim and Kelly discover the locker room's mirror severely cracked.

Meanwhile, Lt. McBride (Nick's father) investigates the escape of an insane maniac who has escaped from his rehabilitation unit. During the senior prom, Kim and Nick perform a dance number together. Kelly and her boyfriend, Drew Shinnick, prepare to have sex in the school changing room. Kelly decides she isn't ready. This annoys Drew and he leaves, angry and annoyed. Kelly gets back dressed and has her throat slit by a masked assailant.

Jude and Slick have sex in a van outside of the school. The two are watched by the same assailant who murdered Kelly. The killer opens the van doors, causing Jude to fall backwards and is viciously stabbed several times in the neck. Slick brawls with the killer while driving the van. The masked fiend escapes from the van as it tumbles off a cliff and explodes.

Principal Hammond is informed that the maniac he was investigating has been caught. Wendy is then attacked by the killer and is chased throughout the school. She is eventually murdered with an axe. Kim and Nick prepare to be crowned prom king and queen. Lou and his lackeys tie Nick up and he plans to be king. The assailant sneaks up behind Lou and gruesomely decapitates him.

The students witness Lou's severed head and everyone flees. Kim finds and unties Nick only to be attacked by the killer. After a struggle, Kim hits the attacker on the head with his axe. The killer is then revealed to be Alex, Kim's brother, who is avenging the death of their sister Robin. The film ends as Alex slowly dies.

Cast

Sequels & Original

Soundtrack

Composer(s):

Carl Zittrer
Paul Zaza
  1. All Is Gone - Blue Bazar
  2. Prom Night (Version 1)
  3. Changes
  4. Dancing In The Moonlight
  5. Fade to Black - Gordean Simpson
  6. All Is Gone (Instrumental) - Blue Bazar
  7. Time to Turn Around
  8. Love Me Till I Die
  9. Prom Night (Version 2)
  10. Forever - Blue Bazar

Trivia

  • The line, "It's not who you go with, it's who takes you home." appears in all the Prom Night movies.
  • Brock Simpson is the only actor who appeared in all four Prom Night movies.
  • Hamilton High is the one setting that all off the Prom Night movies have in common.
  • The high school where Prom Night is filmed is Don Mills Collegiate Institute in Toronto, Canada.
  • Additional scenes:
    • NBC added additional footage during the initial broadcast. The additional footage included a scene with Leslie Nielsen chopping firewood with the same axe later used by the killer.
    • Also in the TV version there was a scene with Jamie Lee and her friends passing a note in class.
  • This film is notable for being one of the few Canadian films to be successful outside of Canada. The film was a notable success in the United States for the Canadian film industry.

Nominations

Remake

Main article: Prom Night (2008 film)

According to Variety, The Grudge scribe Stephen Susco is writing horror movie Prom Night for Neal Moritz's Original Film at Sony. Moritz was responsible for producing popular '90s slasher films such as I Know What You Did Last Summer and Urban Legend. Production began in 2007. Brittany Snow is set to play the main character.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]

References

  1. ^ http://www.terrortrap.com/slasherfrenzy/promnight/
  2. ^ http://www.movieweb.com/news/35/5435.php
  3. ^ http://www.countingdown.com/movies/3351075
  4. ^ http://www.hollywood.com/movies/detail/id/3464643
  5. ^ http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/film.php?id=465
  6. ^ http://www.upcominghorrormovies.com/movies/promnight.php
  7. ^ http://www.movieweb.com/movies/film/32/3632/summary.php
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