It’s officially prom season here in the United States and who could ever forget Paul Lynch’s 1980 slasher flick Prom Night starring Jamie Lee Curtis? It’s one of the most popular slasher flicks of the time period, but did you know the movie spun into its own franchise that eventually went straight to VHS? I’ve only been aware of this fact for a little while, but finally I had a chance to watch Prom Night‘s first sequel, Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II, which saw a limited theatrical release in 1987. Here’s my review having watched it in full.
Prom Night II is written by Ron Oliver and directed by Bruce Pittman. Cast members include Michael Ironside (Top Gun, Total Recall), Wendy Lyon (“Happy Town,” “Sailor Moon”), Louis Ferreira (“L.A. Complex,” “Stargate Universe”), Lisa Schrage, Richard Monette, Terri Hawkes, Brock Simpson, Beverly Hendry, Beth Gondek, Wendell Smith and Judy Mahbey.
In Prom Night II, it’s prom night in 1957 and the bitchy, conniving slut Mary Lou Maloney has just been selected as Prom Queen. Before she even gets to wear the crown, her jealous very recent ex-lover accidentally sets her on fire, both killing her and causing her vengeful spirit to latch onto the tiara. 30 years later, the girl next door, virginal Vicki Carpenter inadvertently releases Mary Lou’s spirit just a few days before prom. Mary Lou’s spirit quickly overtakes Vicki with a strong possession and it becomes clear that Ms. Maloney is out to finish what she started: to officially be crowned…and she’ll do whatever it takes to get the tiara, even if it means killing everyone in her path to do so.
So, obviously, Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II has almost absolutely nothing in common with the original Prom Night. In a 2011 interview, Michael Tough (who played Alex in Prom Night) divulged that the sequel was supposed to be directly related to his character, but major re-writes took place. Instead of continuing with the slasher theme, it now takes a supernatural horror route and forms its own unique villain. Now, I said that there is almost nothing in common because there are tiny shreds that make both films related to each other. First, both Prom Night and Prom Night II take place around prom night at the same high school, Hamilton High. Secondly, both features have characters saying the slogan, “It’s not who you go with, it’s who takes you home.” And third, actor Brock Simpson appears in both films, although he plays two completely different characters. As I understand it, Ron Oliver held the rights to Prom Night through Simcom Limited and marketed the film as a sequel to gain extra moment for its release.
Is it fair for me to compare Prom Night to Prom Night II? Not so much. While the first film was a financial success, Prom Night II was only in theaters for ten days, where it bombed and only made $2,500,000 in ticket sales. Still, it exists as its own entity and I will critique it as such. Trust me, going into my viewing I expected to find utter crap, something to be laughed at, when in actuality I ended up finding a hidden gem. Prom Night II isn’t perfect in any sense of the word, but it was fun, unique and is a good representation of lower budget horror films of the mid-1980s. Its most enchanting quality is the little nods to great horror predecessors before it like The Exorcist, Carrie and Prom Night. It’s kind of like all of those iconic titles thrown into an oven, let to cool down for a few hours and then served. There’s nothing too outstanding about it, but it definitely has a little bit of something for everyone. I can only imagine would could have been if the producers turned up the camp and gore factors just a few notches more.
My only real complaint lies with that the gore effects and the campiness. I thoroughly enjoyed all of the actors, the production quality was way higher than Prom Night and it was a good ghost story. However, I feel that the special effects team was always apprehensive about going there with the gore. The epic locker room squish scene, Mary Lou’s rebirth… It’s obvious that the special effects team were extremely talented and they brought forth a lot of awesome practical effects and pyrotechnics, but when it came to the blood and guts in certain scenes they really kind of tip toed around it. Maybe this was to save on the overall budget or to make the film more enjoyable to younger fans, but this ended up being the movies biggest downfall. It’s sad to see how talented they were and yet they were not used to full potential. I mean, I can’t complain about the lack of camp because there is a long semi-lesbionic shower scene, but the rest of the script was on the bland side. At least there were little notions here of greatness, a look at what could have been, and yet it left me wanting more.
Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II is far from perfect, but it’s not as bad as some other reviewers make it out to be. Judging it on its own merit, there’s not a lot to criticize. A solid production which now becomes a peak at the career of a few actors before they made it big. A supernatural horror film with tons of old school homages. And a product that is capable of calling you back to your most important day of high school.
Final Score: 6.5 out of 10
