Prom Night (The Remake, Unfortunately)

Prom Night (2008)

Runtime: 89 minutes

Directed by: Nelson McCormick

Starring: Brittany Snow, Scott Porter, Jessica Stroup, Johnathan Schaech, Idris Elba!

From: Screen Gems

I've always heard this was a bad movie. Those that said this... you guys were right. I give all the gory (even though the film is the opposite of gory) details below: 

Yes, I am a masochist so even though I always heard that this was a pretty bad remake, I figured I should watch this right after seeing the original Prom Night. Turns out, this is a pretty bad remake; hilariously, one of the production companies was named “Original Film”. It's not the worst thing I've ever seen, but... unless you are a 13 year old girl, there is absolutely no need to see this. It certainly isn't scary, menacing, creepy, or even thrilling.

Aside from it being set at prom and there being a creep who escapes from an institution, this and the original have little in common. Brittany Snow is Donna, a teen who is stalked by an ex-teacher and he kills her family. A few years later he escapes and he descends upon her prom, which is held in a swanky-ass hotel. A throwaway line tries to explain why it's such a lavish affair but it's still pretty dopey. The characters you see are mainly stereotypes, especially the teenagers. They're lame. I was begging for someone interesting; I figured it was too much to ask for a Seymour “Slick” Crane but how about a meathead unibrowed doofus like Lou?

Various things happen, and as this was originally made as a PG-13 slasher (talk about self-defeating right there), the kills are lame and even in the “unrated” version I saw, there's not a lot of blood to be seen. A real neutered experience all around, it was. Then, you had the characters be really stupid too often. This even goes for the detective played by... IDRIS ELBA. Yes, before his career improved (although not to the point it should be; to be honest he should be a superstar) he appeared in garbage like this. It was unfortunate his character was a dumbass too; I mean, clearing a swanky hotel by pulling a fire alarm in the hopes that the killer will be flushed out? What?

I happened to enjoy the disco soundtrack of the original movie; even if you didn't, you'll be pleading for it after hearing all the terrible pop-rock songs on the remake's soundtrack. The version of Time of the Season you hear during the opening credits... laughable compared to the badass original by The Zombies. Now, I can't give this a bottom of the barrel rating. It at least was not a struggle to finish and I can't really complain about any performances. It's just a bad movie, and slasher fans definitely aren't the demographic it was made for. As I mentioned in the beginning, young teenagers are probably the only market for this slop; otherwise, this is a must-avoid.