It can be easy to understand the public outcry regarding Hollywood remaking the horror films from the 70′s to the late 80′s. There are so many of them being made that it’s tough to keep a, ahem, body count. But now here is one of the worst offenders: a remake which isn’t *really* a remake at all. Prom Night has no remote connection to the 1980 slasher much less the Mary Lou sequels that followed the original. NO. This offender is in name only. So in theory 1980′s Prom Night could still be remade, it just can’t be called Prom Night. Ouch.

That is the least of the new film’s problems. I’m not sure why hordes of folks lined up to see this film back in April 2008, they might think Brittany Snow is adorable (which is possible) or today’s horror fans like PG-13 fare with cookie cutter plots, dumb bell characters, and next to no gore. The filmmakers also seem to get away with loads of horror film cliches, including dream sequences , the killer’s reflection in a mirror, and one kill site being the unfinished wing of a four star hotel.

Well, I take that back. They aren’t going to get away with it. At 88 minutes, the film should move at a brisk pace, but instead, it drags out to banality. The film literally loses suspense as time goes on. For this is the setup of the film: a few years after witnessing the death of her family at the hands of a psycho stalker (a teacher at her school,no less), Donna Keppel (Brittany Snow) attends Prom Night with her friends. Prom is held at a first class hotel. The kids have private rooms where, when they are not in the ballroom with the dancing and food, they go up there to fool around. Psycho Richard Fenton (Jonathan Schaech) has recently escaped from the looney bin, and he’s waiting up in the room to cut open dear Donna’s throat. The next hour or so her various horny teen pals go up there and get killed. Occasional hotel staff poke around, get killed. Fenton is also a master at stealth, which begs the question: why hide in the room and wait around? What if she never comes up to the room? Better yet, why can’t he just wait until she comes to aunt and uncle’s house? Well, that would require common sense, something the script desperately cries out for, and ends up wanting.

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Prom Night
Directed by: Nelson McCormick
Starring: Brittany Snow, Scott Porter, Jessica Stroup, Dana Davis, Collins Pennie and Johnathon Schaech

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