Movie Review: Prom Night

Current grads and those who already have left the confines of high school know all about the last big night. Boys and girls, now all grown, get dolled up for a big night on the town and a final fling with friends. Students of Bridgeport High have no idea that the celebrations at the swanky Pacific Grand Hotel turn out to be more than what they expected when one by one the student body gets reduced.

Television director Nelson McCormick gets his first crack at directing a feature and you can’t fault him for taking us on an 88 tour of the last rites of high school. Good glitz and glamour comes across well on both the dance floor and among the student body. Unfortunately you can’t get away from the predictable nature of the killer as some scenes get repeated and the suspense doesn’t offer anything really new here.

Still, all the cast who play the students look hot and they interact just how you’d expect to reveal themselves. Up and coming actors Brittany Snow (Hairspray) and Scott Porter (Music and Lyrics) certainly acquit themselves well enough with the conventional material offered them here with Idris Elba (American Gangster) especially engaging as a detective caught a bit offguard by the deranged maniac who trades the school stalking grounds to elevated floors at an upscale hotel.

Final word on Prom Night: it’s not especially a killer film but still should make inroads with teens who may not have been around for the early version, which still stands up well to its modern day reincarnation.

*****
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