Tuesday, April 27

Prom Night (1980) - 1981 MCA Videocassette Inc. & 1988 Virgin Vision VHS

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I was actually going to write up a longer "quick thoughts" entry about this one, but I figured brevity is the soul of wit...or something. Sometimes you run across a vintage horror film with aspects reminiscent of more prominent trends seen later in the genre. Virtually every element of Paul Lynch's archetypal Prom Night is steeped in this vibe and you literally see a now familiar slasher template/formula break ground in its ninety-one minutes. Lynch's style is dynamic, beguiling the film's thirty years, and Brian Ravok's editing only working to help push Prom Night above much of its subgenre brethren. The cast works as an ensemble and balances well with the Hollywood-bound Jaime Lee Curtis. The more exploitative fare is conservative, but refreshingly so with the direction and performances more than making up for the dearth of the period's usual insanity. An essential piece to any self-respecting horror fan's collection and a slasher deserving to stand equal with best of the early '80s heyday.

3 comments:

forestofthedead said...

My favorite non-franchise slasher. Great review.

Morgan said...

I love everything about this movie! The look, the music, Jamie Lee Curtis... it really does separate itself from all of the other slasher films.

Anonymous said...

Not a big fan of JLC, but I sure do like that picture on the back of the Virgin box.

http://www.imagebam.com/image/722d1d55223636

...do you dare tread upon the staircase?

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