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Overall Rating : 6/10
Directed By : Bruce Pittman
Michael Ironside (Starship Troopers)
Wendy Lyon (Kaw)
Justin Louis (SAW IV)
Lisa Schrage (Gnaw : Food of the Gods Part 2)
Supplied By : Fox Home Video
Film Reviewed By : Rick L. Blalock
Date Reviewed : April. 10, 2008
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| PLOT When Hamilton High's Prom Queen of 1957, Mary Lou Maloney is killed by her jilted boyfriend, she comes back for revenge 30 years later. Bill Nordham is now the principle of Hamilton High and his son is about to attend the prom with Vicki Carpenter. However, she is possessed by Mary Lou Maloney after opening a trunk in the school's basement. Now Bill must face the horror he left behind in 1957. |
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| THE REVIEW In this 1987 sequel to 1980's PROM NIGHT, we are presented with a new Prom themed story. We start in 1957 just when Prom Queen Mary Lou Maloney is about to step out on stage and bask in her glory. Just when she is about to be crowed, in an attempt to scare her, Mary Lou's angry Boyfriend, drops a stink-bomb from the catwalk, but shortly after, the simple plan goes horribly wrong. The flame from the fuse lights the Prom Queen on fire, and while the others frantically watch on, poor Mary Lou burns to her death. The story then picks up 30 years later in 1987. The story focuses on Vicki, an otherwise good student, and a top candidate for this years Prom Queen. When snooping around in the school's prop closet looking for something to use to make her prom dress, Vicki comes across an old trunk. In the said trunk, she finds an old Prom outfit, complete with tiara But what she isn't aware of is that when she open the old trunk, it released an old spirit, one that is angry...the spirit of the one and only Mary Lou Maloney. Yes she's back, and she's got cold hard revenge on her mind, and with an Unsuspecting Vicki unaware, she seems to not only be the top candidate for this year's Prom Queen, but all the top candidate for Mary Lou's new body! With a new body, Mary Lou is determined to make this the prom that no one will forget - especially Bill Nordham, the man who wronged her 30 years ago, who just so happens to now be the Principal of the school, that the incident occurred, At long last, HELLO MARY LOU : PROM NIGHT II makes it's long awaited debut on US Region 1 DVD. Prior to now, the only option we had to get this on DVD is the now out of print Canadian DVD, that was of course in full screen format. Here, FOX presents PROM NIGHT II in a widescreen transfer that is crisp and restored. The full screen version of the Canadian DVD was passable, albeit a bit grainy, and as any widescreen enthusiast(like me), there's nothing better than seeing a film the way it was meant to be seen - how the Director envisioned. I have always thought of PROM NIGHT II, as a cross between CARRIE and THE EXORCIST with maybe a little sprinkle of 80s teen Comedy, TEEN WITCH thrown in. In CARRIE fashion, Prom Queen Mary Maloney is burned alive, and 30 years after the fact, Mart Lou's angry spirit is awoken and it haunts a young high school student named Vicki, until Mary Lou eventually possesses her and uses Vicki as her tool in her effort to get revenge. Sure, the plot does sound like someone just found torn pages from scripts of a few other Horror films, stapled them all together formulizing one(even the dream sequences in the film are reminiscent of something from A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, but in my opinion the film adds just enough of it's one original spin on things to keep everything interesting. One of the only things that the PROM NIGHT films have in common(besides the Prom obviously), is that they all take place at the same school, Hamilton High - other than that, they all seem to be quite different. The Original PROM NIGHT, was more of a Slasher flick, where as this one, PROM NIGHT 2 chose to take on a more spiritual/supernatural approach, where the character sometimes uses telekinesis amongst other ghostly things happening throughout. There are indeed 2 sequels that followed HELLO MARY LOU : PROM NIGHT 2, but I have yet to see them - but I do know that, they to take place at Hamilton High School. With the connection of the High School, it leaves me to believe, that they want us to believe that the school is haunted....I don't know but it seems to be the only plausible explanation. Getting back to this film, HELLO MARY LOU : PROM NIGHT II, could've easily been one of those "throwaway" slasher flicks that were released post HALLOWEEN in an effort by the studios to gain our attention(and money), but the fact that it has stayed amongst the memories of many Horror fans, is for the fact that PROM NIGHT has many things that have remained memorable about it. Such things as 2 of my favorite scenes, like Vicki's long drawn out nude scene and the scene in which Vicki's rocking Horse comes alive and nearly suffocates her while she is lying on the bed(that was some freaky shit). For the "new generation of Horror fans" who are reading this, this is a review for the sequel to the ORIGINAL PROM NIGHT.....not the PROM NIGHT that MTV has certainly made you aware of. It would be good to check this one out before another good movie gets buried and forgotten, because Hollywood has chosen to cover it up with another highly polished remake. |
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| GORE
METER 3.5/10 There is a bloody hanging, a stabbing, electrocution and etc. I personally liked when Mary Lou emerges from the body of Vicki for one last showdown near the end of the film. |
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| MUSICAL
SCORE 4/10 The soundtrack consists of rather basic scoring, there is also an oldies tune that plays throughout the film - one that states the name "Mary Lou" multiple times, making it more or less a theme song. |
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| OVERALL
IMPRESSION OF THE FILM Released in 1987, I am quiet sure that HELLO MARY LOU : PROM NIGHT 2 was released in theaters. But these days, since times have surely changed, the best I could ever see a film like this getting is a direct-to-DVD release. But that is not saying that this is a bad film, because it's not.....I really like it actually. It's just that studios are different these days. As I said, PROM NIGHT isn't all too original in itself, but there is just something about it that makes it interesting, and in the end, it stands nicely on it's own - definitely one of those "guilty pleasure" Horror films. |
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