Excellent Mystery Horror

Writing Quality: Uniquely mysterious and well-written. A great hook at the beginning, which leaves you knowing that something bad will follow six years later. The opening scene focuses on a group of kids playing "Killer" in a large abandoned building. The game is all verbal, but the taunting is unnerving. And someone ends up dying. As the plot weaves through the high school years of these kids, someones starts targeting the four kids whose actions led to the demise of their classmate. Who it is is anyone's guess. Though this is a horror film, it offers far more mystery at the foreground of the story, which makes the ride increasingly intriguing.

Scare Factor: The opening scene is psychologically frightening. The death scenes are shown off camera, so you only see the victim reacting to the killer's advances, and only the aftermath of their death is shown, which is not particularly graphic. I appreciate that because gore offers no point or value. There is one death which comes unexpectedly, and its surprise delivers effectively. When the killer calls the victims, there's a bit of charm to it as it recalls 1974's Black Christmas killer, though Prom Night's killer talk is clean, making it much more bearable and engaging.

Content (sex, language, & violence): Two sex scenes: one we don't see but do hear moans for a few seconds and see a van shake. The other scene occurs toward the end of the film with a woman's bare chest shown as the couple engage in near foreplay; they never have sex. However, there is a closeup shot of her chest afterward, which is unnecessary. An early shot of a woman mooning a man. Quick flashes of womens' chests in the locker room. One use of the F bomb, otherwise mild language. Violence: A fight breaks out between two young men. Later, two people wrestle on the ground. The death scenes are violent, but mostly implied.

Values: Missing friend/sister who died. Police LT. desiring to uncover who the killer is. Suspension of unruly student. Bond of friendship and family.

Acting: Pretty good, especially for a cheap horror film. Curtis plays her role nicely. We see a lot more of her vibrant personality here than in Halloween. The actors who play the adult versions of the four kids put forth excellent performances as well. Perhaps it has to do with director Paul Lynch.

Bonuses: Unique camera angles that pull us deeper into the mystery. Leslie Nielsen stars!

#PromNight #JamieLeeCurtis #LeslieNielsen