WARNING: This Review May Contain Spoilers
In case it hasn’t become apparent with a few of these articles, people have a habit of thinking that 80s films clearly weren’t good enough and decide to remake them. Now, 80s horrors are some of my favourite films and I will want to protect the ones I’ve seen for as long as I can (especially Lost Boys but that’s a conversation for another time…) Prom Night just adds to the number that I have already covered – and surprise, surprise, the 3rd 80s horror film I’ve covered that stars that wonderful scream-queen Jamie Lee Curtis…
Overall Setting
You want to know something funny? These films are the same length give or take 4 minutes but the remake feels so much shorter than the original. For me, I think thats because the majority of the film is actually set at prom whereas in the original we don’t get there until 30-45 minutes from the end. This means that we are able to get to know the characters and make our opinions about them; like being shocked that Jamie Lee Curtis isn’t playing a victim and absolutely hating Wendy (I get serious Chris from Carrie vibes from Wendy’s character) but I still felt quite bad when each of them died. In the remake, however, I genuinely couldn’t care less.
Differing Motives
May be this is something that could be put down to the changing of the eras and how things move on with the horror genre. You know, things may have changed on what the public considered as ‘scary’. Having said that, this didn’t make a difference for Sorority Row. Anyway, the original film follows what we all know to be the typical 80s trope of revenge killings for a prank, or in this case a child’s game, gone wrong. However, in the remake, the guy ends up being some kind of crazed teacher of the lead character’s hell-bent on having her all to himself – killing anyone close to her.
Unnecessary Killings
This is actually my biggest issue with the remake! In the original film, the deaths/murders are kept specifically to those who were at fault for Robin falling out of the window at the beginning of the film. However, in my opinion, in the remake he kills the maid and bell hop for absolutely NO REASON! OK it is revealed later that the killer escapes and evades the police by wearing the bell hop’s uniform but we’ve seen it in films like Star Wars, you can just knock the guy out and steal his clothes, but why the maid? Did he realise her dress didn’t fit him?
This actually leads me on to my next point…
All Too Obvious
It may just be me and the number of these style of films that I’ve watched in general, let alone for this blog, but I had figured out who the killer was after the first scene. Now, that’s not a criticism because I still genuinely enjoyed the film and it’s not like they handed it to the audience on a silver platter, I just happened to be right with my original suspicions. However, if the Joe Goldberg baseball cap and jacket look wasn’t enough (anyone that has seen You will know what I’m talking about – yes, I know this film came first but it puts that image in my head…), the fact that he kills the maid senselessly gives away who the killer is too quickly in my opinion.
Beauty in Subtlety
I know that my main focus of this article has been the deaths but that is really all the remake has going. So, I’ve talked about what I hated most about the remake so I’m going to move on to something reasonably more positive and my favourite thing about the original – the subtlety to some of the murders, especially Kelly’s. Unfortunately, she is left alone in the changing rooms having decided that sex just wasn’t for her (good on you, girl! Prom night doesn’t have to equal sex!) but this doesn’t save her life. Instead, she is left alone with the killer. Now, when I say this killing is subtle I mean that you don’t actually physically see that act but you know exactly what’s just happened before you see Kelly’s throat just from the expression in her eyes. I feel like they tried to emulate this in the remake with the first important death but it just didn’t come across as well.
In Conclusion
I know it sounds like I’m really hating on the remake, worse than I normally do I’m sure, but that’s because I genuinely was unable to find anything truly good about it that made it stand even close to the original. Obviously, as always, don’t take my opinion as gospel – watch both and make your own opinions but I can tell you for a start if any one offers Prom Night at a film night, I’m going to make sure they mean the original…
