Almost Heroes: Detective Nash (Prom Night- 2008)

 Let's dust off another Segment, shall we?

In Almost Heroes, we highlight a Supporting Player (sometimes even a Lead) who is helpful...but gets killed/disposed of before the End.

They helped...but didn't quite finish the task.

Let's look at a great example of this in Prom Night's Detective Nash...

He works with the Police when they discover- too late- that the Killer is on the loose.

He reports all of the findings, like when they find the man whose identity the killer stole.

Again- it's a bit late, but the Film wouldn't be as long as it is if they caught up to him sooner, now, would it?

He keeps working the case- alongside Elba's Winn- and they finally seem to do something right when they clear out the Hotel.

That's actually the worst thing they could have done (since this lets the killer slip out), but, again, Movie Cops.

He's sent to guard our Final Girl, since the killer escaped.

He's on the job!

He investigates some strange sounds around the area and sees that the phone line has been cut.

This was a bigger deal in 2008, of course, as we now have people 'cutting the cord' to save money in 2023.

Unfortunately, he's killed off-screen by the bad guy before Winn arrives.  

Was this due to the PG-13 Rating or drama?  You decide!

So close!  He was so close to the end!

Literally, there were 8 minutes left in the Film when his body gets discovered.

Sorry, Nash- maybe your Actor will make it to the end of his biggest Film to date- It: Chapter Two.

...oh, never mind.

Remake This: Prom Night (2008)

 Is it time for another Prom?  Already?  I need to get a new dress!

This is the 2008 Remake of Prom Night...although that's not really fair.  There were a TON of Remakes starting in the 2000s (and continuing to this day).  Many were legit Remakes that tried to either improve on the Story/Setting (My Bloody Valentine) or just copy it (Texas Chainsaw Massacre).

This is a Remake in-name only.  The Plot is different.  Everything is different, save for a killer on Prom Night.

The irony, of course, is that doing a 1-to-1 Remake in 2008 would make people think that they were ripping off I Know What you Did Last Summer- despite doing it first.

The Plot here involves a killer- whose backstory is simply TOLD TO US- coming back for another go on, say it with me, Prom Night!

A new Cast of young people are here and we aren't yet at the Legacy Sequel phase yet, so no Jamie Lee Cameo here.  I'm sad too.

Is it good though?  To find out, read on...

A deranged killer takes out the whole family (rare to see the kid killed in an American Horror Film- even off-camera) to get at our Heroine (Brittany Snow).

She escapes out the front door, but is wounded.

We cut to 3 years later (sure!) and it s the day of the Prom.  Hey, it is Prom NIGHT, not Day.  Get it straight!

She goes to her super-fancy prom (they rented out a Hotel Ballroom in L.A.!).

...unaware of the danger!  The killer is back and now he's not wearing the obviously fake wig and beard.

A Deleted Scene explains how he managed to fool them for 3 days, giving him this head start.

In the Theatrical Cut, they just don't tell the Cops for 3 days.  Whoops.

The Police eventually help out...by doing nothing, save for the Lead Cop watching.

When they finally find the bodies left behind, Idris Elba here finally acts.

Of course, they clear the whole building out and DO NOT WATCH the one person they are supposed to.

The killer finds her.
Oops.

She escapes and the Killer somehow escapes, despite every exit being watched.  Huh?

The killer has his one last hurrah as he follows her home.  How does he know her address?
Good question.

He manages to kill a Cop and a boyfriend, but is taken out by Elba.  No Sequel for you!

A decent Film, even if there's not much new here.  Actually, is there anything new here?

The setup is played differently (beginning with her being in danger) and it curiously skips right to the titular Night.  That pacing is a bit interesting.

Other than that, there's nothing that exciting here.  A pretty basic Setup, a pretty basic execution and the kills are muted.

This one is infamously a PG-13 Horror Film, which makes some people hate it without even seeing it.
Is there no blood?  Mostly, yes.  Does that make the Film bad on its own?  No.

Less than week out from seeing it, however, I couldn't tell you any of the Characters' names and barely recall their motivations.  It's just alright, but quite forgettable.
That's not a knock on the Actors- they do fine.  The material is just so ho-hum, that's all.

Ooh, you should realize an Unrated Version.  It will be...one minute longer?!?!?!?

Next time, I cover a cheesy 'Classic' from the 1960s.  Is it really all gimmick and won't work for home viewing?  See you then...

Slasher Flix: Prom Night (1980

 At long last, the Prom I never really had!

Granted- I went to a Private School, didn't care about any of that and only mention this now for the joke.

This is Prom Night, a 1980 Slasher Film that came right at the start.  Did it inspire so many Films that would follow?  Was it uneventful?  Is it very common to find in multi-Film sets for whatever reason?

Yes to 2 of those.  Find out which below.

The Film is *technically* Canadian (shot there to be cheaper) and is, of course, notable for being part of Jamie Lee Curtis' early Scream Queen Career.  Kind of crazy to think that she's come back to that in the late '90s and in the last few years, right?  It is a shame that Tubi couldn't have sprung for her in their Terror Train Remake (or its Sequel).

The Plot involves a killer at Prom Night.  Is it someone with a grudge?  Is it a random weirdo?  Is it the escaped killer?  Is it the one they obviously set up and not the red herrings?

Last but not least, it is worth mentioning that Director Paul Lynch has been featured here a few times in the past.

To find out if this is an often overlooked classic, read on...

The Film opens with a bunch of kids chasing around/scaring one of them.  Is this a Children of the Corn Film?

They make them back up out of a window...and then seem surprised that this happened.  
Kids are dumb.

Years later, the kids are all grown up and it is nearly Prom Night.
You should name a Film that!

They start to get mysterious calls from a breathy person...who is definitely not Ghostface.

Let's not worry about this too much though.

You all need to get Dates.
You all need to Disco Dance!

The terror seems to be real eventually as the Night approaches...for a few minutes.

In the meantime, let's introduce an Escaped Killer into the Story...in Reshoots.
Thanks, Detective Not Appearing in the Original Footage.

It is the Third Act, so the killer finally gets off their butt and starts killing folks.

Finally!  I mean...darn?

Can anyone stop the killer?!?

Will they find out who it is in time?

This reveal made a List of Most Disappointing Killer Reveals, so...not great.  I won't SPOIL it here though.

A decent Film, just know what to expect from it.  It is not Friday the 13th.  It is not A Nightmare on Elm Street.

Early Slashers like this tried to be more cerebral and about the mystery.  Did they always succeed?  No.
They sure tried though.

So just know that this Film is front-loaded with setup and then packs all of the kills (save one) for the Third Act.  It isn't bad Setup.  It is not boring.  It just isn't what you're probably expecting.

It is funny to see how much this Film did influence other Films.  Aside from the mentioned ones, we have the Plot of I Know What You Did Last Summer (and yes, it is loosely based on a 1973 Book) and the look of the killer in The Prowler.  It isn't called or treated like a big influence, but it was one.

Amusingly, some stuff slips by that doesn't obey the rules, like a Virgin Character being targeted for death.  How absurd!

Prom Night is a very different kind of Slasher...since it was made so early in the Sub-Genre.  I just want you to go in with realistic expectations.  I hate to see you get disappointed.

Next time, let's check out the Remake.  I mean, they call it that...but it isn't really.  You'll see.  Stay tuned...

Forgotten Sequels: Prom Night IV

Prom Night is a magical night...to die!  After three years, I decided to finally do the Fourth film.  The Prom Night 'Series' is a weird one, that's for sure.  Prom Night is a well-made Halloween knock-off (that also Stars Jamie Lee Curtis).  Prom Night 2 is about a ghost of a girl from the 1950's trying to kill the children of the people that killed her.  Prom Night 3 features the return of said ghost, only now it's a Horror-Comedy and she kills Teachers to get the boy she likes.  Yeah, I should probably address that one in the future (especially since I own it now).  So, with that pedigree, what could Prom Night IV be about?  Well, it's about a killer Priest attacking kids on Prom Night.  So...yeah, they just kind of circled back.  It might be an interesting twist if they made the heroine the mother of Jamie Lee Curtis' character or if she turned out to be Mary-Lou.  Nope.  The scary thing is that this movie is most similar to a different, terrible Horror Sequel: Silent Night, Deadly Night 3.  Swap the villains out and you've pretty much got the same film.  To find out if there's any more to the film than that, read on...

A pair of teens leave the Prom to go have sex in the car.  I'm skipping about five minutes of pointless character build-up here, by the way.

Why is it pointless?  Because Father Murder (my name, not theirs...sadly) kills them.  That was...obvious.

In the aftermath, he's locked up by his Order and kept around until he can just escape.  Considering what they did with child-molesting Priests, this is pretty much par for the course.

Some vague amount of time later, a Priest is put in charge of keeping Father Murder sedated and locked up (since they don't kill him/ship him off to an Island).  Given that this is the guy's ONLY job, he fails at this and gets killed.

The rest of the film involves four of the 'teens' going off to a House to 'get busy.'  Thank God- it would have been a lot more work to show a real Prom...in Prom Night IV.

Naturally, Father Murder follows them there and...kind of meanders a bit.  I guess he has to build up his Rage Meter or something.

More likely, the film had to reach 90 minutes somehow.  *Sigh*

FINALLY he gets into action!  He attacks a Peeping Tom (who also followed them to the house, apparently.  To be 'arty' and what-not, the film cuts back and forth between a couple having sex and this guy being killed.

Oh and kudos for ripping off the Cannibal Holocaust.  It had only been ten years at this point.

The rest of the cannon fodder...I mean, cast, doesn't last a whole lot longer.  This really feels like Silent Night, Deadly Night 3 here, especially considering the same number of victims (3), the mysterious killer and a snowy environment.

You could have at least ripped off Silent Night, Deadly Night 2's 'Garbage Day' moment.  It would have helped you become more notable, at least.

Just like Silent Night, Deadly Night 3, our heroine is the lone survivor and seemingly stop the killer.  This time, it's with fire.

Of course, he does the 'I'm not really dead' reveal, which will lead to...absolutely nothing.  The End.

Seriously, you couldn't have ripped off a better Horror film?  There's a good reason that this film is pretty damn obscure.  It's got barely any identity of its own, even in the franchise.  The original Night was made in the early days of these films, so it gets some leeway in terms of not being that unique.  The other Sequels are crazy enough in their own ways to be notable.  This film was made in 1992, but feels like a barely-updated version of the original film.  It's a shame that there's not more to say about this dull, generic film.  It is so badly-paced that the pay-off is not really all that worth it.  The gore isn't bad at all.  It's not that great either though, so I can't really say 'It's worth it to wait for the good stuff.'  Even a tease of something more interesting here goes absolutely nowhere...  

Next up, a newer Horror film from Rob Zombie.  I come in with severe apathy, so let's see if he can change my mind.  Stay tuned...

Forgotten Sequels: Prom Night 3

I bet some of you did not even know that there was a Prom Night 2, let alone a third film.  I'm really going to blow your mind when I tell you that there is a fourth film too, won't I?  As for the second film, I have plans regarding a review of that.  More on that subject in the future.  Let's talk about this third film in the series though and whatever is supposed to be.  The original Prom Night is a Halloween knock-off, while the second film drifts off into a weird, random path.  This movie is supposed to be a successor to that one, but ignores nearly everything about that film, save for the bare bones of the premise.  It also is a great example of The Evil Dead Effect, but fails to follow through with it.  What you are left with is a movie with an identity crisis and no clear goal in mind.  Does it still work though?  Find out in my review of...

Prom Night 3: The Last Kiss

The film begins in Hell, although it has neither Satan nor random naked people.  Why did you lie to me, the Bible and Jose Mojica Marins!  Mary-Lou escapes from Hell by cutting her chains with a nail file and just walks out.  It's really that easy?  She comes out through a jukebox right from the 'Faith' video that suddenly appears in a High School and kills the janitor.  The next day, we are introduced to our heroes.  One of them is a dorky High School student and the other is his preppy girlfriend.  At the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new gymnasium, the principal accidentally cuts one of his fingers off!  Does Mary-Lou make him do it?  Not according to the way the scene was framed, so why did that just happen?  Is he just an idiot?  The movie just sort of moves on, so I will too.  Our hero is bothered by the idea that he is average in every way, which is pretty low on the scale of problems one could have.  You know, some people have divorced parents, birth defects or learning disabilities!  After a bad date with his lady friend, he runs into Mary-Lou's ghost at the school.  To make a long story short, they make whoopee.  In the morning, he lives out a cliched nightmare by having to run through the hallways wearing only an American flag.

*

The movie gets pretty weird from here on out.  Our hero begins to see Mary-Lou everywhere, which leads to some 'wacky' costume changes for the ghostly woman.  By the way, this lady does not even hold a candle to Mary-Lou from Prom Night 2, but she does try.  As people in our hero's life cause him trouble, Mary-Lou kills them.  They take place in what feel like weird dream sequences and often make little sense.  They don't really explain how she is able to do that as a ghost, but I guess we're just supposed to go with it.  In addition, her deaths are very elaborate and seem to involve lots of planning.  Between gaining new, random powers and having sex with our hero, how does she have time for that?  She also helps him win a football game, which makes a jock jealous.  He mostly just mopes about it for a while, but finally summons his inner 'Zabka' and confronts our hero.  Of course, by this point, he has regressed to acting cool (i.e. wearing a Fonzie jacket) and burying the bodies of Mary's victims.  One football-themed death later and our hero has another body to bury.  Unfortunately, he buried all of them on the football field and they get discovered.  This can't end well.

*

Life turns even worse for our hero as Mary-Lou impersonates his sister and kills his best friend.  She does this by punching his heart out of his chest, which raises more questions about her powers!  He gets arrested, but decides to take advice from the hero in Jason Goes To Hell & breaks out.  During all of this, his lady ends up going to the prom with the nerdy guy who works with her on the Student Council.  He is a nice guy, but has quirky aspects to him, so he is a terrible person.  He gets killed by Mary-Lou since...um, he was going out with the girl who used to date the object of her obsession.  Wouldn't it be easier for her if the girl ended up with someone else?  Do ghosts use logical progression and common sense?  Anyhow, Mary-Lou attacks the girl, but our hero shows up in time.  He makes a deal with the ghost: take me and leave her alone.  Mary opens up a portal to Hell...which she recently escaped from him...and to her own Prom.  I would ask about Mary-Lou's ability to open Hell portals, but I stopped caring by this point.  The girl jumps through the portal in pursuit and has to fight off the people that died earlier.  I should mention that some of them were killed mere minutes earlier, proving that Hell has a short waiting list.  She succeeds and attempts to escape with a car.  They attempt to run down Mary-Lou, but she teleports them to 1954 and kills the girl.  She can do that too?!? The End.

*

This movie is not good.  It tries to be a wacky comedy, but cannot commit to it.  The death scenes are bizarre and gory.  However, the movie treats death as serious, while also doing 'bits' about our hero having to bury Mary-Lou's victims.  There are some genuinely-funny lines, the best of which is his girlfriend's explanation of how she bakes when she is angry.  Of course, they take this joke and run into the ground by the end.  Ultimately, this movie is merely sub-par.  If you have not seen Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night 2, this might be something that you could forgive.  For series completists, however, you can see a dramatic drop in quality.  The fact that this movie was released direct-to-video and not in theaters should tell you something.  You can do better than this movie, which I'm sorry to say.

*

Up next, another forgotten sequel is on the agenda.  This one involves robots, soldiers and Gary Busey.  Don't get your hopes up, guys.  Stay tuned...