Dull, bland, uninspired, dumb, and unnecessary: All these words accurately describe Prom Night. There are a lot more that can be used, but they are not very nice. Being a remake, Prom Night already has a big strike against it. How many remakes need to be made? Doesn't Hollywood have any original ideas? Why remake films that aren't all that old to begin with? All of these questions are valid.
It seems like you cannot turn around without bumping into another remake. I do not believe that remakes being made is so much the problem. The real problem is that many of them, but not all of them, are being used as commodities without any actual effort for artistic credit. Prom Night is one of those remakes that is more commodity than art. It lacks any true merit outside of making some money for the studio. Speaking of studios, is it ironic that one of the movie production companies is called "Original Film"?
The story began way back in 1978. Jamie Lee Curtis was hot off her star making turn in John Carpenter's slasher classic, Halloween (remade in 2007). In that film, Curtis proved she could scream and run from a killer like nobody's business. With that success she became a big name in horror circles, landing roles in three horror films that came out in 1980.
Prom Night was sandwiched in between The Fog, another Carpenter film remade in 2005, and Terror Train , a remake coming out later this year. (Notice a trend?) Prom Night was a moderate hit at theaters prior to becoming a bigger hit on home video. I guess it was enough to spark the remake talks (I am beginning to think that now The Attack of the Killer Tomatoes is being remade, nothing is safe).
The first thing you will notice is that it is more of an "inspired by" than a straight up remake. The original film's story is more closely related to I Know What You Did Last Summer, as the friends of the 1980 film accidentally kill someone as twelve-year-olds and then cover it up. A witness, however, chooses to exact revenge during the kids’ prom some years later. Three unrelated sequels followed it, the middle two of which contain more supernatural elements. This remake takes the prom night setting and delivers a story that is much more personal to the central character.
Article comments
1 - Brittany Sheffield
It was the greatest movie i had ever saw. I love it and i could watch it like 100 times.
2 - courtney
i neva seen this movie but i would like 2