Casey Chong presents seven prom-themed horror movies to add to your watchlist…
Attending a prom marks a significant milestone for many high school students. A transition of one’s high school life before entering adulthood – and of course, a night of dressing up, having fun and dancing with your loved one. But proms in the horror genre tell a different story altogether, often resulting in a bloody massacre or something that evokes terror and suspense. With Fear Street: Prom Queen now streaming on Netflix [read our review here], let’s take a look at the seven prom-themed horror movies to add to your watchlist…
Prom Night (1980)
Fresh off her success in Halloween and The Fog, Jamie Lee Curtis continued to embrace her scream-queen status in yet another horror film. A prom-themed slasher film, to be exact, which revolves around a masked killer determined to kill those who are responsible for the death of an innocent girl years ago. Revenge is the main motif in Prom Night, but director Paul Lynch doesn’t go straight for the jugular; he prefers to take things deliberately in building up the tension and suspense. It’s more psychological in its execution rather than an all-out slasher fest.
Still, there is blood and plenty of stabbing involved in Prom Night. Not to mention, given its title, the movie fulfils its promise with an extended prom night dance sequence featuring Gordene Simpson’s disco song “Prom Night” filling in the background. Lynch also throws in a few red herrings while the identity of the masked killer remains anonymous right until the end. The success of Prom Night has spawned three sequels and a 2008 reboot.
Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II (1987)
There’s no Jamie Lee Curtis here, and it’s a sequel pretty much in name only, despite the setting still taking place at Hamilton High, just like the first movie. Interestingly, Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II adds in an unexpected supernatural twist to the otherwise conventional 1980s slasher tropes. The highlight of this sequel is undoubtedly Lisa Schrage, who plays the titular vengeful prom queen – get this – who’s already died back in the ‘50s, only to return thirty years later as a ghost seeking vengeance.
Schrage’s gleefully unhinged performance is fun to watch, while Bruce Pittman showcases his directorial flair, incorporating surreal set pieces from the possessed rocking white horse to a blackboard in the classroom that comes to life like it’s straight out of A Nightmare on Elm Street scene. Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II also gets creative with the death scenes, namely the one where a character finds herself crushed by the lockers.
The Club (1994)
This little-seen Canadian slasher was supposed to be the fifth Prom Night film, only to be released as an entirely standalone feature. The Club takes place entirely in the large confines of a gothic-like mansion, where the senior prom is held. And then something strange happens: Time freezes when the clock strikes midnight, leaving a group of students trapped inside like they are in the Twilight Zone.
Directed by Brenton Spencer, whose previous credits at the time included episodes of 21 Jump Street and Street Justice, incorporates supernatural horror tropes with a dash of A Nightmare on Elm Street-like surreal quality into the teenage-centric chamber drama. The Club may take its time during its meandering first half, but it manages to pick up the pace once the fun starts. This is especially true with J.H. Wyman – credited as Joel Wyner in this movie – who goes unhinged with his over-the-top role as a devil-in-disguise who enjoys tormenting the trapped students.
The Prowler (1981)
Three years before Joseph Zito directed Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, he made a little slasher film boasting the genre’s familiar tropes that dominated the 80s horror cinema, but with a giallo-style approach in its excessive violence and gore, thanks to the great Tom Savini’s impressive special effects and makeup work. The Prowler only marks Zito’s third feature at the time, but he’s already shown his knack for dread-inducing atmosphere and knows well how to put together some ghastly kills.
He equally deserves credit for setting up the story with an intriguing 1940s-set prologue, complete with an old-school newsreel and black-and-white footage. The movie also keeps you guessing the mysterious identity of the titular killer, allowing you to play armchair detectives as the story unfolds. Even the killer has a distinct appearance of a World War II combat uniform and a helmet with a sack concealing the face, and primarily uses a pitchfork to kill the victims.
Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever (2009)
Ti West may have disowned the movie due to the producers’ insistence on re-editing his work extensively, but Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever is far from a worthless follow-up, thanks to its gleefully dark humor and horror-comedy vibes. It’s not as good as Eli Roth’s 2005 original, but the sheer perversity of this sequel remains intact.
There is plenty of gross-out gore and violence, not to mention all those blisters, sores and abnormal growth meant to make your stomach churn and feel disgusted by the sight of them, thanks to the highly contagious flesh-eating virus in its storyline. We get everything from a janitor pissing blood into a punch bowl to a fellatio in the bathroom stall and even a bloody pus out of a penis. The subsequent prom scene is where the infection spreads all over the students, resulting in more body count. The sequel even throws in the Prom Night’s theme song playing in the background at one point in the movie.
Tragedy Girls (2017)
This darkly funny horror comedy boasts two game performances from Alexandra Shipp and Briana Hildebrand as two best friends and high school students who run the titular true crime blog, and whose obsession with the subject matter but also their willingness to do whatever it takes to make them famous results in a murder spree.
Beyond their sweet smiles, the girls are downright cold-blooded and the story has a field day satirizing the addiction to fame and social media presence. A wickedly fresh take on the different kinds of serial killers, complete with acid-tongued humor that hits all the right notes, Tragedy Girls is a highlight from co-writer and director Tyler MacIntyre, who would go on to direct one of the segments in V/H/S/99 and It’s a Wonderful Knife.
Carrie (1976)
Now, no prom horror list would be complete without mentioning Brian De Palma’s seminal 1976 genre masterpiece. Based on Stephen King’s 1974 novel of the same name, Carrie features one of Sissy Spacek’s best earlier acting performances as the titular 16-year-old shy student who often gets bullied at school by her classmates. It’s hard not to sympathize with her plight throughout the movie, especially her relationship with her deeply religious, yet abusive mother, played to perfection by Piper Laurie. The movie may have been set in the 70s era, but the underlying subject of school bullying and teen angst remains relevant even by today’s standards.
Apart from bringing out the best in the cast, De Palma shows tremendous control in his well-paced direction and the way he gradually builds up the tension to a breaking point in the iconic finale. The third act, which takes place during the ill-fated prom night, culminates in Carrie unleashing her telekinetic powers against the students in the gym following a bucket of pig’s blood-related prank that triggers her anger. The sight of the blood blanketed all over Carrie and her prom dress is one for the ages, and how her rage ends with fire and a bloodbath earns its place as among the most terrifying scenes ever put in a horror cinema.
What are your favourite prom horror movies? Let us know on our social channels @FlickeirngMyth…
Casey Chong
