Recently I subscribed to Shudder, to see what all the fuss was about, to my surprise I really love the platform. What is one to do with Shudder? Well watch movies of course, so I started to browse and came across the original Prom Night. I couldn’t tell you the last time I saw that movie, or what the plot entailed so a refresher watch, to say the least. Once it was over the algorithm gods presented me with Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II. I gave my TV a puzzled look saying “Prom Night has sequels?”To be honest, I didn’t care much for Prom Night and sequels are usually subpar but in old-school movie fashion the cover drew me in and I hit play.
Prom Night II isn’t really a sequel what so ever, it is its own standalone movie, the only things connecting the two is the title, a few lines, and the school’s name. The movie its self is about a school preparing for prom night in the coming days, but the school has a dark past involving prom night. Specifically, in 1957, a Prom Queen named Mary Lou a sexy and seductive harlot played by Lisa Schrage is burned to a crisp due to a prank that goes horribly wrong. Somehow her soul gets trapped in a wardrobe chest, and you guessed, it the chest is opened releasing her. Not long after she starts racking up a body count.
The movie has a nice mix of Slasher and Paranormal elements, with some fun kills, and one-liners. At first, I thought the movie was going to be strictly paranormal, but then we delve into possession. Mary Lou slowly takes over our man character Vicki Carpenter, a sexy but cute girl played by Wendy Lyon. Vicki is somewhat of a sheltered girl at home, with a mother who is crazy religious, and frankly a huge bitch. I was hoping for something to happen to her for the whole movie.
One thing I believe this movie does differently than others is that the audience and the characters already know about the dark past of the school. The movie begins on prom night in 1957, which kinda puts you ahead of the game, and lets the movie skip past unraveling the mystery that most movies have. I do feel that the movie borrows from others, but let’s be honest what movies don’t? What I mean by that, is there are several scenes in the movie that remind me of a nightmare state, out of a Nightmare on Elm Street film. Now I’m not saying this is bad what so ever because I love it.
Overall is the movie amazing? No, but it’s entertaining, and that is its job, and it succeeds in that regard. I will say I liked Prom Night II fifty times more than the original Prom Night, which usually doesn’t happen with a sequel, but it’s not really a sequel. It’s a fun movie it’s like they threw Nightmare on Elm Street and Carrie into a pot and stirred. I almost feel like this movie would be talked about more, and would have done better if it was released as what it is, a standalone movie.
IMDB.com has a rating of 5.6
Personally, I’d give it a 6.8, I had fun with Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II
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