With Jim Sabatini

Prom Night

Rated: PG-13 for violence and terror, some sexual material, underage drinking, and language
Reviewed by: Chris
Release date: April 11, 2008	Released by: Screen Gems

Well, prom season is here, so what better time to release a teen slasher movie, than now? Loosely based on the 1980 Jamie Leigh Curtis, Leslie Nielsen film, this thriller stars Brittany Snow (Hairspray) as Donna, a teen who has been stalked by an obsessed mad man in the past.

Donna's family is killed and the guy is sent to a mental hospital for life. But, three years have passed and Donna is headed to her Senior Prom with boyfriend Bobby (Scott Porter (TV's "Friday Night Lights"). She expects to dance, compare dresses and gossip, not run for her life.

However, the killer has escaped his hospital lock-up and has chosen Prom night to finish the job he began years ago.

Director Nelson McCormick has resorted to all of the usual tricks to scare us, but none of them seem to work. Trying to build suspense by having people jump out of dark places is lame.

The characters are not developed and too much time is spent watching Prom night activities. Surprisingly for a slasher film, it is pretty tame. Most of the killing is done off-screen and there's very little blood, most likely because of the PG-13 rating.

Snow and Porter are pretty good in their roles; it's the story that lets them down. This is one remake that just didn't need to be made.