1987
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Jul 18, 1980 · Prom Night: Directed by Paul Lynch. With Leslie Nielsen, Jamie Lee Curtis, Casey Stevens, Anne-Marie Martin. At a high-school senior prom, a masked killer stalks four teenagers who were responsible for the accidental death of a classmate six years previously.
- (20K)
- Paul Lynch
- R
- Horror, Mystery, Thriller
- Plot
- Cast
- Production
- Release
- Related Works
- External Links
In 1974, 11-year-olds Wendy Richards, Jude Cunningham, Kelly Lynch and Nick McBride play hide-and-seek in an abandoned convent in Ontario, Canada. When 10-year-old Robin Hammond tries to join them, the group starts teasing her, repeating "Kill! Kill! Kill!", and leading to a scared Robin accidentally falling to her death through a second story wind...
Casey Stevens as Nick McBrideDevelopment
Director Paul Lynch developed Prom Night after a meeting with producer Irwin Yablans, who had previously produced Halloween (1978). Lynch had wanted to work on a horror film, and had initially pitched Don't Go See the Doctor, a film about a physician who murders his patients. Yablans instead suggested that Lynch utilize a holiday as a basis for the film, which resulted in Lynch deciding to build the premise around the event of the high school prom. Writer Robert Guza Jr., a University of Sout...
Casting
In the documentary Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film (2006), Lynch stated he was having difficulty securing financing for the film until Jamie Lee Curtis signed onto the project; she received a salary of $30,000 (equivalent to $94,229 in 2020) for her appearance in the film. According to the producer of Prom Night, Eve Plumb (from television's The Brady Bunch) originally auditioned for the role of Kim Hammond, but was passed over after Jamie Lee Curtis' manager contacted...
Filming
Prom Night was filmed over twenty-four days in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, with principal photography beginning August 13, 1979, and completing September 13. The majority of the crew were recent graduates from film schools in Canada. Don Mills Collegiate Institute served as the main school location, while the Langstaff Jail Farm in Richmond Hill was used for the abandoned building featured prominently in the beginning of the film. Art director Reuben Freed had wanted to take advantage of Toront...
Promotion
After production wrapped, Paramount Pictures expressed interest in distributing the movie. However, they only wanted to open it in 300 theaters whereas Avco Embassy offered to release it in 1,200 theaters. Avco Embassy purchased the film at the Cannes film market in May 1980 (instead, Paramount released another independent slasher film, Friday the 13th, which premiered two months before Prom Night). The company subsequently developed an extensive marketing campaign to promote the film. A thea...
Box office
Given a limited release in the United States on July 18, 1980, Prom Night had financial success as a sleeper hit. During its opening week in select cities (including Chicago, Milwaukee, Louisville, and several cities in Texas), it grossed $1,189,636 at the U.S. box office, and was subsequently slated for a staggered platform release. Its theatrical run expanded on August 15, 1980 to New York City and Los Angeles, and included select midnight screenings. During its opening week runs in New Yor...
Critical response
Contemporaneous Upon release in 1980, Prom Night received mostly unfavorable reviews from critics, with frequent comparisons to Halloween (1978) and Carrie (1976). Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune referred to the film as a "watered-down cross between Carrie and Halloween", though he noted it was "not as violent as one might expect, based on those frightening ads of a masked man holding a phallic knife... You would think that Prom Night was another one of those hideous attacks-on-promiscuous...
Prom Night was followed by three sequels, each of which has little in common with the 1980 film, aside from all being set at Hamilton High School. In 2008, a remakewas released, which also bears little resemblance to the 1980 film.
Prom Night at IMDbProm Night at AllMovie- $1.5 million
- Paul Zaza, Carl Zittrer
- July 18, 1980 (US)
- Peter R. Simpson
Prom Night is a 2008 slasher film directed by Nelson McCormick. It is a reboot of the Prom Night film series and its fifth installment, mainly taking inspiration from the original 1980 film . The film stars an ensemble cast including Brittany Snow , Scott Porter , Jessica Stroup , Dana Davis , Collins Pennie , Kelly Blatz , James Ransone ...
- $57.2 million
- April 11, 2008
- $20 million
- Paul Haslinger
Apr 11, 2008 · Prom Night: Directed by Nelson McCormick. With Brittany Snow, Scott Porter, Jessica Stroup, Dana Davis. Donna's senior prom is supposed to be the best night of her life, though a sadistic killer from her past has different plans for her and her friends.
- Nelson Mccormick
- 2 min
Screen Gems. Prom Night is a Canadian slasher film franchise that comprises a total of five feature films, the first four of which are centered around events at the fictional Hamilton High School. The first film, Prom Night (1980), was a slasher film directed by Paul Lynch and produced by Peter R. Simpson, focusing on teenagers being stalked ...
- Robert Guza Jr. (story)
- Prom Night (1980)
Summaries. At a high-school senior prom, a masked killer stalks four teenagers who were responsible for the accidental death of a classmate six years previously. For six long years, Hamilton High School seniors Kelly Lynch, Jude Cunningham, Wendy Richards, and Nick McBride have been hiding the truth of what happened to 10-year-old Robin Hammond ...
Prom Night. In Theaters At Home TV Shows. This slasher movie follows a relentless killer who is out to avenge the death of a young girl who died after being bullied and teased by four of her...
- (23)
- Horror, Mystery & Thriller
- R
