It's Prom Season!

Slide on your corsages! Pin on those boutonnieres! It's Prom Season at the Blogulator! I heard Qualler's taking Brigitte, Chris is taking DoktorPeace, and Sean is taking Nicole AND Lady Amy! Now, I don't know about you, but my high school prom was full of nothing but hot sex, heavy drinking, and dancing until the morning. Both times I went to prom certainly weren't full of awkward attempts at hand-holding, a little too much aftershave and cuts on my face from shaving the peach fuzz off my face, and falling asleep to Stir of Echoes in my basement followed by an early breakfast at the closest family 24-hour diner. It was a lot like the two movies I had the pleasure to screen this weekend -- Prom Night (1980) and Prom Night (2008). Were the Blogulator to go to prom together at Bloggyille High, along with other cool 21st Century teens like Juno, or Blair Waldorf, we might analyze both films compare and contrast paper in our AP English classees like this one:

Prom Night v. Prom Night: A Knight Two Remember?

In the 1980 film Prom Night starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Leslie Nielsen, one is reminded that violence on screen is creepier when the murderer is left more to the imagination. In the 2008 not-actually-really-a-remake Prom Night, one realizes that people who do not reconginze a man who terrorizes one's family just because said man shaves off his beard are totally idiotic. One must compare and contrast the two films to fully interpret which is a more worthwhile viewing experience (hint: Whoever wins, we lose.)

Cast

1980's Prom Night features a young Jamie Lee Curtis, fresh off her, uh, fame from the now horror classic, 1978's Halloween. It also features Leslie Nielsen, pre-Airplane and thus strangely out of place for the modern audience. Meanwhile, 2008's Prom Night features a slew of "Hey! It's that guy/girl!" actors, featuring Brittany Snow of Nip/Tuck (Matt's neo-nazi girlfriend in Season Two!), Jessalyn Gilsig of Nip/Tuck (GINA!), and, oddly enough, Idris Elba and James Ransone of The Wire (Stringer Bell and Ziggy Sobotka, respectively.) The acting in 1980's Prom Night was wooden enough to be vaguely creepy in a "this is so low-budget it might actually be real" way, whereas 2008's actors give performances so unintentionally (or intentionally?) hilarious that it becomes distracting (or wonderfully entertaining?)

Advantage: 2008

Script

The first film titled Prom Night has the decency to maintain a tone throughout the film. 2008's Prom Night, meanwhile, has a little somethin' somethin' for everybody, as the story shifts stylistically from an episode of a lame O.C. knockoff to an intensely intense episode of CSI to a neutered version of Psycho to a wicked episode of 24 ("I need back-up, stat!" [cue fire trucks, army tanks, many police cars, all to contain one guy that the main detective should obviously be able to arrest / shoot himself]) to a bizzaro Lifetime movie. While one would appreciate an accessible film, especially one who has invested money in the production of the film and thus will receive a slice of the box office receipts, artistically it may not be the most adventurous choice.

Advantage: 1980.

Scares

Again, the original Prom Night was creepy, uncomfortable, and a horror movie. 2008's Prom Night, while containing some actual murders, also contained approximately 98.6% more "Gotcha!" scares that didn't even work in my "Goosebumps" collection. Also disappointing that the whole movie wasn't all just a dream, given all of the "Gotchas!" thrown around.

Advantage: 1980.

Production Quality

The DVD transfer to the 1980 version of Prom Night appears to have been recorded off of a late-night local-station Fox telecast on a Sunday night, stuffed in a moth-filled closet, then converted to a video file on my old IBM 386 computer, then transfered to disc through a Super VGA graphics card. The new version, however, features modern music, pretty faces, and crisp color. Oh, and lots of non-dramatic zoom-ins. Whether it is more desirable for one to watch a well-intentioned-but currently-dated-looking production or a highly-produced-yet-so-badly-done-it-is-boring is one's own choice. However, the writer tends to believe nobody wins.

Advantage: Nobody.

Miscellaneous / Hilarious Dance Sequences / Van Explosions / Product Placement

1980's Prom Night features an amazing extended disco dance scene (see below) and the most hilarious van-driving-off-a-cliff explosion one will ever see in one's life. 2008's Prom Night features a number of insanely unnecessary directorial flourishes, such as a zoom-in on a handshake, a shot clearly only existing to show the delicious Jones Soda being served to the prom-goers, and awkward dialogue serving as a commercial for Midol ("My boyfriend and I are arguing, I'm uncomfortable, and I'm having the worst cramps!" "Oh, I think I have some Midol...that will help you feel better, at least about the cramps that you are having." "Wow, thanks for the Midol! *winks at camera*)

Advantage: Depends on whether you prefer funny-looking dancing or commercialism shoved down one's throat.

In the end, one might be more inclined to attend one's own actual Prom multiple times than to relive watching either of these films. On the other hand, if unintentional comedy, genuine uncomfortable creepiness, seeing your favorite actors hilariously out of place in a bad movie, real killings, or idiotic characters who can't seem to figure out that the guy who murdered your whole family who had a beard when he did that is the same guy who shaved his beard and is wearing a black baseball cap, are your cup of tea (or, glass of punch!), then these films might be for you. Me, I'm going to go put too much gel in my hair and get ready for some awkward high school non-kisses. Now, cue the Usher, R. Kelly, and that "You And Me Goin' Fishin' in the Dark" song -- I'm ready for PROM!

This entry was posted by Unknown, on Sunday, April 13, 2008. You can leave your response.