The original Prom Night and this sequel have about as much to do with each other as we tend to do with the relatives we have not seen since last MoneyMas. Where Prom Night told the story of a prom being interrupted by a criminal unjustly accused of killing a child, Prom Night II begins with a prom in the 1950s. The story quickly focuses on a prom Queen who changes boyfriends about as often as the skin cells on the top layer change. The young man she went to the prom with, played by a young actor doing an uncannily accurate impersonation of what an angry teenage Michael Ironside must have been like, decides to get even after being jilted through the use of a stink bomb. However, this stunt badly backfires, and Mary Lou burns to death in a conflagration that goes down in infamy. Fast forward thirty or so years, and the young prankster who lit the stink bomb is now principal of the school, which is attended by his teenage son. Michael Ironside slots into this role like a weary old man into a good pair of slippers. Contrast this with Leslie Nielsen in the original, who is simply too jovial for a high school principal.
In the 1980s, the dead being resurrected to punish the living through means totally accidental was a popular theme in horror. Prom Night II does not break convention, and soon, our principal's son's girlfriend is disturbed by attempts on the part of Mary Lou to come back to life. Not helping matters is her fanatical religious mother. About halfway into the film, after Mary Lou finally takes her over, our principal is haunted by visions of Mary Lou coming after her son, among other things. All Mary Lou seems to want in the end is the due glory as prom Queen that was cut short by an unfortunate pyrotechnic incident. She goes after this by killing off her competitors for the title, and even frying the computer geek when he is well... convinced to change the winner by computer. This was a fairly hip and new plot device at the time the film was made. No, really, it was. Anyway, the plot is strictly by the numbers, and can be summed up in less than a paragraph. It is strictly a B-list sequel, so I am sure you are wondering what compelling reason I can give you to see it. The answer, of course, is the same as that for Highlander II or Scanners. A Canadian actor named Michael Ironside.
As I said earlier, Michael Ironside has the authoritarian manner required of a high school principal down to an art. In fact, he raises the quality of the acting to a level that the script and production values quite honestly do not deserve. The story in this instance requires a little more from him than to look mean or surly. He is also asked at some points to look somewhat weary, even frightened. Surprisingly, even when other cast members fumble this ball, he gives it everything he has. The rest of the cast pretty much doom themselves to perpetual anonymity, save for Lisa Schrage, who portrays the vexatious Mary Lou Maloney. A quick look at her resume, however, confirms that this turkey of a sequel doomed the careers of all but its first-billed star. The final scene, which I will not detail except to say it involves Ironside behind a wheel, much like one scene in Highlander II, effortlessly achieves the fear factor that the rest of the film so desperately tries for.
So what else does Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II have to recommend it? Not much, I am afraid. The support cast's acting really could not get them work on a soap opera. The cinematography is so flat that it could be panned and scanned or open matted with the exact same results. The music, aside from some well-chosen staples of the 1950s, is memorable enough that I am trying to name one scene with an actual cue. Some interesting special effects involving an animated rocking horse, a blackboard, or lockers, are scattered throughout the film, but the big creature effect at the end of the film is almost hilarious. The final moment of mayhem is so ineffective that the moment when Ironside places the prom Queen crown on Shrage's head is, in fact, far more effective. Indeed, scattered throughout the film are moments when the film seems to work more as a comedy. The truly horrific moments occur more by accident than design.
I gave Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II, to quote the full title, a five out of ten. All five of those points are earned by the acting of Michael Ironside. If you are a fan of Ironside, see it for him. Otherwise, don't bother.
In the 1980s, the dead being resurrected to punish the living through means totally accidental was a popular theme in horror. Prom Night II does not break convention, and soon, our principal's son's girlfriend is disturbed by attempts on the part of Mary Lou to come back to life. Not helping matters is her fanatical religious mother. About halfway into the film, after Mary Lou finally takes her over, our principal is haunted by visions of Mary Lou coming after her son, among other things. All Mary Lou seems to want in the end is the due glory as prom Queen that was cut short by an unfortunate pyrotechnic incident. She goes after this by killing off her competitors for the title, and even frying the computer geek when he is well... convinced to change the winner by computer. This was a fairly hip and new plot device at the time the film was made. No, really, it was. Anyway, the plot is strictly by the numbers, and can be summed up in less than a paragraph. It is strictly a B-list sequel, so I am sure you are wondering what compelling reason I can give you to see it. The answer, of course, is the same as that for Highlander II or Scanners. A Canadian actor named Michael Ironside.
As I said earlier, Michael Ironside has the authoritarian manner required of a high school principal down to an art. In fact, he raises the quality of the acting to a level that the script and production values quite honestly do not deserve. The story in this instance requires a little more from him than to look mean or surly. He is also asked at some points to look somewhat weary, even frightened. Surprisingly, even when other cast members fumble this ball, he gives it everything he has. The rest of the cast pretty much doom themselves to perpetual anonymity, save for Lisa Schrage, who portrays the vexatious Mary Lou Maloney. A quick look at her resume, however, confirms that this turkey of a sequel doomed the careers of all but its first-billed star. The final scene, which I will not detail except to say it involves Ironside behind a wheel, much like one scene in Highlander II, effortlessly achieves the fear factor that the rest of the film so desperately tries for.
So what else does Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II have to recommend it? Not much, I am afraid. The support cast's acting really could not get them work on a soap opera. The cinematography is so flat that it could be panned and scanned or open matted with the exact same results. The music, aside from some well-chosen staples of the 1950s, is memorable enough that I am trying to name one scene with an actual cue. Some interesting special effects involving an animated rocking horse, a blackboard, or lockers, are scattered throughout the film, but the big creature effect at the end of the film is almost hilarious. The final moment of mayhem is so ineffective that the moment when Ironside places the prom Queen crown on Shrage's head is, in fact, far more effective. Indeed, scattered throughout the film are moments when the film seems to work more as a comedy. The truly horrific moments occur more by accident than design.
I gave Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II, to quote the full title, a five out of ten. All five of those points are earned by the acting of Michael Ironside. If you are a fan of Ironside, see it for him. Otherwise, don't bother.