Review of Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II

Well, if anything, "Hello Mary Lou" at least succeeded in getting Ricky Nelson's classic song stuck in my head since two days now! You can't help but think about the song when you notice the title, and it's also marvelously used in the film, when the normally shy & timid female lead just went through a diabolical metamorphosis and parades down the school's corridors whilst enjoying the lustful stares of all the boys. This certainly isn't a bad 80's popcorn-flick, especially because it doesn't take itself too seriously and features quite lot of comical situations & witty dialogs. There's absolutely no connection with the original "Prom Night" and, in fact, part two isn't even a genuine slasher picture! It's more like a demonic possession/haunted (school) house film that found its inspiration in classic titles like "The Exorcist", "Carrie" and even "Nightmare on Elm Street". The story opens with a scene set at the notorious Hamilton High prom night in 1957. The luscious and flamboyant beauty Mary Lou cheats on her boyfriend Billy whilst he's gone fetching drinks and he responds to this rejection by setting her on fire when she's crowned as prom queen. 30 years later, young Billy grew up to become Michael Ironside ("Scanners", "Visiting Hours") and he's now the principal of Hamilton High. I guess there never was a murder investigation, then. His son's sweet girlfriend Vicky accidentally frees Mary Lou's furious spirit and she reincarnates to take revenge. Mary Lou goes after the ones that killed her as well as the new teenagers that come too close to her. This film features all the known clichés (shower sequences, high school rivalry…) and stereotypes (uptight parents, the class comedian…), but it's campy good fun and the murder sequences are delightfully gruesome. One poor girl is crushed between two lockers and another poor bloke's face gets electrocuted by a computer! Lisa Schrage and Wendy Lyon are both wickedly sexy as the evil wench Mary Lou, but Michael Ironside is badly miscast in his role. He's a really talented actor and a super-cool guy but, actually, he's TOO cool to be a school principal and hence not very convincing. Some scenes are really bizarre, like possessed Vicky on her rocking horse or the blackboard that turns into a smutty pool, but whenever the script doesn't try to be overly ambitious, "Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II" is harmless 80'entertainment.