What do you call a slasher movie with no slashing? Prom Night... the remake that is. No disco, no Jamie Lee, and no heads rolling down the dance floor.

The remake of the classic horror film from 1980, Prom Night is another film that only shares the title in common with the original.

So, tell me if you have heard this one before... Donna's (Brittany Snow) teacher (Johnathon Schaech) is obsessed with her. He kills her entire family while she watches, goes to jail and the escapes to take back his love on prom night. Now, Donna and her friends must find a way to escape the sadistic rampage of an obsessed killer, and survive their Prom Night.

The movie is too lazy to dole out even one half-decent subplot, it has no idea how to make its killer come off as scary, it telegraphs every one of its meager thrills, and it's packed with characters so generic they'd be better off wearing white sweaters emblazoned with "JOCK," "BITCH," "VIRGIN" on the front.

In any case, if a movie can't deliver rolling heads down the dance floor, how about a little suspense, at least? Director Nelson McCormick has no idea how to use editing and composition to create tension, which is especially disappointing since the "Prom Night" trailer did a pretty effective job of that. In fact, why didn't they just hire the guy who did the trailer to make the movie, too?

'PROM NIGHT' (2008) A Film by NELSON McCORMICK
Starring BRITTANY SNOW - SCOTT PORTER - JESSICA STROUP - DANA DAVIS - COLLINS PENNIE & KELLY BLATZ
Written by J. S. Cardone. Directed by Nelson McCormick.

[DISCUSS ON OUR FORUMS] [Review By John Gray]