Prom Night (1980)
Whilst out playing and causing general mayhem, four kids cause the death of a friend through bullying. Years later an axe wielding, black masked killer turns up on high school prom night to wreak revenge.
For the first hour of this 90 minute film the only notable thing is starring roles for up and coming actress Jamie Lee Curtis and character actor and soon to be comedy superstar Leslie Nielsen. The film is lifeless, very talky and in all honesty rather boring. Nothing memorable happens after the early window smashing death and the film seemingly just peters out in a tacky melee of horrible disco music.
Then come the last thirty minutes, the killer turns up at the school prom and the film cranks up a couple of gears and we finally have a movie worthy of it's slasher tag. There are two very memorable set pieces. The first, a harrowing stalk and chase through the campus which really gives the film an air of tension that had been sadly lacking before hand. The second, a gory finale that is brilliantly summed up by the phrase 'Heads will roll'. This final third just about gives the film credibility as a slasher film, but it's one that is way down the list when it comes to the best of the genre.
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