“Places to go, people to kill.”
When I saw the first Prom Night film, I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I actually had some sympathy for the killer in that film and understood the motive for murdering so many teens. You can read my review of the film here and see for yourself how much I enjoyed it. Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II goes in an entirely different direction. The 1987 thriller shares nothing with the previous film except for the location, Hamilton High School, and the fact that they are both Canadian films.
The film begins in 1957 in a Catholic confessional where Mary Lou Maloney, a young lady of loose morals, is confessing all of her most recent grave sins to the local priest. Apparently all of her sinning for this particular confession was done in order to become prom queen. After telling the priest here sins and admitting that she loved every minute of it, we see her at the prom with her boyfriend, Billy Nordham, who gives her a ring. Then he catches her fooling around with Buddy Cooper. In a rage, Billy attempts to embarrass Mary Lou by blowing up a stink bomb during her crowning moment at the prom. Instead, he sets her dress on fire and she burns to death.
Jump ahead thirty years to 1987 and Billy is now the principal at Hamilton High School. His son, Craig, is a student there and good ol’ Buddy Cooper, the guy who Mary Lou cheated with at the beginning of the film, is a priest. Young Vicki Carpenter is also a student at the school (and Craig’s girlfriend) and she’s bummed because her mother refuses to buy her a dress for the prom. She decides to look through some of the old dresses from the school’s prop room and unwittingly releases the evil spirit of Mary Lou. Mary Lou quickly offs Vicki’s best friend and then possesses Vicki’s body. Mary Lou plans to get revenge on all of her old enemies and a few new ones that she makes along the way. Buddy, Billy, and Craig square off against Vicki as the body count rises. You’ll have to watch the film in order to find out what happens.
This film was okay. I honestly believe that it would be better remembered had it not been pigeonholed into the Prom Night franchise. It is just so different from the first film that there’s no substantial connection between them. This makes sense if you know that the film was originally a standalone project that the production company decided to make a part of the Prom Night films in order to cash in on the first film’s popularity. While I understand why the producers did this I believe that it actually hurt the film and the franchise as a whole.
Contemporary critics of the film immediately (and correctly) picked up on the multiple similarities between this film and flicks like A Nightmare On Elm Street and Carrie. The film is more a supernatural thriller and not so much a slasher film. It has a number of surreal moments including an incestuous kiss, a wicked rocking horse, and a chalkboard that absorbs poor Vicki. There also doesn’t seem to be a limit nor any truly defined weaknesses to Mary Lou’s supernatural powers. She seems to be able to kill at will using anything she can get her hands on or by using supernatural powers. There’s also no defined way to defeat her which, in my opinion, makes the film more interesting than it should be when compared to other genre films.
Along with the many callbacks to other films in the teen slasher vein, this film features all of the expected tropes that come with these types of movies, so be warned if you have any younger viewers in the room. There’s a high school adversary, a friend who wrongs the protagonist, a dorky kid who makes a bad decision and suffers for it, a white knight love interest, plenty of gore, sexual situations, and nudity. Yep, there’s some very gratuitous nudity in one scene involving possessed Vicki fighting with, making out with, and then stalking her friend, Monica. I have to give kudos to young Wendy Lyon and Beverley Hendry for that scene. While Hendry only gives folks a brief glimpse of her goodies, Ms. Lyon leaves absolutely nothing to the imagination. You see every single inch of her from front to back and all I have to say is that she’s much braver than I am. Oddly enough, the language in the film isn’t as strong as it is in similar films. Keep all of this in mind if you are concerned about your kids seeing or hearing these types of things.
The film’s cast is pretty solid. Wendy Lyon carries the film as sweet Vicki/possessed Vicki. You actually feel pretty bad for her once Mary Lou takes over her body. Lyon has continued to work regularly in film and television, primarily in supporting roles. The always reliable Michael Ironside portrays Billy Nordham as an adult and he delivers a great performance as usual. Justin Louis, who now goes by Louis Ferreira, portrayed Craig, Billy’s son, has had a long and varied career. He’s probably best known for his work as Colonel Everett Young in Stargate Universe but his career also includes roles in the Saw franchise and numerous television series. Lisa Schrage portrayed Mary Lou Maloney. She was very unlikable in the film so she did a great job as far as I’m concerned. Terri Hawkes played Kelly, a young lady who proves that she’ll do anything to win the prom crown in 1987. Hawkes has had a very successful career that includes voice work on Sailor Moon and The Care Bears projects. She has also appeared in supporting roles on television and film. The film was directed by Bruce Pittman and written by Ron Oliver.
The film’s makeup effects were done quite well. Headed up by Jim Doyle, who worked on A Nightmare on Elm Street, it’s no surprise that many of the effects were reminiscent of that film. I especially enjoyed the “resurrection” of Mary Lou at the prom.
Ultimately the film is just okay. It adds nothing new to the genre but it is still pretty enjoyable to watch. Give it a look if you haven’t seen it yet. Thanks for checking out my post. See you again soon!
Ken's Alternate Universe! 