“Do you still like to play games?”
Wendy, Jude, Kelly, and Nick scare young Robin while playing in an abandoned building. She accidentally falls out of a window to her death. The four kids swear to never tell a soul about what happened….but someone saw Robin’s fall and knows the truth. Six years after her death, someone leaves yearbook photos stabbed with shards of glass of each member of the group and makes cryptic calls to each of them, promising to “see them at the prom.” Then the body count rises. If you’ve seen 1980’s Prom Night, you know who that someone is: Alex Hammond.
You might be wondering why I’m including Alex Hammond, a one film killer, as a member of the slashers in this year’s Thirty-One Days O’Horror. I actually have a few reasons. For starters, Alex is probably the most sympathy-worthy killer on this list. He witnessed the death of his twin sister and had to deal with that as a ten year old kid. Secondly, he only killed those involved in the death of his sister with the exceptions of Slick, who was collateral damage, and Lou, who, let’s be honest, nobody really missed. Also, Alex wasn’t a professional killer nor was he supernatural in any way. The poor guy just wanted revenge. Seeing him stumble around, get smacked by his victims, and almost die in a van crash reminded me of multiple Ghostface killers from the Scream franchise. To top it all off, Alex never appeared in any of the three sequels or the reboot of the Prom Night franchise, but without him, none of them would have existed.
Alex wore a simple black face mask, black sweater, and black pants. He looked like your standard cat burglar with the exception of his affinity for mirror shards and axes. He dispatched his victims with difficulty, but managed to get the job done. When he met his untimely death, you sort of felt for the guy as well.
Alex was portrayed by Michael Tough. Three sequels followed the original film with none of them featuring Alex or a similar character. Instead, Mary Lou Maloney, a vengeful prom queen who wants her crown, took over as the primary antagonist in Prom Night II: Hello Mary Lou (1987) and Prom Night III: The Last Kiss (1989). Prom Night IV: Deliver Us From Evil (1991) introduces the demon-possessed priest named Father Jonas. The final sequel is actually a reboot of the original film. In 2008’s Prom Night, however, the killer is an obsessed former teacher, Richard Fenton.
The name “Alex Hammond” may not strike fear into the hearts of filmgoers like Jason Voorhees, Freddy Krueger, or Michael Myers, but he was definitely one of the best early slashers.
Thanks for checking out my post. More mayhem will come tomorrow!
Ken's Alternate Universe! 