If there was ever a vote for THE prototypical 80s horror film, I'd be hard pressed to vote for anything other than this. The look, style, pace and vibe of Bruce Pittman's delirious non-sequel to the routine slasher PROM NIGHT are the very epitome of the period. For this reason, those touched by nostalgia will find it hard not to like but HELLO MARY LOU: PROM NIGHT II has a little more in it's locker (literally as it happens!) to enjoy than just an appreciation of it's era.
Right from the opening scene, there is a wonderfully odd vibe throughout that propels the movie along nicely and although it openly borrows from CARRIE, ELM STREET and THE EXORCIST, it makes no apologies for this and goes about the task with real zest and energy. Much credit belongs to veteran Canadian composer Paul Zaza, whose queasy score here adds immeasurably to the off kilter mood that works so much in this movie's favour.
The cast have fun and are game for the ride with the ever-reliable Michael Ironside thrown into the mix. As for Lisa Schrage.........given her limited screen time (her character spends most of the movie in the guise of a possessed Wendy Lyon), I thought she was mesmerizing as Mary Lou, giving us a truly memorable and delightfully twisted character whose beauty can't be ignored and whose evil can't be escaped!
Mary Lou is a vengeful 50s Prom Queen back from the grave with a score to settle. Most of all, she wants back the crown she was cruelly denied and will stop at nothing to get it.
As the possessed Vicky, she kills and toys with victims - sometimes on a warped sexual level........at one point coming onto her Dad(!), her headmaster (in his office!) and even her best friend in a shower.........the latter in a sequence culminating in a protracted and utterly unexpected full-frontal nude scene, stalking her prey around the changing room with a payoff kill that's not easily forgotten.
Well staged and imaginative dream sequences and hallucinations abound such as the liquid blackboard and a possessed rocking horse that comes off very creepy and not nearly as silly as it could have been. With little to boast of in budget, the SPFX here are all the more ballsy and impressive.
Sharp, quirky and with a wicked sense of humour, there's not a dull moment here!
