Prom Night IV: Deliver Us From Evil (1992)

What? How did they screw this one up?

Oh, they tried to put the series back on "track" by reverting to its horror origins and dispensing with the supernatural factor. Meh. That restores it to dull and lifeless at best. Two seniors are murdered while having sex on their prom night by a corrupt religious zealot. And then...I lose track; all of these movies are beginning to mesh together. Suffice to say, it's not interesting enough for me to recall or, even worse, worth your time to read.

0 brain cells left after watching these movies out of 5
(Not a very good average to begin with)

Prom Night III: The Last Kiss (1990)

Mary Lou is back (as portrayed by a different actress) and this time high school student Alex is in her sights as the malicious spirit chooses him as her mate, killing everyone that impedes his social progress. At times so over the top, it almost dissolves into self-parody. It's an entertaining watch in its own right, just make sure you don't get the DVD version which contains the edited broadcast cut. Stick to the uncut VHS rip, with all the sex, gore and profanity intact (all of the things that make a good horror movie great).

2.5 screamin' jukeboxes out of 5

Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II (1987)

Move over, Angela (of Night of the Demons) and say hello to Mary Lou. A promiscuous little tart gets murdered by her jealous boyfriend in 1957, and some 30 years later, comes back to possess quintessential nice girl Vicki and turn her into the bad girl. Here's another one of those sequels that breaks the mold and frees itself of formulaic ties in order to reinvent the series. This is such a superior flick to the original, I don't know why they didn't just retitle it and start its own franchise.

3 tiered tiaras out of 5

Prom Night (1980)

Scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis follows up her successful Halloween and The Fog run with... this piece of shit. I'm sure it was pitched by the studio execs as Halloween meets Carrie, although it fails miserably on both counts. A group of kids accidentally (?) murder one of their own and years later, a mysterious killer comes back to off the remaining kids. Featuring Leslie Nielsen during his serious years, this is easily one of the worst horror movies ever made (how this warranted an even worse remake is beyond me). So why did I watch it, you ask? Well...

1 corny corsage out of 5