Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II

Wendy Lyon plays blonde-haired high-school goody-two-shoes Vicki Carpenter (just one of several characters in this film blessed with the surname of a horror director) who gradually becomes possessed by the vengeful spirit of promiscuous tart Mary Lou Maloney (Lisa Schrage), who was burnt to death during her high school prom in 1957 as a result of two men fighting for her affections.

Before getting down to the messy business of exacting revenge on those responsible for her untimely demise, Mary Lou dispatches a couple of Vicki's closest friends (after all, practise make perfect), causing her next targets—local priest Father Cooper (Richard Monette) and high-school principal Bill Nordham (Michael Ironside)—to suspect that they might be next to die. At the high school prom, Nordham attempts to stop the now fully possessed Vicki from causing further mayhem, but only succeeds in making the spirit within even more angry, ensuring everyone present has a totally unforgettable night.

A non-related sequel to Prom Night, the 1980 Jamie Lee Curtis slasher, Hello, Mary Lou is an entertaining tale of revenge from beyond the grave featuring a grab-bag of supernatural elements borrowed from genre classics such as The Exorcist, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and Carrie.

The result is a derivative slice of 80s teen horror that is rather light on the gore (why, oh why, didn't they chop fashion disaster Jess's head off like they threatened to do?), but which is still lots of fun thanks to some great performances from a decent cast (including the always superb Michael Ironside) and a couple of surprisingly risqué scenes: Lyon strips off and gives us full-frontal as she hops in the shower with (big) bosom(ed) pal Monica (Beverly Hendry); nasty prom queen hopeful Kelly (Terri Hawkes) gives a blow-job to a lucky computer geek to convince him to rig the evening's voting; and the possessed Vicki not only comes on to her principal and a priest, but also her own father!!!

Throw in some Elm Street-style nightmare scenes, the most memorable of which has a rocking horse come to life, and a daft 'shock' ending, and what you have is an eminently watchable time-waster.

A hedonistic prom queen is accidentally killed on stage in 1957. When her spirit is inadvertently released thirty years later, she wreaks havoc on prom night seeking to be queen again, not to mention obtaining revenge. Michael Ironside plays the principal of the school, the man responsible for the girl's death decades earlier.

Sometimes subtitled "Hello Mary Lou," "Prom Night II" (1987) is disconnected from the original 1980 film with Jamie Lee Curtis, although there are some trivial links. This one discards the disco dancing while upping the ante with the "Carrie" (1976) elements and mixing in components from the first two "A Nightmare on Elm Street" flicks (1984/1985), like the illusions and possession.

The original was more of a coming-of-age drama/whodunit with a masked assailant appearing in the last act whereas this sequel is actually a little better in that it adds creative horror pizazz, which some might say makes it "cheesy." In any case, Wendy Lyon stands out as the winsome protagonist who's shown totally nude on a few occasions in the second half which ties-in with the possession angle.

If you favor any of those other horror films noted above, "Prom Night II" is arguably on par, although I suppose "Carrie" is superior on a technical level.

The movie runs 1 hour, 37 minutes and was shot in Edmonton, Alberta, with other stuff (post-production) done in Toronto.

GRADE: B

Your attitude going into Prom Night II will determine how much joy you take away from the film. If you're expecting a horror masterpiece, look elsewhere. If you like campy movies that are rather fun to watch unfold, you'll like this. Lisa Schrage has the time of her life playing an over the top Mary Lou and Wendy Loyd channels Schrage's rage perfectly during her time "possessed".

Not classic cinema but a fun way to kill a couple of hours with a wicked ending.

Clever, inventive, and funny totally non-related sequel to Prom Night takes various elements from just about every horror film and blends them together with successful results. The story deals with a murdered prom queen possessing a young girl thirty years later to avenge her death. Lisa Schrage is funny, scary, and sexy as Mary Lou. Pretty good effects for the most part too. Rated R; Nudity, Sexual Situations, Graphic Violence, and Profanity.

This one is simply too much devilish fun! An unrelated, stand-alone sequel much more in the supernatural slasher vein of the at the time very popular "A Nightmare On Elm Street" movies. There's some black humor & genre references present (the film winks at "The Exorcist" and "Carrie"), but it does deliver in the creepy horror department also. Lisa Schrage is delicious as the evil Mary Lou Maloney and Michael Ironside is running around in it also as the principal of Hamilton High (always a nice bonus in any movie, this man). Wendy Lyon (as the possessed Vicky Carpenter) provides some very unexpected full frontal nudity, resulting in a scene featuring the best kill of the movie. This is a fine example of how much crazy fun an '80s slasher movie can get.