Prom Night

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1:39

Prom Night

R

1980

1h 29m

Horror

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

45%

Tomatometer

22 Reviews

34%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

This slasher movie follows a relentless killer who is out to avenge the death of a young girl who died after being bullied and teased by four of her classmates. Now high-school students, the guilt-ridden kids have kept their involvement a secret, but when they start being murdered, one by one, it's clear that someone knows the truth. Also coping with the past are members of the dead girl's family, most notably her prom-queen sister, Kim Hammond.

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Critics Consensus

Horror aficionados might have a ball with Prom Night, but a lack of mystery and inability to capitalize on the dance hall setting makes for a generic night of mayhem.

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Variety Staff

Variety

Director Paul Lynch seems to capture the spirit of the genre here, but spends a little too much time setting up each murder, thus eliminating some suspense.

Apr 10, 2008

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Time Out

If you forget motivation, the visual trick-or-treat of slow revenge is entertaining enough.

Jun 24, 2006

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Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Why do people go to these movies?

Rated: 0.5/4

Oct 23, 2004

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John Brosnan

Starburst

Prom Night proves once again that it's not sufficient to simply rip-off a successful movie formula — you've got to add something to it, even if it's simply coming up with ingenious new ways of disposing of your victims.

Jul 26, 2022

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Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

While it endeavors to be genuinely scary, it rarely succeeds, only becoming a cult B-movie due to boundary-pushing violence, which has since been tremendously surpassed.

Rated: 4/10

Sep 7, 2020

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Larry Vitacco

Philadelphia Gay News

[Leslie Nielsen and Jamie Lee Curtis] perform well. In fact, Curtis (an alumna of Halloween and The Fog, and soon to be seen in Terror Train) is very good... it would be great to watch her perform in a riproaring comedy or a searing drama.

Rated: 2.5/4

May 27, 2020

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Yash B

I will often say that slashers are my guilty pleasure, but I can't deny that the original "Prom Night" is a pretty boring movie. I feel like the pacing was way off, and the story just didn't grab me once the initial hook passed. I didn't find it scary or intense, and I felt the most exciting part of the movie was actually some of the music and dance sequences. Overall, to me, this is a bad slasher movie, even for genre fans, and I don't see why you need to see it when there are so many better alternatives from the same era and beyond.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

10/05/25

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Eric W.

Even though derivative, it was actually scary for the time. Not gory, but using all of the right tropes to keep you on the edge of your seat.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

08/13/25

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thiago s

Filme mais ou menos, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas de terror são mais ou menos, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom, e o plot twist final ajudou a melhorar o filme.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

08/13/25

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Stephen C

Success in 1 hour and 29 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Starring Jamie Lee Curtis ("Halloween")!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/27/25

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Garry A

The killer kept getting beat up and took the longest to finally kill his victims. That made this a horror/comedy for me. Still, it was pretty entertaining.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

06/23/25

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M R

Prom Night might have paved the way for modern slasher films, but this is one of the worst horror films made. We can't knock the graphics, but the editing was awful. The one star and a half is for a great storyline.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

05/20/25

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Paul Lynch

Director

Leslie Nielsen

Mr. Hammond

Jamie Lee Curtis

Kim

Casey Stevens

Nick

Anne-Marie Martin

Wendy

Antoinette Bower

Mrs. Jammons

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Prom Night: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

This slasher movie follows a relentless killer who is out to avenge the death of a young girl who died after being bullied and teased by four of her classmates. Now high-school students, the guilt-ridden kids have kept their involvement a secret, but when they start being murdered, one by one, it's clear that someone knows the truth. Also coping with the past are members of the dead girl's family, most notably her prom-queen sister, Kim Hammond.

Director: Paul Lynch
Producer: Peter R. Simpson
Distributor: Astral Films
Production Co: Guardian Trust Company
Rating: R
Genre: Horror, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 18, 1980, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): May 31, 2017
Runtime: 1h 29m
Sound Mix: Surround
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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