Parents' Guide to

Prom Night (1980)

By Charles Cassady Jr., Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 18+

Schoolhouse horror -- go to the back of the class.

Movie R 1980 91 minutes
Prom Night (1980) Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 15+

Based on 5 parent reviews

movieraterandlover2020
movieraterandlover2020 Adult
July 12, 2020
age 17+

Gorey slasher film

A horrible film. Tons of violence-some with disturbing contents- which are very intense. plenty of strong language and some suggestive images/nude. Not for young ones. R: Disturbing intense violence, suggestive moments and strong language.
CookieKing733
CookieKing733 Adult
November 3, 2019
age 16+

GRATE MOVIE

I love this movie and my 16 year old daughter loves it to

This title has:

Too much swearing
See all 5 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Kids play tag in an abandoned building, chanting "The killers are coming!" and terrorize playmate Robin into falling out a broken window to her death. They swear each other to secrecy -- even the victim's sister Kim. Six years later, when they're high school seniors, Kim (Jamie Lee Curtis) is a surprise choice for Hamilton High School Prom Queen, which brings up a lot of bad feelings. At that point a mystery stalker begins phoning threats to all the teens. Confusing flashbacks and cop-talk also tells us a disfigured psycho falsely imprisoned for killing Robin is amok again. Kim's dad (Leslie Nielsen), the principle, has just hired a creepy new janitor. And a class punk, just expelled, plans revenge at the prom. Which one is the black-masked marauder murdering kids during the dance?

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (5):
Kids say (3):

PROM NIGHT was among tons of low-grade horror garbage released in slavish imitation of the original Halloween. This had the luck to somehow cast that one's leading lady Jamie Lee Curtis in a main role. And a lot of the others were heaps worse. Still, it's unoriginal, the characters (who look like 20-somethings rather than teens) are underwritten and unappealing, and the mystery element about who the killer is fizzles out. Only in some death chases is there suspense, and that's pretty bleak, entertainment-wise. Most scary of all -- the climax is practically wall-to-wall disco. Jamie Lee dances nicely, though.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about why it's bad to play in abandoned buildings, for openers. Young people like to watch movies in which young people get slaughtered. Why? What makes a "good" slasher-horror movie? You could talk about the crusade against these films led by critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert (who both gave Halloween big thumbs-up, by the way) saying that they were dehumanizing and hatefully anti-female. Do you think that's true? gave him a complete makeover as a comic.

Movie Details

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