Terror Tuesday: Hello Mary Lou- Prom Night II (1987)
Based on my observation from when I was in high school, there were a select group of girls who only had two specific goals besides being popular. They wanted to have an athletic All Star boyfriend and win the title of prom queen.
And even today, thanks to social media and prior reunions, they can't let go.
In 1957, Mary Lou Maloney (Lisa Schrage) wanted the same, but as the town whore, she had a "sweet" relationship with Bill Nordham (Steve Atkinson) and after a dance at the prom, he went to get her a glass of punch and she went backstage with bad boy Buddy Cooper (Robert Lewis).
After catching the two, Mary Lou belittles Bill and throws the glass of punch onto his white tuxedo jacket and laughs as she and Buddy go back to join the others in the gym, while Bill goes into the bathroom to clean up.
As he dabs at his jacket, two boys are nearly caught by the principal as they throw a smoke bomb into the trash. Bill retrieves it and heads up into the rafters above the stage and after Mary Lou is crowned, he tosses the lit smoke bomb onto the stage.
However, tragedy strikes as the hem of Mary Lou's dress catches on fire and she burns to death onstage.
Thirty years later, it's prom again and Vicki Carpenter (Wendy Lyon) is having breakfast with her parents (Wendell Smith and Judy Mahbey). She asks if she can have money for a formal since she's been nominated for prom queen. Her mother flat out refuses and she brings up her dislike of her boyfriend Craig (Justin Louis) so, like any teenager, she runs out of the house and heads to school on the back of Craig's motorcycle.
At school, her friend Jess (Beth Gondek) tells her that she's going to make her own dress using some costumes from the theater department. Vicki likes the idea and the two agree to meet after Jess comes back from a midday doctor's appointment.
Vicki ends up going into the prop department and looks around, coming across a hidden trunk. After prying it open, she finds the crown belonging to Mary Lou and subsequently, a picture of the Class of '57 falls in now principal Bill's (Michael Ironside) office.
Later that night, Jess is staying late at school and starts to work on her dress, but is visited by the spirit of Mary Lou and is killed.
Vicki is slowly possessed by Mary Lou and takes on her personality, which concerns everyone around her, especially her friend Monica (Beverly Hendry) who manages to get a copy of the 1957 yearbook.
As Mary Lou continues to gain a stronghold on Vicki, she goes to confession and kills Buddy (Richard Monette) who's now a priest and has been performing rituals to get rid of Mary Lou.
On prom night, Bill knocks Craig out so that he doesn't go to prom, since he has unfinished business with Mary Lou, but after Vicki is named Queen, Mary Lou comes out of Vicki's body wreaking havoc, ala Carrie White.
While this really isn't a true sequel to 1980's Prom Night (the only connection is the school name and actor Brock Simpson who played various roles in all four movies) it is an enjoyable movie, but it does drag quite a bit and Vicki is an unbelievably boring character.
She comes from a very religious family (her mother especially) and it made me wonder if this would be the White family, if Ralph hadn't left Margaret and Carrie. Mr. Carpenter is more open minded than his wife and he mentions his and his wife's prom, so I wonder if they were at the 1957 prom.
And while Vicki may be boring, I would have loved it if Jess had been developed more. She garners a lot of sympathy but is killed off too soon.
I'd also like to know what the prom budget was since those neon decorations probably cost a pretty penny.
While the movie relies heavily on prior slashers, the copying can be ignored when it comes to the cinematography. It's shot beautifully and really gives off that mid '80's vibe.
And while I haven't watched the following two sequels in awhile, this film and the following two make up the true Prom Night franchise, so you would want to watch these and skip Jamie Lee Curtis' version.
As a bonus, you won't have to hear "Prom Night" every five minutes and now it's stuck in my head.