Wicked and seductive femme fatale 50's prom queen Mary Lou Maloney (deliciously played to the perfectly vampy hilt by the gorgeous Courtney Taylor) escapes from hell and returns to the normal world to wreak all kinds of nasty havoc. Mary Lou falls for amiable, but average and underachieving nice guy Alex (a solid and likable performance by Tim Conlon). Pretty soon Mary Lou is bumping off anyone who gets in Alex's way. It's up to Alex's sweet girlfriend Sarah Monroe (a winning portrayal by the fetching Cyndy Preston) to save Alex from Mary Lou's evil clutches. Directors Peter Simpson and Ron Oliver (the latter also wrote the witty script) deliver a delightfully outrageous horror comedy riot that unfolds at a constant snappy pace, maintains an engagingly breezy and campy tongue-in-cheek tone throughout, and offers a handy helping of suitably over-the-top graphic gore (grisly highlights include electrocution by jukebox, two fingers being accidentally cut off with a pair of scissors, an annoying guidance counselor getting drenched with battery acid, an especially inspired impalement on a metal spiked football, and a heart being yanked out). The humor might be pretty crude and lowbrow, but it's still awful funny just the same. For example, Alex and Mary Lou make love on top of the American flag. Moreover, there's a hilarious parody of vintage 50's histrionic classroom VD scare films and the PA announcements are absolutely sidesplitting. Plus the wacky dialogue is simply priceless (all-time favorite line: "I don't get mad; I bake"). Conlon and Preston display a spot-on charming chemistry in the lead roles while Taylor has a field day as the sexy, yet sinister Mary Lou. Nice supporting contributions by Dylan Neal as cocky jock Andrew Douglas, David Stratton as Alex's easygoing smartaleck friend Shane Taylor, Jeremy Ratchford as the hopelessly geeky Leonard Walsh, Roger Dunn as bumbling principal Mr. Weatherall, and George Chuvalo as jerky biology teacher Mr. Walker. Rhett Morita's lively cinematography makes nifty use of crazy tilted angles and boasts plenty of hyperactive camera-work. Paul Zaza's shuddery score likewise hits the shivery spot. A real hoot.
Review of Prom Night III: The Last Kiss
