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.
