‘Mary Lou wants to be a prom queen, even if it kills her. Again.’
Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II is a 1987 Canadian supernatural horror film about a high school student who is possessed by a student who died thirty years before. It was filmed as The Haunting of Hamilton High but retitled to cash-in belatedly on the otherwise unconnected slasher Prom Night (1980).
Directed by Bruce Pittman (Alien Tracker; Friday the 13th: The Series) from a screenplay by Ron Oliver (Prom Night III: The Last Kiss), the Simcom Limited production stars Lisa Schrage, Michael Ironside, Wendy Lyon and Louis Ferreira.
The producers were unhappy with the initial footage and so extensive reshoots were undertaken with direction undertaken by co-producer Peter Simpson, Ron Oliver and Nick Rotundo.
Reviews:
“Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night 2 is yet another horror film that feels the need to toss around genre references. Vicki’s mother is an obvious rip-off of Piper Laurie’s character in Carrie, though without the menace, and others named Carpenter, Romero, and Craven will pop up from time to time. To top it off, several of the dream/fantasy sequences are far too dark for such a bouncy film…” 2,500 Movies Challenge
“Thoroughly ordinary in its competently marshalled horrors, this is given an edge by an interestingly conceived monster who combines the supernatural powers of Freddy Krueger with the temperament of a teenage bitch.” Phil Hardy (editor), The Aurum Film Encyclopedia: Horror
“I wasn’t expecting much from this movie, yet it more than entertained me. It surprised me with its sheer lewdness and language in the confession scene. There haven’t been many horror movies with a villain that doesn’t punish those that have sex but wants more of it.” B&S About Movies
“Ron Oliver’s script is predictable, as is Bruce Pittman’s direction.” John Stanley, Creature Features, Berkley Boulevard, 2000
“It slickly jumps from one not-entirely-serious shock effect to the next and is shot over with a dash of cynical humour – and in doing so proves a far more enjoyable film than anything it is sold as might suggest. The entirety of the film comes tongue-in-cheek…” Moria
“Mary Lou is too disjointed to muster any real tension; the partially imaginative Nightmare on Elm Street-type fright setups are okay. But the characters are too flatly drawn, and any attempts at momentum fall flat.” The Terror Trap
“Overall, the film goes through the motions of any possession opus, tossing in a handful of demises, crucially failing to ‘properly’ do away with the stock bitchy girl, who is summarily killed by a rod that falls from the ceiling at the dance, but at least it has some decent FX work and an interesting villain.” Vegan Voorhees
Trailer:
YouTube reviews:
Prom Night movies timeline:
Cast and characters:
Michael Ironside … Bill Nordham
Wendy Lyon … Vicki Carpenter
Louis Ferreira … Craig Nordham
Lisa Schrage … Mary Lou Maloney
Richard Monette … Father Cooper
Terri Hawkes … Kelly Hennenlotter
Brock Simpson … Josh
Beverley Hendry … Monica Waters
Beth Gondek … Jess Browning
Wendell Smith … Walt Carpenter
Judy Mahbey … Virginia Carpenter
Steve Atkinson … Young Billy Nordham
Robert Lewis … Young Buddy Cooper
Lorretta Bailey … Mary Lou (Creature)
Howard Kruschke … Todd
Filming locations:
Edmonton, Alberta, on a budget of approximately CA$2.5 million from 6th August 1986 to 22nd September 1986. Reshoots took place in December 1986.
Technical details:
1 hour 37 minutes
Audio: Mono
Aspect ratio: 1.85: 1
Release:
Released theatrically in the United States by The Samuel Goldwyn Company in October 1987.
