Is it the original cheap Canadian horror movie? I don't know. But it should evoke memories of a simpler, clumsier time in Canadian cinema, when artists such as Leslie Nielsen and George Touliatos were moodily listening to sullen voiceovers as a cheap drama unfolded around them.

“Prom Night” (1980) also has the young Jamie Lee Curtis, here rather two-dimensional, as the role seems to dictate. It's literally a very dark film: every scene is in almost total darkness, relieved by glimpses of torn blouses and people's knife-wielding arms and, of course, disco lights. There's even a sequence of some sort of vehicle spinning around in the darkness somewhere. Then it plunges over a thing, turning into a fireball, and you can see: aha, it's a van. Two more victims for the mysterious killer, who might be the disfigured maniac known to be on the loose, but more probably somebody's best friend.

It's really not bad.

Labels: Maniacs, Motion Pictures