Aahana Swrup
The 2008 film ‘Prom Night,’ directed by Nelson McCormick, is a slasher thriller film revolving around a high school senior prom that takes a drastic turn when an uninvited killer shows up at the party. After Richard Fenton, a high school teacher, becomes obsessed with a young student, Donna Keppel, he kills her entire family but gets arrested before he can harm Donna. Three years later, on the night of Donna’s senior year prom, Fenton escapes captivity and comes looking for her. While Detective Winn tries to catch Fenton before he causes more damage, Fenton circles the prom, leaving a string of murders behind in his pursuit of Donna.
As a horror film, ‘Prom Night’ ignores the supernatural or overtly blood and gory approach. Instead, it strives to derive horror from terrifying everyday elements like stalking and attempted grooming by casting a psychopathic high school teacher as its antagonist. Due to the film’s relatable setting and grounded premise, viewers might wonder if the story has any truth behind it. If so, here is everything you need to know about the origin of ‘Prom Night.’
Prom Night: Fictional High School Horror
‘Prom Night’ is not based on a true story. Written by J.S. Cardone, the film is a reboot of the late 1980s to early 90s eponymously named slasher series. The series is now most famously remembered for its first installment starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Leslie Nielsen, having earned an almost cult-classic status among fans. The films revolved around several different terrifying events that occurred during prom at the same high school, Hamilton High.
The films range from classic slasher killings in the first film to vengeful spirits and priest possessions in the sequels. In that regard, the 2008 ‘Prom Night’ most closely resembles Paul Lynch’s film since both depict a killer loose among a group of high schoolers. Nevertheless, McCormick’s ‘Prom Night’ doesn’t share many other similarities with its namesake.
In an interview with MovieWeb, lead actress Brittany Snow discussed the same and said, “I think [the] misconception is that everyone thinks it’s a remake, and it’s not. So I hope people don’t get disappointed going into the theater thinking that they’re going to see the same sort of storyline as the original.”
“It’s just the same name,” Snow further added. “So in that regard, I think this is a totally different take on what the whole prom night story is, and its [2008 ‘Prom Night’] kind of veered off into the way of being more of a psychological cat and mouse game and diving into more of the anticipation factor.”
As such, this film, though similar to its predecessor, charts its own path and brings something new to the classic premise. Likewise, the film, though not based in real life, takes some inspiration from it. Although there hasn’t been a similar reported case of a high school pedophilic teacher going on a killing spree driven by his infatuation with a student, the film is still not outlandish, given its roots in reality.
For instance, in 2017, a high school teacher, Tad Cummins, was arrested in connection to the kidnapping of his teenage student, Elizabeth Thomas. The incident took place years after the film and had no relation to the latter. Still, it speaks to the possibility of the film’s storyline and its relevance to real-world issues.
Over the years, the utilization of stalking as a horror medium has been done a few times in several movies. From the 1997 teen slasher, ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer,’ to the 2018 horror ‘Unsane’ and the 2022 psychological thriller ‘Watcher,’ all these movies employ a creepy stalking scenario to incite uneasiness and terror in the viewers and characters alike.
Ultimately, ‘Prom Night,’ though not based on a real-life person or incident, uses a few familiar themes and plot devices to tell its story. Additionally, the high school prom setting and exploration of teenage years provide the characters and their storylines with a universal relatability. Due to the same, viewers might have a sense of recollection while watching the film.
Read More: Where Was Prom Night Filmed?
