Prom Night is a very Eighties movie. My personal favorite Eighties slasher movie is probably The Burning, but when someone mentions “slashers” I can’t help but picture Prom Night in my head. Some movies just encapsulate the genre for the decade in which they appeared. Prom Night is such a film. I expected – with the current resurgence of Eighties horror in HD – that somebody would be releasing this film to Blu-ray. When I learned that Synapse were going to be the ones to do it, it quickly became one of my most anticipated releases of the year. The beginning of this movie – where some kids chase each other around in a dilapidated warehouse of some kind – used to make me very uncomfortable. In fact, it’s the first thing that I recall when discussing the film. There is plenty to love about Prom Night, though, ranging from terrific performances from certain members of the cast, to Jamie Lee Curtis teasing us with, what some would argue would be the best, erm… set of lungs, in the history of the genre. We get decapitations, impalement, and all sorts of various ways to dispatch of a character. And then, when all is revealed, we’re kind of on the killer’s side, more than anyone else. Prom Night might not be the best slasher film ever, but it has certainly earned its cult status.

From The Synapse Website:

Synopsis

“SCREAM QUEEN” JAMIE LEE CURTIS STARS IN THIS 1980s GENRE FILM CLASSIC, RESTORED IN 2K FOR ITS HIGH-DEFINITION BLU-RAY DEBUT!

“…one of my all-time favorite slashers…” – James Scott, Bloody-Disgusting.com

Jamie Lee Curtis (the “HALLOWEEN” film series) and Leslie Nielsen (“THE NAKED GUN” film and TV series,FORBIDDEN PLANET) star in this celebrated “slasher” horror classic.

Four Hamilton High seniors are hiding a terrible secret. What happened to Robin Hammond six years ago was a game that turned into a horrible tragedy, and someone saw what they did… someone waiting for gruesome revenge! Wearing a black hood and wielding an axe, a killer brutally slaughters the teenagers one by one at their high school prom.  As the spotlight falls on the newly crowned prom king and queen, the psychopath will show everyone his new favorite game to play…

Are you ready for a bloody night of “Disco Madness”? Synapse Films is proud to present PROM NIGHT in a beautiful new version, remastered and restored in 2K from the original 35mm camera negative with an all-new 5.1 surround mix.

If you’re familiar at all with the history of the slasher film, you know that Prom Night – and many films like it – owe their existence to the success of Halloween. The original idea for the film was based on a short story, which only really covers the very basic premise. Kids playing a particularly cruel game, accidentally kill someone, and then at the end of their senior year, they start dying one-by-one. I don’t say this for the purpose of taking anything away from Prom Night. I’m just saying that as good as it is in its own right, it owes a lot to Bob Clark and John Carpenter. Black Christmas predates Halloween, of course. But, it wasn’t until the surprise success of John Carpenter’s baby that the holiday-themed slasher, and in some respects, the slasher subgenre in general, started to boom. Some of these films found commercial success. Even more than that found cult status. And some of them remained in obscurity. Right now we’re being exposed(or re-exposed) to a lot of them, because nothing pleases a horror fan quite as much as a newly-restored slasher flick. Prom Night was a successful film, but it didn’t exactly light the world on fire. It wasn’t until the VHS release that most people even noticed it. The fact that we’re still talking about it today is a true testament to the legs the film found on home video.

The package that Synapse managed to put together for this Special Edition Blu-ray release of Prom Night is one of the most impressive restorations I’ve seen so far this year. For a long time, it was rumored that the original film elements were in such bad shape, that a restoration like this would be impossible. But Synapse said to hell with that, and set out on a mission to bring us the very best release of Prom Night possible. In every way, they succeeded. Based on the early speculation, I half-expected Prom Night to make its Blu-ray debut as a hot mess. As it turns out, it looks absolutely gorgeous, and sounds even better. With a 2K restoration from the original negative, the video is presented in full 1080p in 1.78:1. This is a film that was released in 1980, and that shows. However, this is the best that it has ever looked, and most likely, the best that it ever will. The audio options are a newly-mixed DTS-HD MA 5.1 track, created specifically for this release, as well as the original DTD-HD MA 2.0 mono track being available for the purists out there. I personally opted for the 5.1 track, but switched back and forth throughout the movie, just to get an idea as to which would be the superior experience. I prefer the 5.1 track, as it offers a richer sound, and an overall more impressive exhibition. If you wish to view the film with its original mono mix, though, it is available, and also sounds great.

Synapse Films’ Blu-ray edition of Prom Night comes with a healthy dose of bonus content. Even the DVD version comes with enough to whet your whistle, but there are several extras that are exclusive to the Blu-ray release. The overall score of bonus content consists of a commentary, a retrospective documentary, the additional scenes used for the TV version of the film, to fill the gaps created by editing out the entirety of the shower scenes, outtakes, a still gallery, radio spots, TV spots and more. This is one damn impressive release of a film I would consider to be a mandatory addition to any and all fans of the horror genre. Halloween is upon us, so if you can buy only one slasher Blu-ray this October, make it Synapse Films’ Special Edition Blu-ray release of Prom Night. I can assure you that you will not be disappointed. You can purchase a copy of your own by either clicking here for the Synapse website, or by clicking here for Amazon.

Prom Night (Blu-ray)

18.71

9

Movie

80/10

Video Quality

85/10

Audio Quality

90/10

Extras

85/10

Pros

Cons