Once the cast had been whittled down and the dumb people I didn't really like were either dead or out of frame, I actually found myself enjoying this movie a little, which is more than I ever thought possible. I'd say after 45 minutes it becomes a serviceable suspense movie. No, not a horror movie, and no, I'm not usually semantic about arguing whether a movie is "horror" or not, but with hardly any blood and barely any attempt at gore I just don't think
this movie feels enough like a horror movie for me to call it one. I'm not one of those people who say that horror movies can't ever be rated PG-13 either, because the movie "The Ring" was creepy enough... but a slasher movie feels hollow without brutality, blood, and gratuitous amounts of nudity. If other people want to call this movie a horror movie that's fine, after all, the movie IS a remake of a beloved 1980 slasher of the same name (or rather a "re-imagining" of the original, which is the prissy new term filmmakers are using these days when they want to cash in on the name recognition of an established movie while changing every detail of the film... not that I'm too enamored of the original "Prom Night" or anything, but raping an established film in order to attract viewers and then getting prissy and semantic when people call your movie a remake doesn't sit well with me; why not just call your movie "Prom Nightmare" or something and make it all original if you wanted people to view it separately from the original?)

But hey, I'm supposed to be talking about what's good here. So let's see. I'm not very familiar with Brittany Snow, but she gives a good performance here as Donna, the poor girl stalked by a maniac who wants to kill everyone she loves so he can have her all to himself. Snow delivers even hokey and cliché dialogue with a vulnerability that made me like her in spite of myself. The killer here is sufficiently brutal and there are plenty of cringe inducing moments where he's caressing Donna's hair or kissing her cheek that gave me goosebumps. There's no mystery as to his identity but he does a good job filling the role of creepy omniscient psycho who can be everywhere at once and can flit about undetected by the cops. Donna's best friend Lisa was likable and Lisa's boyfriend actually did a good job being concerned and upset when he learned of the brutal killings... indeed, he seemed to be the only one of the assembled prom goers who gave a shit about what was happening at all. Some of the stalk scenes were suspenseful enough and the jump scares made my heart skip a beat. Those are cheap shots really, because it's not difficult to make people jump by following quiet with a loud noise, but these scenes usually had the desired effect of ratcheting up what tension there was, so I can't complain.

Where do I begin? I seriously can't think of a place to start. Ok, first of all... I know that this is a movie, and that if every character were intelligent the movie would be two minutes long because smart characters wouldn't get caught in situations where they could be hacked and slashed by a maniac when there are ample warnings that something is wrong and ample opportunities to escape. I realize that in order for the movie to function, the characters
must therefore be stupid, but is it too much to ask that the characters act like human beings? Yes, be dumb if you must, but what cop in his right mind would hear that a killer who is obsessed with a student has escaped and then allow that student to continue the night at her senior prom without at least trying to find her and get her into protective custody (let alone shutting down the prom where everyone is now in grave danger of being killed by a maniac)?
Furthermore, what guardians of said girl would allow this to happen because they don't want to upset her on the night of her prom. What, is being dead better than being upset? Who in their right mind would hear that there's a fire in a hotel and decide to take the elevator up to the third floor to retrieve her shawl before leaving? Who in their right mind, after deciding to run down the stairs to warn people about the killer, would do so in six inch heels, fall halfway down the stairs because of this, and then RESUME RUNNING THE REST OF THE WAY WITH THE HEELS STILL ON?!?!

REAL PEOPLE WOULD NEVER EVER ACT THIS WAY. Please don't call us stupid by assuming we'll sit back and believe that they would. The dumb characters moves aside... wait, I can't put them aside, because this movie is nothing more than a string of dumb character moves. I only listed the ones that are too stupid for words, there are plenty more that are just plain stupid, and these stupid moves comprise the entire plot of the film. Take them away and you have nothing but a plotless showcase for some pretty people to dance, goof off, and get killed in a prom that is far too lavish to be within shouting distance of believable. There are a few attempts at character development but nothing substantial enough to make us really care about anyone but Donna, and even she does such stupid things that it is beyond implausible that she could have gotten a full ride scholarship to Brown University. In fact, it's difficult to believe anyone in this movie (including all the adults) could have graduated preschool, let alone high school. Trust me here, the moderately fun stalk-and-slash was enough to keep me from being furious that I'd wasted good money on a ticket, but this movie is not something I can in good conscience recommend to anyone else. Maybe this would be a good movie to take your kids to see and I might use it for that purpose, but adults are  cautioned to stay as far away as possible for fear of having your brain melt and leak out your ear throughout the proceedings.

Yes I had fun, but I won't pretend that it wasn't dumb. It ends up being better than the original, but then a test pattern is better than the original, so that's really not saying much. View at your own risk. You have been warned.

• Editor's Note: In spite of the eggs she lays, the editor wants to state that he'd still willingly marry Brittany Snow and make her kick bad habits in the process.