Four teens go to a cabin-in-the-woods to party (no, really)
Released in early 1992, “Prom Night IV: Deliver Us from Evil” is a slasher about a psycho priest who manifests stigmata and has a penchant for slaying fornicating teens. He escapes diocese custody in 1991 and returns to St. Basil Seminar, which has been converted into a vacation home. The only problem is that two teen couples have decided to have an alternative-to-the-prom celebration there.
The only two installments from the Prom Night series that are directly related are parts II and III, both of which involve the malevolent spirit of Mary Lou Maloney. Part I features a masked assailant and this one a crazy priest, who’s reminiscent of Marvel’s Foolkiller, which debuted some 18-19 years earlier. In any case, all four films (not including 2008’s “Prom Night”) are connected in that they begin with the 1957 prom at Hamilton High School, near Cleveland, Ohio (this location is clearly established in the original film, for anyone who cares).
The first half hour of “Prom Night IV” focuses on the local diocese and their problems with the cracked priest whom they secretly hold captive in the creepy cellar of a chapel or whatever. I thought this section of the movie was kind of boring but, at the same time, it was a nice change of pace. I liked how this installment returned to the more realistic tone of part I. The story perks up with the two girls, Meagan and Laura, played by brunette cutie Nicole de Boer and blonde tart Joy Tanner, as they prepare to sneak off to the remote summer house of one of their beau’s parents.
As you can see, the plot revolves around the conventional horror staple of the cabin-in-the-woods. The good news, however, is that this “cabin” used to be a monastery and so it’s a more interesting setting for the ensuing thrills than a rinky-dink cabin.
There are a couple of plot issues though. For instance, the priest doesn’t age a bit in 33 years. Even if he’s possessed by some supernatural force, this wouldn’t stop the normal aging process of the man’s body. I’m assuming that the producers simply didn’t have the funds for the make-up necessary to convincingly make him look like he was in his late-50s. So they said, “Who cares? It’s a friggin’ slasher flick.” Secondly, there’s a crank call that’s stereotypical in this genre and Meagan nonchalantly answers the phone even though the teens aren’t supposed to be at the house in the first place; and her boyfriend, whose parents own it, doesn’t object at all when he later finds out (maybe because he was focused on the matter at hand, lol).
The film runs 1 hour, 32 minutes and was shot in the Toronto area.
GRADE: B-/C+