Prom Night III: The Last Kiss

"A Romantic Comedy from Hell"

1990 1h 36m EN

😐

5.1

MID

⭐

4.6

IMDB

★5.1TMDB · 96★4.6IMDB · 2,671

ComedyHorrorThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Mary Lou, the prom queen burned to death by her boyfriend back in the fifties, has escaped from hell and is once again walking the hallways of Hamilton High School, looking for blood.

“A Romantic Comedy from Hell”

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Cast

Tim Conlon
Alex
Cynthia Preston
Sarah
David Stratton
Shane
Jeremy Ratchford
Leonard
Dylan Neal
Andrew
Courtney Taylor
Mary Lou Maloney
Roger Dunn
Mr. Weatherall
Tom Nursall
Coach

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Ron Oliver
Writers: Ron Oliver
Languages: English
Countries: Canada

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

36 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Prom Night Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Ron Oliver, shot by Rhett Morita. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Paul Zaza. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Nick Rotundo shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Tim Conlon and Cynthia Preston and David Stratton carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "A Romantic Comedy from Hell".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0098136 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Ron Oliver directs. Rhett Morita behind the camera. Paul Zaza scores. Nick Rotundo cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Canada. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

136 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Part of the "Prom Night Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
3Directed by Ron Oliver, shot by Rhett Morita. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Paul Zaza. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Nick Rotundo shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Tim Conlon and Cynthia Preston and David Stratton carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "A Romantic Comedy from Hell".
8IMDB entry: tt0098136 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 96 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Rhett Morita
Original score: Paul Zaza
Editing: Nick Rotundo
Production design: Reuben Freed
Makeup / hair: Nancy Howe
Stunt coordinator: Larry A. McLean
Runtime: 96 min · 1h 36m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Prom Night III: The Last Kiss (1990)
IMDB rating: 4.6/10 · 2,671 votes
MPAA: R

Part of

Prom Night Collection

A slasher film series premised on malevolent forces inflicting suffering on prom night.

Also by

Ron Oliver

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Wuchak2023-03-29
★ 8/10
The most all-around entertaining installment of the slasher series Mary Lou returns from the Underworld to seduce a male student at Hamilton High (likable Tim Conlon) and wreak more havoc at the school. “Prom Night III: The Last Kiss” (1990) and the previous film, "Hello Mary Lou," "Prom Night II" (1987), are the only installments in the franchise that are directly related in that they involve the malevolent spirit of Mary Lou Maloney. The original “Prom Night” (1980) is a whodunnit slasher with Jamie Lee Curtis while “Part IV” (1991) involves a crazy puritanical priest. Yet 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 big difference with this chapter is that it adds a lot of droll, witty comedy. It’s surprisingly well-written (by Ron Oliver) and hilarious throughout. A couple of examples include the send-up of vintage VD scare movies for the classroom and the gut-busting PA announcements. Like the previous flick, it has pizazz that the prosaic first movie lacks and ups the ante in all-around amusement. I can imagine the director/writer gathering the cast & crew and saying something like, "Look, we're not making 'Citizen Kane' here, so let's have fun and make a really entertaining movie." It has the milieu of "Carrie" (1976), but with a tone & theme closer to “Christine” (1983) plus the addition of a great sense of droll humor in the manner of “Cutting Class” from the year prior (don’t expect an over-the-top spoof, like “Scary Movie”). The fact that the antagonist is a sinister specter that uses creative illusions recalls the first two "A Nightmare on Elm Street" flicks (1984/1985). Courtney Taylor stands out on the feminine front as the sly and seductive Mary Lou. Fetching Cynthia Preston (Sarah) and Juno Mills Cockell (Leah) are also worth a mention. The film runs 1 hour, 35 minutes, and was shot in Toronto. GRADE: A-
tmdb766221952023-07-15
★ 2/10
In the third, but not the last, entry in the series, the horror is played for laughs. Alex (Tim Conlon) is an average high school student, and he is tired of it. His height is average, his shoe size is average, his grades are average, there is nothing special about him except his relationships with his girlfriend Sarah (Cyndy Preston) and best friend Shane (David Stratton). Luckily, Mary Lou Maloney (Courtney Taylor) has escaped from hell and is headed back to her old high school. Mary Lou was wronged in the past and decides to help Alex. He is soon the star of the football team, making the honor roll, and has the love of Mary Lou to thank for it all. The problem is Mary Lou is killing those who have hindered Alex in the past, and Alex is burying the bodies in the school's football field. Alex's parents celebrate their son's newfound popularity and scholastic abilities by giving him a motorcycle, but Sarah and Shane have cut themselves off from him, not knowing who he is anymore. The school's prom is fast approaching, and the bodies start turning up. When a horror comedy works, it can really work. Some of Stuart Gordon's films come to mind, or Tobe Hooper's. "Ghostbusters" wasn't perfect, but it had laughs. This film has the distinction of failing as both a comedy and a horror film. While two people are credited with directing, some of the camera angles do not work. The physical placement of the camera is wrong for many scenes, like when shoved in the face of actor Conlon. One time is enough, but the film makers revert back to this angle often. The script has few funny scenes, and the gallows humor never works. The actors are okay, but they are five to ten years too old for their parts. The special effects are shoddy. Cheap glowing animation punctuates cheap gore effects. I can see that this started as a really bizarre bloodbath, but it is trapped by its sequel origins, and never gets going. The finale is predictable and dopey. "Prom Night III: The Last Kiss" sucks. Hello Mary Lou, goodbye an hour and a half of my life.