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#It follows 2 sequel series#
RELATED: The Sentimentality of Mike Flanagan’s Netflix Horror Series Since Prom Night had been successful in its box office gross, it likely seemed like a natural fit. When you have a Prom Night sequel referencing just about everything except Prom Night, why brand it a sequel at all? It's likely that as a low-budget Canadian film, some people working on the film believed that attaching The Haunting of Hamilton High to a known property would improve its chances at catching on at the box office, both in Canada and abroad. Director Bruce Pittman and writer Ron Oliver were very clearly inspired by the likes of A Nightmare on Elm Street, Carrie (1976), David Lynch's thriller Blue Velvet (1986), and Italian Giallo films, and this shows in the cinematography and references. One could even argue that Hello Mary Lou has more references and homages to other slasher films of the 1980s than connections to the film it's supposed to be a sequel of. There's nothing wrong with changing things up, but if Hello Mary Lou didn't have Prom Night in its title, most watchers would likely be completely unaware that it had anything to do with the 1980 slasher flick. The original Prom Night was a slasher in the conventional sense, while Hello Mary Lou takes on a supernatural theme. Aside from the film's title, which is one part Prom Night connection and one part reference to a Ricky Nelson song, the only connection between the sequel and the original is that the films both take place at the same high school. What's confounding about Hello Mary Lou is how little it's connected to the original Prom Night. It isn't long before Vicki falls under Mary Lou's influence, racking up a body count and using every ounce of seduction to her advantage.
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Fast forward to 1987, an innocent Hamilton student named Vicki Carpenter ( Wendy Lyon) discovers Mary Lou's prom night belongings in an old trunk, inadvertently releasing her spirit. However, the stink bomb's fuse lights Mary Lou's dress, setting her on fire and killing her in front of the entire crowd. To get revenge, Billy attempts to drop a stink bomb on Mary Lou after she wins the title of Prom Queen. After being given a ring by Billy ( Steve Atkinson/ Michael Ironside), one of her many flings, she is caught making out with another boy at Hamilton High's senior prom. The premise of Hello Mary Lou starts in 1957 and follows the story of Mary Lou Maloney ( Lisa Schrage), whose promiscuity she flaunts even in the confessional booth. Unless a film series is being anthologized, it pays to make connections between sequels and the previous films, as it's what fans expect to see. Original cast members occasionally return, or the locale and villain recur in some facet. It's been seen time and time again in slasher franchises, from A Nightmare on Elm Streetto Halloween and many more. Like many slasher sequels, Prom Night II would ideally have a fair number of connections to the original film. This surely would warrant the film to receive a sequel or two, especially in the slasher-saturated decade of the 1980s.
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Critics varied on just how much appreciation the film warranted, but it has undoubtedly become a cult classic.
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But in the grand scheme of things, what did this film really gain as a sequel?ġ980's Prom Night, directed by Paul Lynch and featuring the talents of Leslie Nielsen and Jamie Lee Curtis, garnered a successful box office run, becoming Canada's highest-grossing film of the year. After an extensive amount of reshoots, changing over half of the film, the rebranding of The Haunting of Hamilton High was complete by giving it an obtuse linking to the original Prom Night film and a new title courtesy of the production company Simcom. Simpson posited that had the film been released as a standalone film as opposed to a Prom Night sequel, then the reaction would have been much more positive. The low-budget Canadian supernatural horror film was met with a fairly mixed reception upon its release. Simpson reflected on one of his most polarizing releases: Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II (1987), formerly known under the title The Haunting of Hamilton High. During an interview with Terror Trap, producer Peter R.