BLU-RAY REVIEW

Prom Night

Featured In Issue 135, October 2008

Picture3.5
SoundNR
WSR Score3
Basic Information on new release titles is posted as soon as titles are announced. Once reviewed, additional data is added to the database.
(Studio/Distributor):
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
(Catalog Number):
19121
(MPAA Rating):
Unrated
(Rating Reason):
(Retail Price):
$38.96
(Disc Type):
Single Side, Dual Layer (BD-50)
(Widescreen Edition):
Yes
(Full Screen Edition):
No
(Running Time In Minutes):
89
(Color Type):
Color
(Chaptered/Scene Access):
Yes
(Closed Captioned):
Yes
(Regional Coding):
A, B & C
(Theatrical Year):
2008
(Theatrical Release):
Yes
(Direct-To-Video Release):
No
(Disc Release Date):
08/19/08
(THX® Digitally Mastered):
No
(Director):
Nelson McCornick
(Screenplay/Written By):
(Story):
(Music):
(Director Of Photography):
(Production Designer):
(Visual Effects):
(Costume Designer):
(Editor):
(Supervising Sound Editors):
(Re-Recording Mixers):
(Executive Producers):
(Co-Producers):
(Producers):
(Academy Awards):
(Principal Photography):
(Theatrical Aspect Ratio):
(Measured Disc Aspect Ratio):
(Disc Soundtrack):
Dolby TrueHD 5.1
(Theatrical Sound):
(Theatrical Re-Issue Soundtrack):
(DTS Bit Rate):
(Dolby Digital Bit Rate):
(Additional Languages):
(French Language):
(Spanish Language):
(Chinese Language):
(Subtitles):
(Cantonese Language):
(Mandarin Language):
(Japanese Language):
(Italian Language):
(German Language):
(Portuguese Language):

Donna Keppel (Snow) survived a terrible tragedy—a psychopath murdered her family. Now, three years later, Donna is trying hard to leave her traumatic past behind and focus on the fun of her upcoming Prom Night. But what Donna doesn't know is that the obsessed killer that has tormented her mind for the past years has escaped the insane asylum and is looking for one last dance with the object of his obsession, Donna. Now the question is not who will be crowned Prom Queen, but who will survive long enough to graduate? (Stacey Pendry)

Special features include a commentary track by Director Nelson McCormick and Actors Brittany Snow and Jonathon Schaech; five deleted scenes; an alternate ending; a six-minute Bridgeport High Vikings Video Yearbook; up-front previews; a bonus picture-in-picture storyboard track; an Interactive Poll: Where Is The Best Place To Hide A Body; a two-minute gag reel; the following three featurettes: A Night To Remember: The Making Of Prom Night (13 minutes), Profile Of A Killer (six minutes), and Gothic Space: Creating The Pacific Grand Hotel (five minutes); a Prom Night Photo Album: Real Prom Stories From The Cast; a TV Spot; and the original theatrical trailer.

The anamorphically enhanced 2.39:1 DVD exhibits a soft appearance, with fine details poorly defined. Black levels are deep, though, and shadow delineation is maintained well. Colors are nicely saturated and well balanced, and while contrast in general is natural, whites can bloom. Fleshtones are nicely defined. And while compression artifacts and edge enhancement are noticeable, they aren't a huge distraction. (Danny Richelieu)

The Dolby® Digital 5.1-channel soundtrack is mixed well for music across the front stage, and the surround channels are used effectively at times. The center channel is mainly only used for dialogue, with the front corner channels imaging in the rest of the field alone. The LFE channel can be used well in conjunction with music, but it generally is less than effective. Bass rarely drops below 60 Hz, and definition is lacking. Phantom imaging can be mixed in well, but it is not used consistently throughout. There is an adequate sense of depth to the stage and dynamic range is wide enough. A high-pitched ringing is audible at times. The Blu-ray Disc's Dolby TrueHD encoding sounds better, with improved fidelity, especially in the more articulate dialogue. The mix is still limited, but the improved dynamic range adds a level of depth to the soundtrack that isn't as audible on the DVD. (Danny Richelieu)