The remake of the 1980 film of the same name featuring scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis opened in theaters April 11. With its PG-13 rating, it’s no surprise that it topped the box office that weekend, raking in just over $20 million.

The movie revolves around pretty Donna (Brittany Snow), a high school senior who is about to attend prom, what is supposed to be the night she would always remember. However, a back story involving her witnessing her mother’s murder by her more-than-obsessed teacher Richard Fenton (Johnathon Schaech) three years prior is still haunting her. Trying her best to enjoy the night, it comes to an abrupt halt when her teacher escapes from the psych ward, making the trip to the hotel where the prom is taking place (how he knows where it is after three years is beyond me).

Renting a room under a fake name and overhearing the number of the room Donna and her friends will be staying in, Fenton requests a room on the same floor. After killing the maid to get a hand on the master key, drama ensues when, one by one, Donna’s friends make the trip up to the third floor in order to embark on the cliché prom night sex routine. However, only one friend returns.

“Prom Night” involves more laughs than scares, especially with the less than stellar acting, with the exception of Snow and Schaech. Of course, though, the majority of the theater was packed with kids under the age of 15, who jumped and screamed at every chance the movie gave, which was very minimal.

Unfortunately, “Prom Night” acts more like a dull thriller than an actual horror movie. You never see any killing and the only blood seen is when it’s splattered on the wall. Perhaps, had it been upgraded to an R rating, the movie would be able to stretch its boundaries and provide more of an engaging (and scary) movie. The trailer for the new Liv Tyler movie “The Strangers,” provided more of a scare than the entire 88 minutes spent watching “Prom Night.”

Our Grade:

D+