"Prom Night IV: Deliver Us from Evil" was the last installment in the hodgepodge "Prom Night" series. This film shifts gears considerably, moving to the story of a psychotic priest who was sexually abused by clergy during his youth. As a result, he has a preoccupation with punishing unruly and oversexed teenagers (and is potentially possessed). When he escapes from the church's basement, where he's secretly been kept sedated for years, he returns to a former monastery-turned-house where teenagers have planned a prom-night rendezvous.While this slasher is in some ways as "by the book" as they come, it distinguishes itself rather nicely with a macabre religious angle and a kind of neo-Gothic atmosphere that is both effective and at times even somewhat creepy. The film cuts ties with the plot line from the former two sequels, though it does make reference to the Mary Lou Maloney story line, as well as a tongue-in-cheek nod to the first film's star, Jamie Lee Curtis.The killer in the film spins some hokey one-liners throughout which dampens the fear factor, but moody cinematography and some well-staged appearances manage to give the villain a bit of an edge. Once the teenagers get to the remote monastery-turned-private home, the real fun begins. Clever plot set-ups and a great final chase scene help lift the film even a bit further. The performances are mixed, but Nicole de Boer makes a formidable final girl.Overall, "Prom Night IV: Deliver Us from Evil" caught me off guard, in a good way. It doesn't reinvent the wheel, but it does spin it with style, and is also closer to the 1980 film in spirit than the former two sequels—and possibly better in some ways. For an early-nineties slasher entry, this one is wildly amusing and at times even effectively moody. 7/10.

The first movie was a slasher, the second one a supernatural horror movie, the third more of a comedy and this one is a...well I don't even know what it really is but point is that the Prom Night-series isn't exactly the most consistent one. All movies have basically very little to do with each other but even worse is that none of them are really good ones.Guess when you have to place this movie under one particular genre it would be the slasher-genre. Only problem is that we know who the killer is, so this doesn't do much for the movie its tension. It just doesn't really follow the rules of a good slasher and therefore the movie doesn't even feel at all like its being a slasher. Did the film-makers even knew what they were making? I highly doubt it, judging by looking at this movie.The movie is a pretty messy one with its story. The killer and his 'motivations' are just weak and not really explained enough to make you understand why on Earth he is after those kids who are messing around inside an old abandoned, desolated mansion. Man, I just really couldn't care for anything that was happening in this movie with its story, also not in the least because it was all occurring in such an extremely formulaic way. The movie is not surprising or exciting at all to watch, though its granted that there are also far worse genre movies to watch out there.The acting is quite weak and none of the characters are really likable enough. Just a bunch of students trying to get into each others pants and drinking liquor in between. Also nothing too new about this of course, which should also give you an overall impression of how formulaic the rest of the movie is being like.Nothing new but above all things also nothing great in this movie.5/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

In 1957 deranged and dangerous Catholic priest Father Jonas (excellently played with frightening intensity by James Carver) kills two fornicating teenagers. Thirty-three years later Father Jonas escapes from the cellar of the church he's been imprisoned in and returns to the monastery from his youth. Said monastery has been converted into a summer home where a pair of teenage couples go to celebrate prom night. Director Clay Borris and screenwriter Richard Beattie craft an extremely dark and twisted slice'n'dice body count fright feature that benefits substantially from a grimly serious tone, a creepy mood, a steady pace, several gory and nasty murder set pieces, a smidgen of steamy soft-core sex, a considerable amount of tension, and a brutal and harrowing last third. Better still, there's no silly disruptive humor to diminish the severity of the in-your-face harsh and unflinching horror; Father Jonas in particular registers strongly as one extremely scary and vicious dude. In addition, the brooding religious angle gives the picture an extra sick and subversive edge. Nicole de Boer makes for an appealing heroine as the sweet and virginal Meagan; she receives sound support from Alden Kane as Meagan's nice guy boyfriend Mark, Joy Tanner as shameless slut Laura, Alle Ghadbran as the equally brash Jeff, Brock Simpson as eager young priest Father Colin, and Fab Filippo as Mark's bratty peeping tom younger brother Jonathan. Rick Wincenty's polished, agile cinematography keeps the camera constantly moving and boasts a handful of fluid tracking shots. Paul Zaza's spooky'n'shuddery score likewise hits the skin-crawling spot. A superior slasher horror outing.

This is a slasher that plays it by the rules, so if I'm spoiling anything for you, it's because you've never seen a slasher movie before.Prom Night IV gives us the gift of slashing in a film that is lit with decent effectiveness, not shot notably poorly, with sub-par to decent acting and some moderately suspenseful scenes. The prom thing is more or less done in the intro, where we get to see a couple slashed in a prom in 1957. Our mad killer here is a Catholic priest gone horribly wrong--he kills with a cross where the long end has a blade.Our victims, two teenaged couples, are headed down to a retreat that used to be an old monastery for a weekend of debauchery. Meanwhile, a young priest newly charged with watching over the insane priest (who's been kept underground by the Church) is developed for a bit, but manages to slip in his duties. (Prom Night IV is very good at giving "bonus slashes" before it gets around to killing the teenagers.)The highlight of Prom Night IV is Nicole de Boer, who you might remember from The Cube or Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (she was Ezri Dax). Her acting, which is pretty good, manages to elevate the rest of the movie (since she is the film's heroine). The rest of the cast is pretty small-time, though, and doesn't live up to Nicole.It does have the requisite T&A shots (and a really poor sex scene), to be certain, and it manages to fit 8 deaths into a film that only focuses on those 4 teens. All are pretty freaky and well done, too. Once the suspense starts, it's pretty good at not letting up, despite following the rules strongly. The extended scenes before the slasher starts on the teens build everything up quite well.This is a slasher movie, and you will enjoy it only if you're in the mood for one. However, it does what it does well, and as such is worth picking up if you are.