Curtis: 1978 - 1981, "Prom Night" and Coming Full Circle

So I got a chance to watch almost the entirety of the Jamie Lee Curtis horror cycle from “Halloween” (1978) to “Halloween II” (1981) (just not in order, as “Terror Train” (1980) & “Prom Night” (1980) weren’t in order), with only “The Fog” (1980) and “Road Games” (1981) not yet watched in 2020. But the slasher cycle is complete, at least. I couldn’t sleep because something was on the mind and I was afraid it might be lost if not mentioned. A thought came to mind—and perhaps this has been brought up in countless written content over the thirty+ years since “Prom Night”. It was nice to see Curtis’ characters develop in different ways since “Halloween”, before reverting back to Laurie Strode in “Halloween II”. She was the virginal nerd with two real friends, not quite confident in herself, sort of nervous about dating a certain boy see was interested in. And in “Prom Night” she was popular, the Prom Queen, carrying herself well, on the dance floor with all eyes on her. In “Terror Train” she is in college, a center of attention, dating a member of a popular clique, and although very smart was still considered quite attractive. And Curtis comes full circle, returning to Strode in “Halloween II” exactly as she was before her spate of horror/slasher product. So what is neat about working your way through the spate of Curtis horror is seeing the various female characters she produces during that period from 1978 to 1981. Especially “Prom Night” where she got to really spend a lot of time in the school with her character, while “Halloween” was mostly outside the classroom. “Prom Night” spent time, much like “Halloween” in the suburbs, too, but a lot of time was dedicated to the prom, classes and students involved, the sinister whisper behind a revenge killer looking to get even for his loss, and even in the showers where mirrors are broken, on tennis courts, even near the cliff overlooking the ocean. Hell one chase leads into the machine shop, down halls, in the lunch room, etc. And Jamie got to show you her moves, as the camera and music make love to her.

*I almost made this a codicil to the previous "Prom Night" blogpost, but I felt a separate little piece was perhaps necessary.