Toronto

Prom Night (1980)

I vividly remember when Prom Night was first broadcast on television and just hearing it in the next room was enough to scare me to death!  As I became a horror movie lover, I eventually actually watched it and it holds a special place in my heart.  Who doesn't love the "Prom Night" theme and dance?  A friend and I used to replicate the dance the best we could at the clubs way back when.  But, let's get to locations.  Last year when I was in Toronto set-jetting locations, I knew I had to go to some Prom Night sites. While the high school and cemetery was known, I was intent on finding a few others and with the help of the location manager, I was able to track another one down, but a few are still a mystery.  Before I start, I should say that the old building seen in the beginning of the film was the Langstaff Jail Farm in Richmond Hill, Ontario.  It has been demolished since filming and nothing looks the same in that area, so I did not visit that location.

The first visit will be the cemetery where the family is visiting the grave of Robin.  It is located at St. James Cemetery at 635 Parliament Street in Toronto.

Sean Clark of Horror's Hallowed Grounds happened to be in Toronto at the same time, so he and I set-jetted these locations together.  And like true horror-location nerds, re-enacted scenes along the way!

Next we go to Alexander Hamilton High School which is actually Don Mills Middle School/Collegiate Institute at 17 The Donway East in Toronto.  The school was not open on our visit but we were able to get a lot of great exterior shots and a lot of it still looks the same as it did in 1980.

Mr. Sykes was not their trimming the bushes, but the apartment building seen behind him is still there.

Thanks to location manager, Aine Furey, I was able to track down Wendy's house.  (The actress who played Wendy is Anne-Marie Martina aka Eddie Benton, was married to Michael Crichton and co-wrote the screenplay with her husband for the 1996 hit, Twister.)  This house is located at 60 Fairway Heights Drive in Thornhill, Ontario.

I had a hard time finding the exact spot used in this scene, but it was shot at Scarborough Bluffs in Scarborough, Ontario.

Wendy and Lou arrive at the Drive-In, which is also no longer in existence.  But I was able to track it down based on a couple buildings surrounding it.  The drive-in was located at 3120 Danforth Avenue in Scarbourgh, Ontario.  The apartment building behind the drive-in and the buildings across the street are still there and remain relatively unchanged.

The tennis courts are right behind the school and still have the original fencing, however, the court that Jamie Lee played on has no net and is used for basketball.

And right outside the tennis courts is this scene with the girls taunting Mr. Sykes....

One of my favorite location spots on this adventure was the door to the Girls Change Room because they obviously have not painted it at all since filming!  This is also at the back of the school facing the tennis courts.

As I said earlier, the school was not open, but we did take a few shots through windows.  Although none of these are scene-matched, it gives you an idea of how the school looks now.

One area that is easily screen-matched is a hallway where Wendy is running from the killer...

It's time for Prom Night... everything is all right!

And for the climactic finale, we return to the main doors of the school. As the doors are no longer glass, I shot through the window to show how the main hallway has not changed very much.

Poor Nick comes stumbling out scaring the prom-goers...

Kim and Nick share their final moments together here...

And of course Sean and I had to re-create that scene as well...