History Film / PromNight1980

* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: What [[spoiler:Leonard Murch tried to do after killing the nurse, instead of killing the teens.]]

* GlassCannon: Alex can deck a person with a single punch, but a similar blow is enough to floor him, as shown in the cafeteria fight with Lou's cronies.

* {{Mooning}}: One of Kim's friends moons Sykes when she sees him picking up trash next to the tennis court.

* DeathBySex: Averted with Kelly, who is killed just after she chickens out on going through with the deed with her boyfriend Drew. Played straight with Jude and Slick, whose first time turns out to be their last.

* MakingLoveInAllTheWrongPlaces: Jude and Slick go to have sex on the edge of the bluffs, but are spooked by the killer, so they return to [[AutoErotica Slick's van]]. [[DeathBySex Where they're murdered]].

* BareYourMidriff: About halfway through the film, Wendy is shown lying on her bed while talking to Lou on the phone, with her shirt open and abdomen exposed.

* StaringThroughTheSword: The theatrical poster shows the killer looking past a mirror shard he's holding, with a dead woman reflected in it.

* AnAxeToGrind: Killer's weapon of choice for killing his targets in the prom. And that's what's used [[spoiler:to kill him]].

* ClingyJealousGirl: Wendy to Nick.

* SupportingProtagonist: The film is mostly told from Kim Hammond's perspective, despite not being much involved in the main conflict, and [[spoiler:wasn't even a target for the killer]]. This is most likely because she was played by Creator/JamieLeeCurtis. Better (and more interesting) choices for protagonists would've been her boyfriend Nick (basically the [[FinalGirl Final Boy]]), Wendy (the surprisingly complex AlphaBitch), and her brother Alex ([[spoiler:the killer]]).

* WhamShot: [[spoiler:As Kim unmasks the dying killer at the end of the film, the [[OnceMoreWithClarity shot of Robin lying dead six years ago is shown again]], but when the killer's shadow falls over her corpse, the camera moves upward to reveal Alex: he was the one who found her that day and has been killing the perpetrators.]]

* EveryoneIsASuspect: The killer was introduced via a shadow standing over Robin Hammond's body, so someone found the body and knows who killed her, but who? Given the nature of the crime and the coverup, anybody could be the killer from grieving relatives, vigilantes disgusted by the crime, or the resident sex offender who was framed for the crime.

* FinalGirl: [[spoiler:Kim is built up to be one, but it is then subverted when it's revealed that she wasn't a target at all]].
** [[spoiler:The film does, however, feature a final boy with Nick, the only target to live. All three female targets die.]]
* {{Flashback}}: The HarassingPhoneCall scene where the killer calls each target is accompanied by a flashback to each child the day Robin died, to remind the audience which one is being called.

** [[spoiler: Alex's reluctance to go to the prom with Jude. Why would he want to go with someone he knows killed his sister?]]

->''"The killer is coming!"''

* ButForMeItWasTuesday: Combined with AngstWhatAngst, detailed in the YMMV page for this film. Of the four kids who killed Robin, only Nick seems to show any remorse over her death, leaving them completely blindsided during the climax when they start getting bumped off.

* ButForMeItWasTuesday: Combined with AngstWhatAngst. Of the four kids who killed Robin, only Nick (and possibly Kelly) show any remorse over her death, leaving them completely blindsided during the climax.

** Wendy and Lou, who conspire to ruin the prom crowning of Nick and Kim for their own ends.

* {{Flashback}}: The HarassingPhoneCall scene where the killer calls each target is intercut with a flashback to each child the day Robin died, to remind the audience which one is being called.

* HalfIdenticalTwins: Twins Alex and Robin Hammond are introduced wearing similar striped shirts and dark slacks, with the main difference being the curls on Alex's head.

* AntiVillain: [[spoiler:Alex Hammond.]]

*** AntiVillain: [[spoiler:Alex Hammond.]]

* StaringThroughTheSword: The theatrical poster shows the killer looking past a mirror shard he’s holding, with a dead woman reflected in it.

* HalfwayIdenticalTwins: Twins Alex and Robin Hammond are introduced wearing similar striped shirts and dark slacks, with the main difference being the curls on Alex's head.

* OnceMoreWithClarity: When the children leave after Robin is killed, a shadow appears over Robin's body, indicating that they know what those kids did and that they are the killer. At the very end of the film, this shot is shown again but [[spoiler:the camera moves up to reveal that the person who found Robin was Alex]].