Prom Night IV: Deliver Us From Evil (1992)

In the 1950s, Father Jonas kills two teens having sex in the back of a car. Instead of calling the police, his fellow priests sedate him and lock him in the basement of the monastery.

Thirty years later, a young idealistic priest is tasked with the care of Father Jonas, who is still sedated and shackled to a bed. It looks like he hasn't aged a day. But he desperately needs a shave and a haircut because he resembles Rasputin.

Our idealistic young priest had one job, sigh.  But he decides sedation is not needed and soon he's sleeping the eternal sleep while Father Jonas gallivants off into the night to find more sinning teens to murder.  Surprisingly no one asks how a man who hasn't moved for thirty years still has enough muscle tone to overpower a priest and run off.

In a convenient plot point, this happens to be the night of the prom and two couples are winding their way to ones family mansion for a romantic evening.  A mansion which coincidentally happens to be the old monastery. They're on a collision course with wackiness and Father Jonas.

It's snowing which is really weird considering they are going to the prom. What kind of school holds  prom in the winter? I'm highly suspicious of this.


Ridiculous Dialogue that implies someone was held back an amazingly large number of times -
"I can't believe we finished 12 years of high school."
(If it took you 12 years to finish high school, you've done something terribly wrong.)

Vanishing on 7th Street (2010)

During a blackout, anyone without some sort of flashlight, candle or other battery powered light source disappears, leaving behind nothing but a pile of clothing. Those that are left alive figure out there is something in the dark and the key to staying alive is staying in the light. Yet their grasp on the life giving lights is tenuous at best.

Never have so many people tripped and dropped flashlights when they are the only things keeping them from being taken by whatever lurks in the darkness. Yet there our characters are, falling and flailing while their lights roll out of reach when they hit the ground. Damn it, people! Hold onto your damn flashlights like your life depends on it - because it does.

The lead character isn't that likable which is a problem, and there's no real resolution or explanation for what's happening. While some movies can pull that off, this one can't and you'll be left feeling kind of annoyed.


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The Temple (2017)

When Kate heads to Japan to photograph temples for her college thesis, she brings along her jerk boyfriend James and her best friend Chris. Chris speaks Japanese which is useful but Kate doesn't notice that Chris seems to want to be more than friends.  James discomfort with this situation is the only  likable thing about him.

While at a small shop, Kate tries to purchase a book. But the shopkeepers smile fades when she sees it. She tells them it's not for sale and immediately closes the shop.  Not a good sign in any culture, but Chris doesn't get the hint and later that night, buys the book from a small boy who says he works there.

The book shows the location of a shrine and the next day they travel to a small town near its location.  When Chris asks the locals about it, he receives a warning about people being multilated when they visit. He decides not to scare his friends and holds back this incredibly vital information.

People, if you go to a foreign country and someone says, hey don't go to that place because people die or get horribly mutilated there, and you're the only one who speaks the language - tell your friends! They have the right to know so they can decide whether they should laugh it off as superstition, or stay away.  Sometimes superstitions are based on facts that can't be explained. Or there just may be  horrible people wanting to hurt you hiding in isolated places.

Our protagonists traipse on and do everything they can to get themselves in stuck at the haunted temple. Mission accomplished.  This is a frustrating movie to watch and the ending will not make you feel any better about what happened before.  Expect to be disappointed.