Joy Tanner | Through the Shattered Lens

Cassie Steele, Mike Lobel, Miriam McDonald, and Shane Kippel in Degrassi Takes Manhattan

(Much as with my previous post, this review probably will not much sense to you unless you’re a longtime Degrassi fan like me. Sorry!)

One year after Degrassi Goes Hollywood, the third Degrassi movie was released. Degrassi Takes Manhattan was broadcast on July 9th, 2010 and, ratings-wise, it was a huge success. Not only did it bring TeenNick its highest ratings ever, it was the number one show viewed by teens that summer.

Why was it such a huge success?

Largely, it was because Degrassi Takes Manhattan served as not only the conclusion to season 9 but it was also the finale of Degrassi: The Next Generation. By the end of Degrassi Takes Manhattan, all of the original Degrassi: TNG plotlines had been resolved. Emma Nelson, who was the show’s main character for 6 seasons, married Spinner Mason. When the series returned for season 10, it would drop The Next Generation from its title and it would simply be known as Degrassi. All of the original characters would be gone, replaced with new students. Degrassi Takes Manhattan was a chance to celebrate what had been and a chance to say goodbye.

And yet, Degrassi Takes Manhattan remains very controversial among the Degrassi fandom. To be honest, a lot of people can’t stand it. My feelings on it are mixed, though I tend to like it more than some.

One of the big problems with Degrassi Takes Manhattan is that none of the original characters actually go to Manhattan. Emma, Manny, Spinner, and Jay all remain in Canada. Instead, the Manhattan portion of the film features Holly J. Sinclair (Charlotte Arnold), Fiona Coyne (Annie Clark), Jane (Paul Brancati), and Fiona’s creepy twin brother, Declan (Landon Liboiron). The New York portion of the film deals with Fiona, Holly J, Declan, and Jane all staying in a Manhattan penthouse and having various adventures in New York. As seems to happen to at least one Degrassi student ever semester, Jane launches a singing career. Holly J interns and falls in love with Declan. Fiona get jealous. It’s nothing all that interesting though it does feature the classic line, “This is New York Holly J, bitch!”

(Say what you will about the character she was playing, Charlotte Arnold was always great at delivering angry one-liners.)

Instead, the part of the film that everyone remembers is Emma (Miriam McDonald) falling in love with Spinner (Shane Kippel) and drunkenly marrying him at Niagara Falls. After Spinner and Emma first look into getting an annulment, they suddenly realize that they really do want to spend the rest of their lives together and they have a recommitment ceremony at the beach!

And it’s actually a pretty sweet scene. As someone who has watched every season of Degrassi, I liked the scene at the beach. It provided closures for a lot of characters. But, that doesn’t change the fact that it didn’t make any sense! In the 9 seasons that led up to Degrassi Takes Manhattan, Spinner and Emma interacted with each other a few times during the first season but, otherwise, they never had much to do with each other. The two of them falling in love came out of nowhere and, at the risk of being dramatic, it almost felt like a betrayal. Anyone who has ever watched Degrassi (and those would be the only people who would really have a reason to watch Manhattan), knows that Emma’s soul mate was Sean Cameron. As for Spinner — well, he dated pretty much everyone on the show at some point, with the notable exception of his future wife, Emma. I always thought he and Darcy made a good couple but, by the time Manhattan went into production, Shenae Grimes was starring on 90210 and presumably wasn’t available to return so that Darcy could get married.

(One thing I did like about the ceremony is that it was conducted by Jay Hogart — played, of course, by Mike Lobel. Jay, of course, was once responsible for Emma getting gonorrhea so it’s nice to see that she’s so forgiving. That said, Jay did look pretty hot all dressed up…)

In the years since this movie aired, snarky fans like me have been joking about how Spinner and Emma probably got divorced a week after the beach ceremony. But, as we all learned from watching the recent reunion episode on Netflix, Spinner and Emma are apparently still married! Well, good for them.

Anyway, controversy aside, I still liked Degrassi Takes Manhattan but, then again, I like anything related to Degrassi. As opposed to School’s Out and Degrassi Goes Hollywood, Degrassi Takes Manhattan is for hardcore Degrassi fans only.

From the minute I learned that Val would be reviewing Prom Night III: The Last Kiss, I knew that I simply had to rewatch and a post a review of Prom Night IV: Deliver Us From Evil. I mean, considering that I had already reviewed the original Prom Night on this site, it only made sense. Now, I just have to convince Leonard to review Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II and Leon The Duke to review the Prom Night remake and we’ll have the whole series covered!

Anyway, most reviews of Prom Night IV: Deliver Us From Evil will tell you that it has absolutely nothing to do with any of the other Prom Night films but that’s not quite true. For one thing, all five of these films take place on Prom Night! Also, they all deal with students who go to Hamilton High School. Now, seriously — considering how many proms at Hamilton have ended in death and disaster, you would think that the school would just stop having a prom. Obviously, that wouldn’t be a popular decision but lives are at stake!

Like Hello Mary Lou and Prom Night III, Prom Night IV also opens with the 1957 prom. Now, of course, the 1957 prom was famous for the fiery death of Mary Lou Maloney but apparently, that wasn’t the only death that occurred that night. While Mary Lou was getting ready to be named prom queen, two other students (one of whom is named Lisa — agck, it always freaks me out when a slasher movie victim has the same name as me!) were making out in the parking lot. When a homicidal priest named Father Jonas came across them, he stabbed them to death a sharpened crucifix.

35 years later, Father Jonas is hidden away in a church basement. He’s kept in a drug-induced coma. Father Jaeger (Kenneth McGregor) is his guardian but when the Jaeger passes away, the young Father Colin (Brock Simpson) takes his place. Foolishly, Colin decides not to give Jonas his daily injection. Jonas wakes up, murders Colin, and then sets off for his old church. While Jonas is out murdering sinners, the Cardinal tries to cover up any evidence of his existence.

(In case you hadn’t guessed, Prom Night IV is probably one of the most anti-Catholic films ever made. That said, speaking as someone who was raised Catholic, I was never really offended by the movie. I mean, it featured a killer priest and a sinister Cardinal but it would still be wrong to mistake Prom Night IV for a Luis Bunuel film.)

What Jonas doesn’t know is that the old church is now a summer home. Four teenagers — virginal Meagan (Nikki de Boer), her boyfriend Mark (J.H. Wyman), his best friend Jeff (Alle Ghadaban), and his girlfriend, the adventurous Laura (Joy Tanner, who later played Fiona and Declan’s mom on Degrassi) — are spending the night at the house. After all, who wants to waste prom night by actually going to the prom? Mark’s younger brother, Jonathan, is also hanging around outside the house, secretly filming everything that happens inside. Or, at least he is until Jonas shows up and kills him.

There really aren’t any big surprises to be found in Prom Night IV but the film is still a step above the average slasher film. Director Clay Borris keeps the action moving and does a good job maintaining a properly evil atmosphere. Some of the shots of the snow falling over the isolated house are actually quite stunning. As played by James Carver, Jonas is a truly menacing and ruthless villain. Seriously, Jonas is so mean! Even the fact that he utters a few regrettable one liners does nothing to diminish Jonas as a threat.

Prom Night IV may be missing both Jamie Lee Curtis and Mary Lou Maloney but it’s still a surprisingly effective little horror film. And remember —

It’s not who you come with … it’s who takes you home.