The Prowler (1981)

I love this movie so much

Memorable, crazy movie

Great Film overall

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

The prowler to me might be the second best slasher film of the early 80s with The Burning #1 either way all the gore effects r done by the best man in the business Mr. Savini.. Tom Savini for president!!! Why can't they make slasher movies like this anymore instead of using all that CGI crap that ruins the movie.. They need to go back to the making it look real like Savini does in all of his movies.. The Prowler might not have as many kills in it then the Friday the 13ths but it's 100 times better in the Gore dept. then any Friday the 13th ever made!! For anybody who hasn't seen this movie I difently recommend it then You'll find out its a way better slasher movie then Friday the 13th..

This 1981 horror film stars Vicky Dawson, Christopher Goutman and Farley Granger. This begins in the 1940's during World War II where a young woman, Rosemary has just written an upsetting letter to her lover ending their relationship. Soon, she and her date are killed by him at a graduation dance. Thirty years later, the same killer wears a war outfit while hunting a group of college friends at a graduation dance. Dawson plays Pam MacDonald, Goutman plays her boyfriend, Mark London who is a Deputy Sheriff and Granger (Strangers on a Train) plays Sheriff, George Fraser. This isn't bad and Tom Savini's make-up effects are great as usual. If you like horror/slasher films, you should view this one.

The slasher is probably the most derided of any horror type. People criticize the films are formulaic, gore-for-gore's sake, mindless, or even misogynistic. These things are sometimes, true, yes. Which isn't to say that a satisfying, suspenseful, well made film can't be made within those outlines. "The Prowler" is one of the best examples of the subgenre.How much does "The Prowler" fit the traditional outlines of a slasher? It opens with a crime in the past. After his girlfriend breaks up with him via a Dear John letter, a just-returned World War II veteran murders the girl and her new lover with a pitchfork. On what night did the deaths take place? The night of the big graduation party. Thirty five years later, the New Jersey town of Avalon Bay is having a graduation party for the first time since that night. Naturally, this event inflames the still-living killer's rage, forcing him to kill again. Just to go down the list, that's a crime in the past, a special holiday event, an anniversary of a crime, and a killer in both a mask and with not one, but two!, trademark weapons. On the surface, "The Prowler" is about as typical as it gets.The story is not what makes "The Prowler" special. Instead of shot in some dark forest or other, uninteresting isolated location, "The Prowler" was lensed in New Jersey's historical district. This gives the film a unique look, the old Victorian buildings adding a certain gravitas to the proceedings. Joseph Zito's direction is equally handsome. The nights are made up of contrasting blues and blacks. Zito frequently employs less then typical shots, like a long sequence reflected in a mirror. My favorite bit is when the girls getting ready for the dance are intercut with and contrasted against the killer preparing his weapons and outfits. "The Prowler" might just be the prettiest slasher ever made. It's certainly far more polished then must of the output of the time.The film is also, perhaps, the goriest film of the first wave of American slashers. This is primarily the reason why the film ranks so highly among the fandom. Tom Savini declared it his best work. It very well might be. Pitchforks are dug into backs, a large puddle of blood oozing from the victims. An eighteen inch long bayonet is shoved all the way through a victim's head, his eyes rolling back until they're completely white. "The Prowler" one-ups "Psycho" by the having the naked, bathing beauty nailed to the wall with a pitchfork. Savini marches out his trademark of exploding a fake head with a real shotgun fantastically. The bayonet is, earlier, shoved directly into a woman's jugular, blood spurting from the wound, her shoes painted red. All of these are fantastic. Yet no kill is more impressive then the girl with the slit throat in the swimming pool. Sorry, did I say "slit?" "Embedded" is more likely. The villain saws her neck open until he hits bone. The latex stretches and tears, torrent after torrent of corn syrup flooding the pool. It's extended, brutal, and borderline pornographic. I love it.Buckets load of blood and gore are fine and dandy. However, "The Prowler" backs it up by generating actual suspense. A scene where the heroine is delayed by the creepy old man works well. The girl being unaware of the killer in the same room is another potential cliché enlivened by excellent execution here. The sudden surprise of a corpse in a fireplace or discovery of a fresh body in a casket jolts audiences nicely. Most slashers have a long chase scene between final girl and killer. The one presented here stands above the rest. Final girl Pam enters a room of old furniture covered with white clothes. Hiding under a table, she watches helplessly as the killer tears the room apart, flipping tables and smashing things. Even when a big ass rat crawls through her hair, she remains silent. The same year's "Friday the 13th Part II" featured a similar sequence but this one is far more effective. This is how you do it, kids.About the only thing that doesn't work about "The Prowler" is its cast. The film earns points for not featuring the typical horny teenagers. Instead, the hero is a deputy police officer, his girlfriend spunky and strong. The middle chapter of the film is composed of them sleuthing out the mystery, investigating graveyards and old homes. Scenes like the boyfriend trying to convince the girl to stay behind add some character. Also among the cast: Horny college students. Most of the victims are just random by-standers. I suppose it's fair to develop the central duo while filling the body count out with minor characters. Vicky Dawson is likable enough as the final girl but Christopher Goutman, looking all the world like a young William Fichtner, is too blandly heroic to register. The film also makes the mistake of wasting Lawrence Tierney, sticking him in a speechless, undefined "creepy old man" part and not even giving him the dignity of a death scene.The killer's military garb gives him a distinctive look. His habit of leaving roses with his victims gives him personality. I enjoy the bizarre comic relief scene involving a lazy hotel clerk. The last jump scare is totally bogus but effective all the same. "The Prowler" is one of my top slasher picks, fantastically gory, beautifully shot, well structured and paced. I'd rank it above "The Burning" but just below "My Bloody Valentine."

What can be said that already hasn't been said about "The Prowler"? Highly praised and widely regarded as one of the better slasher films of the 1980's, this movie has everything a fan of the genre could crave, and more. Focusing more on suspense and tense, dark atmosphere than "scares", "The Prowler" almost has the feel of a giallo at times, but never strays from the tried and true American slasher formula. The kills are especially gory, creative and outstanding, which is no surprise since Tom Savini is behind the effects in them. The team of Joseph Zito and Savini would of course soon after work together on Friday The 13th: The Final Chapter, in my opinion the best in the series.Although often rightfully compared plot wise to "My Bloody Valentine" (another magnificent slasher), this film provides a lot more backstory and "flavor" to the killer. Little humor is present in this one, as the stalking of the victims and the uncovering of the mysterious killer are the main focus. This is not for fans of over the top cheese or "torture porn" garbage, this is for someone who can appreciate suspense and story.I can not stress enough the dark atmosphere that "The Prowler" creates. To me, this movie embodies "stalk and slash", in a way that is without pretension and without any try hard tactics. This is horror at it's finest. In my book this one is a must see, the pool scene alone will make any slasher junkie want to burst out in applause.