The Prowler
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Movie Reviews of The Prowler
Movie Review: A must see
Summary: 5 Stars
This one is a little light on the body-count, but the death scenes are masterfully done. Fans of the Friday the 13th series are sure to enjoy this movie. This movie should receive more attention than it has. It is a classic example of the 80s horror genre.Movie Review: killer movie!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is by far one of my favorite slasher movies of all time. This film, directed by Joseph Zito got him the job of directing Friday the 13th part 4. If you like 80s slashers then check this one out, because this is by far one of the best.Movie Review: Grisly but unimaginative
Summary: 4 Stars
When I learned of another horror film boasting special effects work from Tom Savini, I knew I had to see it as quickly as possible. Fortunately, Blue Underground gave the film, 1981's "The Prowler," their usual careful and comprehensive treatment. Founded by veteran horror director William Lusting ("Maniac," "Uncle Sam," and "Maniac Cop"), Blue Underground makes it their mission in life to dig up obscurities and re-release them uncut and with loads of extras. Perhaps my memory is deceiving me at the moment, but I have yet to see a DVD from this company that fails to provide a spectacular presentation. The movies themselves might be mediocre, as is the case with "The Prowler" in certain aspects, but for horror film fans the company has been a godsend. While I am slowly working my way through their back catalog, I look forward to future DVDs from Blue Underground. Directed by Joseph Zito ("Missing in Action," Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter"), "The Prowler" meanders through territory instantly familiar to fans of slasher films released in the early 1980s. The folks of some small town out in the sticks abandoned their annual dance after a psychotic soldier went on a bloody rampage back in the 1940s. Turns out that his sweetheart sent him one of those obnoxious 'Dear John' letters and the guy flipped. He returned home, suited up in his army gear (uniform, mask, helmet, bayonet, and even though I never realized it was standard issue, a pitchfork), and proceeded to wreak bloody havoc on his ex-lover and her newly acquired boyfriend. We learn all about this in the typical opening sequence, the one that sets the stage for the obligatory flash forward to a group of modern day teenagers who will soon become cannon fodder for a series of outrages committed by the returning soldier. Sound familiar yet? It should, but fortunately for "The Prowler" most of what we see is well above average in the gore department, thanks to the tender loving attentions of Tom Savini.
O.K., flash forward thirty or so years to the modern day (in this case, 1980 or so) where we see a bunch of kids with hilariously feathered coifs--who look a lot older than your average teenagers--getting ready to throw the first dance since the unfortunate incidents of the 1940s. Oh, a few killjoys mumble ominously about the potential for new atrocities, but they fall mostly on deaf ears because kids these days just don't want to listen to their elders. Most people, however, just aren't all that worried about new killings. Heck, even the sheriff (played by Farley Granger) chuckles benevolently about the party and then promptly announces he is going to take a fishing trip. He decides to leave his young deputy in charge of the town, even though a report about a robbery/murder in a village up the road presents a slight possibility of violence moving into the area. Who cares, though? With the sheriff heading out of town, the kids expect to indulge in a night of alcohol, promiscuity, and dancing. No one gives the deputy much thought since he is a young guy just learning the ropes. Again, we have seen all of this before in one way or another.
The nightmare begins awfully fast as the soldier of yesteryear returns in grand style, sporting that trademark pitchfork along with a bayonet the size of William Wallace's sword. Kids die by the boatload before the alarm goes out, but one of the girls teams up with the young deputy (surprise!) and the two begin to search for the killer. In the meantime, the soldier goes on a massive killing spree, impaling people on that darned pitchfork and getting some mileage out of the bayonet. In one scene, definitely ranking as one of the grimmest in the film, the masked maniac drives his bayonet straight through a guy's head while the victim judders and jitters like some sort of demented marionette. Another gory scene takes place in a swimming pool, when a young lady decides to take a swim and runs right into our demented soldier. And wouldn't you know it? In vivid close up he swipes that old knife right across her throat with the greatest of ease. Yuck! The capper, though, occurs near the end when Savini attempts another exploding head scene ala "Maniac." Regrettably, the attempt pales in comparison to the effect in Lustig's grisly film, but Savini's heart is in the right place and it still looks nasty. Overall, "The Prowler" is a step up from other gory films of its period. Zito attempted to make this film more sadistic and colorful, and he largely succeeded. Unfortunately, the extended stalk and slash scenes run on far too long; so long, in fact, that any tension built up melts away while the scene is still unfolding. The tendency to overplay the suspense card, along with cardboard cutout characters we could care less about, significantly hampers the overall effectiveness of "The Prowler."
The Blue Underground DVD is awesome. Extras include a commentary with Joseph Zito and Tom Savini (!), a poster and still gallery, a trailer, and a behind the scenes look at Savini's gore effects. Attention: you MUST watch this behind the scenes footage. I know a lot of the featurettes on DVDs aren't very good, but this one is a winner. Not only do we see how Savini pulled off his grisly effects, we see them acted out in horrific detail. Even though you know what you are seeing is fake, it still looks gruesome in the extreme. Especially noteworthy is the swimming pool scene, which goes on for an eternity in the featurette. To top it all off, "The Prowler" is in widescreen. This isn't a unique film, but the DVD should appeal to horror fans everwhere.
Movie Review: A gory classic from the slasher heyday of the early 1980s
Summary: 4 Stars
If you're making a list of must-see 80s slashers, The Prowler should definitely be one of them. Yeah, the plot isn't all that great, the pace of the movie drags in places, and several questions ultimately go unanswered - but I was genuinely surprised at the identity of the killer (who is pretty intimidating in his killing garb), the lead actress is fairly cute, and - as is always important for us gorehounds - I was absolutely delighted at the spectacle of blood and gore on display. The filmmakers really let makeup/special effects genius Tom Savini go hog wild. Where other slasher movies give you a quick cut shot of a knife slicing a neck open or a pitchfork going all the way through a body, The Prowler lingers deliciously on such gruesome sights. You get to see that last little convulsion as he raises a skewered body up, with the tines of the pitchfork scraping against the tile; you watch him working his knife back and forth as if he has trouble removing it from his victim's neck - it's these little details that show you just how much Savini cares about his gruesome craft. Admittedly, one death is wholly and patently fake, but you still have to appreciate the effort and intent of the shot.
The story begins in 1945, when a young woman and her beau are ruthlessly murdered on the night of the big college graduation dance; while their killer was never caught, it is made quite obvious that the murderer was the young woman's former boyfriend, to whom she had sent a Dear John letter while he was still fighting overseas. 35 years later, the college prepares for the first graduation dance since that awful night. With the sheriff away on a fishing trip, only a pretty boy deputy (Christopher Goutman) and his coed girlfriend (Vicky Dawson) are available to try and stop the returned killer's bloody rampage. 35 years may have passed, but the killer is still strong enough to shove a knife completely through a young man's skull. Deputy London isn't every good at his job and drags his girlfriend from one dangerous scene to another, but fortunately his little cutie has a lot of spunk - and she needs every bit of it as she comes face to hidden face with the killer, all decked out in his World War II army gear, on several occasions.
Unlike many slasher films, The Prowler actually tries to scare you a little bit, and it does succeed in generating a certain amount of tension in places. Still, the basic storyline isn't particularly noteworthy, and some viewers might complain about a few characters being introduced and then forgotten about for no apparent reason (it's not as if they're red herrings helping to keep the killer's identity a mystery). Speaking of the killer, I never really figured out who it was before the secret was revealed in the end, but a number of viewers probably won't be as dense as I was - and that will obviously take away from their enjoyment of the film. No one can take anything away from Tom Savini's memorable special effects work, though, and that makes The Prowler a must-see film for slasher fans.
Movie Review: The real star of this film: obviously, Tom Savini.
Summary: 4 Stars
Separating "The Prowler" from other slashers, this film opens with vintage footage of WWII soldiers returning home with a voice-over narrator, hired by the film-makers and then in his 80's, who had actually once narrated these kinds of newsreels.
Then we cut to the reading of a "Dear John" letter in which a young woman reveals that she's dumping her soldier boyfriend (jeez, she only had to wait a little while longer). Well, at a graduation dance, the impatient girl and her new lover meet a graphic demise at the hands of a psychopath in full 1940's era army fatigues.
Move forward another 35 years, and the first graduation dance since the double murder is being held. And, what do you know, another demented soldier boy is determined to hack and slash people to death...
This is a tolerable if not terribly inspired slasher film that gets most of the juice it has from Savini's gut-wrenching, unrelentingly nasty gore. You may really believe that these stupid, unlucky characters are dying brutal deaths. The knife through the head (what really makes this work is the fact that this victim's eyes actually ROLL BACK IN HIS HEAD) and pitchfork in the shower kills are probably considered classic moments for fans of gore. The final dispatching of the villain is a real show-stopper, too.
As for the rest, well, there's some suspense. This actually isn't *badly* made (it had a budget of about a million dollars, which was probably more than some bottom-of-the-barrel slashers cost). True, there are scenes of the two main characters wandering around empty houses and graveyards that simply go on too long. I did appreciate the efforts of the film-makers to create some mood and atmosphere in addition to the gore (Richard Einhorn's music helps a fair bit in that regard), although when all is said and done, the gore is the only memorable component of this movie.
Chris Goutman, as the deputy sheriff, and the very pretty Vicky Dawson, as his love interest, are likable if colorless leads. Hollywood legends Farley Granger ("Rope", "Strangers on a Train") and Lawrence Tierney (1945's "Dillinger", "Reservoir Dogs") are in this film but they are pretty under-utilized, especially Tierney, who has barely any screen time and not one word of dialogue.
I do enjoy "The Prowler". The fine company Blue Underground give it a respectable if not exemplary DVD treatment, with a nice 1.85:1 picture and okay sound. The extras include an informative, sometimes funny commentary with co-producer / director Joseph Zito and makeup effects artist Savini, the obligatory theatrical trailer, a poster and still gallery, and the real crowning jewel, around ten minutes or so of Savini's behind-the-scenes footage of the rehearsals of the gore scenes.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.