The Prowler is a decent slasher movie that was released in1981. I had been wanting to see this one for years but at the time I first heard of it, I think it was already out of print from its initial DVD pressing from 2002. It has since been re-released on DVD, so if you wanna see this one, don’t worry. Funny enough, it is that 2002 release that Netflix sent to me.
From the very first kill scene, I knew the awesome effects were Savini-esque… And I was right! I had totally forgotten Tom Savini had done the effects for this movie. The movie was directed by Joseph Zito, who would later go on to direct Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (again, Savini doing make-up effects) and two Chuck Norris films– Missing In Action and Invasion USA.
As I was watching this movie, I was instantly reminded of the original My Bloody Valentine (also released in 1981): small town, unsolved murders from decades ago during a special event, town relents and lets special event take place again and the murders start up again.
If I’m remembering what I’ve read about this movie, some of the kill scenes and gore were pretty controversial for the time and the theatrical cut took most of that out (same thing happened to My Blood Valentine), but luckily, the DVD edition is the unrated cut.
The acting is decent for the genre but the story is so-so with not a lot of explanation as to why some characters are doing certain things and there’s plenty of jump cuts and poor editing. So it wasn’t what I was expecting it to be, but I’m still glad I watched it. If nothing else, I can now say “yes, I have seen The Prowler“. If you’re a die hard slasher fan, this is a recommend but anyone else may be a bit bored with it.
I wasn’t super-impressed with this, but the only reason I rented it was b/c of Savini’s FX. The shower/pitchfork murder was pretty great though. I didn’t recognize Farley Granger as the older sheriff, an old-time actor who starred in the Hitchcock classics Rope and Strangers on a Train.
Ooooh! I’d not heard of this movie… which is weird cos I love early 80s slashers.
Same director as Friday 13th IV, eigh? My interest is well and truly piqued. I’ll stick it on my Netflix list. I wonder if I’ll get the 2002 release too?
As far as I know, there’s really no difference between the ’02 and ’07 versions (although this ’02 transfer definitely did not appear to be cleaned up at all). I think they’re both uncut, they just have different distributors.