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The Prowler (1981)
Boy oh boy what it would be like to return to the year 1981 if you’re a horror fan. The slasher movie was in full stride at the time with heavyweights like “Friday the 13th Part 2 , “The Burning”, “My Bloody Valentine” and many more being released in the theater for fans to enjoy. One of the most famous (or infamous) people at this time in horror was the special effects legend, Tom Savini. Savini became known to the world from his fabulous effects in films like “Dawn of the Dead” and “Friday the 13th” which were sure to cement his name in the minds of horror fans all over the world. In 1981 Savini further established his name by doing the effects for “The Burning” and the film we’re going to talk about here “The Prowler”.
“The Prowler” starts out in 1945 the night of the Graduation Ball in Avalon Bay. A young couple is murdered and the killer was never found. Flash forward to 1980 where a new dance for graduation is all set to take place it appears that the killer has returned to the town. It’s up to Mark the deputy left in charge when the sheriff goes on vacation to stop what’s happening and figure out what is happening in Avalon Bay, before everyone is dead.
Prior to watching this movie for review I had seen “The Prowler” on several occasions only to be completely underwhelmed. How ever I had always insisted that the movie does have something to it that delivers, which of course with Savini’s name on the film means it’s the special effects. Story and plot aside, “The Prowler” is one of the most impressive, effects heavy slasher films I have ever seen. The movie plays like a reel of Savini’s best effects which is really saying something. A lot of horror fans praise “The Burning” for it’s effects and although it certainly is a better film, the effects in “The Prowler” blow it away. Each and every kill in the film is pretty damn mean spirited and effective, which is usually a strong point for a slasher film. Although it doesn’t save the movie as a whole, it assures that “The Prowler” should be seen at least once by every slasher aficionado.
The major issues that “The Prowler” has going for it are the mediocre storyline, terrible red herrings and a pretty lackluster ending. I know that this sounds like the film is simply bad, but it’s not that cut and dry. Personally I think that what “The Prowler” does wrong story wise, it manages to make up with gore and stalk and slash scenes. Director Joseph Zito certainly knows how to build suspense throughout and that’s something that I found to be a strong point of the movie. He would even manage to go on and do it again as part of the Friday the 13th franchise 3 years later as he would helm Friday part 4 (reuniting again with effects master Tom Savini).
Another strong point of the film is the look of the killer itself. In the film the character is wearing a full army outfit complete with mask covering his face. Considering I know a lot of horror fans that dislike the movie still manage to talk about how cool the killer was. A lot of people tend to look at “The Prowler” as a missed opportunity, but I can’t look at the film that way. To be perfectly honest I’d be willing to say that “The Prowler” actually gets better with repeated viewings. That may not make much sense but I’ve managed to enjoy the film even more every time I see it. In fact, I know I think much more fondly of it now than I did the first few times I’ve seen it.
Overall “The Prowler” is a strong slasher movie with a rather weak storyline. But with that being said, it’s also one that is dramatically improved by the fact that it follows the convention of the slasher film through and through. This won’t make it good enough to compete with the classic slashers of the genre, but it’s still one solid attempt at making one.
Rating - **1/2
-Ed Demko
