Synopsis: In 1945 a double murder occurred in a small California town. 35 years later an unknown killer, clad in World War II Army fatigues, stalks a group of college kids holding an annual graduation dance.
The Prowler opens up with a voiceover reading a “Dear John” letter to a soldier overseas during WWII. Rosemary is basically letting her beau know that she has moved on to another man. Not willing to wait any longer for his return. Later that year, the young letter writer is attending a graduation dance with her new fella. They venture off away from the party for a little private time in a secluded area. Next thing you know they are pinned together with a pitchfork by an unknown assailant.
Flash forward 35 years and the same venue is hosting another graduation ball. One by one, the young lovers begin to fall at the hands of a masked man in Army fatigues. Brandishing nothing but a pitchfork and bayonet. To add to the problem, the sheriff has left town for a fishing trip leaving the Deputy in charge.
Pam (Vicky Dawson) gets chased by the prowler and encounters her wheelchair bound, silent neighbor Major Chatham (Lawrence Tierney). Chatham then grabs her arm and inhibits her egress from the killer giving chase. Just then Deputy London (Chistopher Goutman) shows up and the bad guy wanders off to find another victim. Pam convinces Deputy London that they should investigate the Major’s house. There they discover that the reclusive neighbor is the father of Rosemary and that Rosemary’s killer was never captured.
Pam begins to think that the current prowler might be the same killer that took the life of Rosemary and her boyfriend back in 1945. With the help of Deputy London, they head back to the Major’s house and are attacked by the prowler. Leading to the epic showdown.
The Prowler has become a bit of a cult classic. With some even going so far as to say it’s one of the greatest slasher films of all time. Personally, I find that a bit of a stretch. It exists in an era of slashers galore and really finds itself not standing out amongst the group. I mean, the story is essentially My Bloody Valentine with a slightly different killer, weapon of choice and location. Boil them down by plot point and you almost have the same story beat for beat. Granted, it definitely doesn’t help that they were released the same year. But for what it lacks in story creativity, it more than makes up for with Tom Savini’s over-the-top gore effects.
Slashers in the 80’s all had fairly simple formulas. The story was nothing much but a little lore, fed to the audience in order to facilitate whatever elaborate kill sequences the special effects department had loaded up. There were a few guys back in those days known for their love of the extravagant, blood-soaked splatter. One such man was Tom Savini and his craft was on display, front and center in this flick.
Having never seen The Prowler (blasphemy, I know) I went into this completely blind. Not knowing much beyond the basic plot summary on the streaming platform. I’ve got to say, I wasn’t really impressed with the story or execution. It felt pretty damn generic to me. What saved it was the practical effects driven death sequences. Which got cut in most international releases but luckily were intact in the version I saw. If it wasn’t for that, this film would probably be pretty low on the list. Maybe I’ll revisit after the spooky season. Could even do a double-bill with My Bloody Valentine and see if my thoughts change. But for now, it just blends in with all the other lesser known slasher titles of the era.
If you haven’t already seen this one then it warrants at least one viewing just for the kills alone. I found this one streaming on Prime as of this writing.
So grab your popcorn, kill the lights and join me again tomorrow as we continue our journey on this strange little trip down the 31 Days of Horror rabbit hole. See you soon…
