Well if nothing else you at least get some old school gore with this one!
The Prowler (1981)
Directed By: Joseph Zito (Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter)
The Prologue
A lot of folks consider Joesph Zito’s entry into Friday the 13th’s long franchise history to be the best in the whole series. What you might not know is that THIS movie here is the movie that got the man the job.
In 1981 Zito teamed up with effects master Tom Savini (they worked together later on Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter) to create a slasher film that at the time slid under everyone’s radar called The Prowler aka. Rosemary’s Killer. A movie that will remind you a lot of My Bloody Valentine in more ways than one. But a movie that tops that film and many others when it comes to the gore factor!..And you know how I just love me some gore! Hooorah!
The Movie
So a masked killer, wearing World War II U.S. Army fatigues, stalks a small New Jersey town bent on reliving a 35-year-old double murder by focusing on a group of college kids holding an annual Spring Dance. And while I have no clue how the mofo can even really see out of his whole outfit he manages to make it work, along with having a rather large pitch fork with him wherever he goes, to make some pretty darn memorable kills!
Lets be honest folks, this movie is held together by one thing and one thing only and that’s Tom Savini’s effects work. Sure The Prowler looks cool and all but when you get past that and the gore there isn’t that much else to really latch onto.
Now we are to believe (due to the intro) that the killings all start due to a “Dear John” letter a young lady sends her boyfriend who is in the army back in the World War II days. Notice I say we assume because this movie gets into the killing and forgets to really even tell us later what is going on and why, leaving most of it for us to just figure out on our own. Maybe that isn’t the worst thing in the world to do, because it worked for Black Christmas and all, but it can seem pretty awkward here.
Another thing I dislike when it comes to movies is when things start to just draaaaag on in between the action. And a great deal of this movie is filled up with our two main people just sneaking around houses and graves..I mean who is suppose to be the Prowler here?? The killer or them?? Both seems to be pretty damn nosy. And I admit I got a laugh out of the few moments where we hear spooky music and just see nothing more take place than The Prowler in the shadows turning his head in a direction.
So it’s not the best slasher I’ve seen in any shape or form but it isn’t the worst either..not by far.
The Conclusion
Gore, gore, gore, my friends! This movie is all about it and it really is all it has, but it’s good enough to give this film a view.
Tom Savini has said before that he considers this movie to be his best work, now I dunno bout that because this sure isn’t Day of the Dead but it sure kicks the crap out of many other, more popular slasher films that have came and went during this same time period and now.
The Rating (6.5/10)
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