The Prowler
The film opens up with newsreel footage of soldiers returning from WWII in Europe on the Queen Mary. The voiceover for the news footage states overall that many of the soldiers' long-distance relationships will either be crushed or rekindled. This is proven true when we're shown a Dear John letter dated March 12th to a returning G.I. from a woman named Rosemary.
Move ahead to June 28, 1945, where Avalon Bay is having a graduation dance, many G.I.s showing up with their girlfriends, one pair being Rosemary (Joy Glaccum) with her new boyfriend, Roy (Timothy Wahrer).
After awhile, Roy takes Rosemary to a lakeside where they make out in a gazebo. Suddenly, the lights are cut off by an unseen figure in combat garb, making Rosemary become very uneasy. Naturally, Roy reassures her not to worry about it and they continue to kiss. Just as Rosemary looks up, a pitchfork thrusts down and into Roy's back, the attacker shoving it hard enough that it impales both of the lovers. Before the killer leaves, he places a rose in dead Rosemary's hand...
Cut to thirty five years later in the same town of Avalon Bay, where another graduation dance is being planned. Actually, it's the first dance ever since the gruesome murders occurred. Pam MacDonald (Vicky Dawson), college student and writer for the school newspaper, meets up with her deputy boyfriend, Mark London (Christopher Goutman), to go and see Sheriff George Fraser (Farley Granger) to discuss the dance. Also, they discuss the mysterious incidents involving its long-time absense, in which Major Chatham (Lawrence Tierney) hadn't allowed any dances ever since the murders.
The Sheriff then informs Pam of a recent incident in which a young person was killed and had his car stolen in nearby Columbus. The Sheriff leaves Mark in charge while he goes out of town to go fishing, while Pam is very worried about the recent murder.
As night falls and the graduation dance begins, a vicious murderer in combat gear shows up on the campus. Killing many of unwitting Pam's friends in gruesome ways by bayonet, pitchfork, and more, the prowler eventually starts to stalk Pam. Desperately trying to unsolve the mystery with Mark, Pam soon discovers the shocking truth as she runs for her life...
A fantastic genre film made even better by the very realistic gore effects by famed Tom Savini (which are glimpsed in Scream Greats, Volume One, along with The Burning), who worked on Friday the 13th, The Burning, and Dawn of the Dead, to name a few. The death scenes are very original and sometimes hard to watch for squeamish viewers, but excellent for such gore fans as I. Also, director Joseph Zito worked with Savini on Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter later on in 1984.
Another great thing about this film is the nonstop suspense and unexpected chills and thrills. Of course, many clichés made famous by horror movies are noticeable but only made me love The Prowler even more. Also, you'll love the surprise ending, possibly inspired by Carrie.
The lead heroine played by Vicky Dawson reminded me a lot of Tina Yothers of Family Ties for some reason, another example of my ongoing Family Ties infatuation. Yet, a more supportive similarity of Dawson's character is Amy Steel from Friday the 13th 2, particularly the scene in which Dawson hides under a table when a rat crawls nearby, the killer right outside. A scene in Friday the 13th 2 put Steel in sheer terror when faced with the similar situation of having a rat crawl nearby while her character hid under a bed, while Jason stalked outside. Although, Steel's character urinated from fright in that one, unlike Dawson in The Prowler!
Another similarity invovles the same scene above, in which the killer knocks over tables in an attempt to capture Dawson, who's hiding under one of them. Steve Miner, who directed Friday the 13th 2, went on to direct Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later, putting Jamie Lee Curtis's character in a similar situation. Maybe it was some sort of homage shared between Zito and Miner?
Mostly compared to another great 1981 slasher, My Bloody Valentine, The Prowler has been sorely underrated, very surprisingly when involving the horror movie craze established by such films as Halloween and Friday the 13th around the time of the film's release. Another question is why they haven't let this baby out on DVD yet? Hold dear to your old copies for now, seek the movie down if you haven't seen it, because The Prowler is truly a horror movie fan's dream come true! aka Rosemary's Killer and The Graduation
Images from Scream Greats, Volume One: Tom Savini
