Fantastic!

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Dear me - Where-oh-where, do I begin to tell you how utterly awful this 1981 slasher/horror movie was? To say that The Prowler was just wretched junk would almost be the same thing as paying it a compliment. And, of course, hurling a slew of nasty adjectives at it would never, ever be sufficient enough to do this putrid film's overall incompetence justice.I can't imagine that anyone (who's over 16 and in their right mind) would ever give this "too-stupid-for-words" movie more than a 2-star rating. But, then again, that just goes to show you that there's absolutely no accounting for one's puzzling taste in movies.I recently read that make-up effects man, Tom Savini, considers the gore-effects he created for The Prowler to be his very best work. Well, if this is really so, then I can't imagine how Savini has been able to survive in this competitive field of work for all of these years.From its predictable story-line, to its dismal suspense, to its overloud music, to its laughable, surprise/shock ending, The Prowler was a certified dud on all counts.It made absolutely no sense to me why (after committing his first murder in 1945) the pitchfork-wielding killer took an incredibly long, 35-year hiatus off (that's right! 35 years!) from venting his rage-of-rejection before he finally got back into the "swing" (stab, chop) of things in 1980.Anyways - After seeing The Prowler, I think that director, Joseph Zito should change his name to Joseph Zero.

A man commits a double murder after receiving a Dear John letter 35 years later, more murders begin to commence when teens begin to be killed off. The sheriff is off for some quality alone time, leaving Dept. London & Pam MacDonald to not only stop the killer, but survive as well. "That's it?" was my subsequent reaction as soon as this movie had ended. I bought this on DVD years ago, without even seeing it. I was extremely disappointed back then, haven't touched it since, until now. I love slasher movies and it doesn't take much for me to be entertained. I love a lot of 80's slashers, but some of them are indistinguishable from the other. This is one of them and you can certainly tell it is from the 80's. The Prowler doesn't offer much entertainment what so ever. As a matter of fact, it's downright mundane. The killer looks somewhat cool. The WW2 getup is certainly unique, but I wouldn't call him creepy. There is also a bit too much of him as well, which diminishes the impact. The revelation at the end is a bit surprising, but illogical. There are no interesting characters. Everyone is so damn bland. People say slasher's don't need interesting characters. I say BS to that opinion, with all due respect. You need an entertaining hero or heroine to lead the movie. I wasn't fond of the two leads in this one. Vicky Dawson is decent looking, but her acting skills aren't great. She lacks a special quality to make her interesting. Christopher Gountman is even worse as the deputy. He sleepwalks through his part and looks bored most of the time. The gore is the most memorable thing about this movie. We get a knife in the throat, grisly pitchfork impailing's (The one in the shower is brutal) a slit throat and an amazing head explosion from a shotgun. Another problem I had with this movie is that it is too dark at times, which makes it hard to see.Final Thoughts: I didn't like this one at all. Tom Savini's gore effects are terrific, unfortunately the movie is not. It is far too uninteresting to succeed. You can do much better4.4/10

The slasher is probably the most derided of any horror type. People criticize the films are formulaic, gore-for-gore's sake, mindless, or even misogynistic. These things are sometimes, true, yes. Which isn't to say that a satisfying, suspenseful, well made film can't be made within those outlines. "The Prowler" is one of the best examples of the subgenre.How much does "The Prowler" fit the traditional outlines of a slasher? It opens with a crime in the past. After his girlfriend breaks up with him via a Dear John letter, a just-returned World War II veteran murders the girl and her new lover with a pitchfork. On what night did the deaths take place? The night of the big graduation party. Thirty five years later, the New Jersey town of Avalon Bay is having a graduation party for the first time since that night. Naturally, this event inflames the still-living killer's rage, forcing him to kill again. Just to go down the list, that's a crime in the past, a special holiday event, an anniversary of a crime, and a killer in both a mask and with not one, but two!, trademark weapons. On the surface, "The Prowler" is about as typical as it gets.The story is not what makes "The Prowler" special. Instead of shot in some dark forest or other, uninteresting isolated location, "The Prowler" was lensed in New Jersey's historical district. This gives the film a unique look, the old Victorian buildings adding a certain gravitas to the proceedings. Joseph Zito's direction is equally handsome. The nights are made up of contrasting blues and blacks. Zito frequently employs less then typical shots, like a long sequence reflected in a mirror. My favorite bit is when the girls getting ready for the dance are intercut with and contrasted against the killer preparing his weapons and outfits. "The Prowler" might just be the prettiest slasher ever made. It's certainly far more polished then must of the output of the time.The film is also, perhaps, the goriest film of the first wave of American slashers. This is primarily the reason why the film ranks so highly among the fandom. Tom Savini declared it his best work. It very well might be. Pitchforks are dug into backs, a large puddle of blood oozing from the victims. An eighteen inch long bayonet is shoved all the way through a victim's head, his eyes rolling back until they're completely white. "The Prowler" one-ups "Psycho" by the having the naked, bathing beauty nailed to the wall with a pitchfork. Savini marches out his trademark of exploding a fake head with a real shotgun fantastically. The bayonet is, earlier, shoved directly into a woman's jugular, blood spurting from the wound, her shoes painted red. All of these are fantastic. Yet no kill is more impressive then the girl with the slit throat in the swimming pool. Sorry, did I say "slit?" "Embedded" is more likely. The villain saws her neck open until he hits bone. The latex stretches and tears, torrent after torrent of corn syrup flooding the pool. It's extended, brutal, and borderline pornographic. I love it.Buckets load of blood and gore are fine and dandy. However, "The Prowler" backs it up by generating actual suspense. A scene where the heroine is delayed by the creepy old man works well. The girl being unaware of the killer in the same room is another potential cliché enlivened by excellent execution here. The sudden surprise of a corpse in a fireplace or discovery of a fresh body in a casket jolts audiences nicely. Most slashers have a long chase scene between final girl and killer. The one presented here stands above the rest. Final girl Pam enters a room of old furniture covered with white clothes. Hiding under a table, she watches helplessly as the killer tears the room apart, flipping tables and smashing things. Even when a big ass rat crawls through her hair, she remains silent. The same year's "Friday the 13th Part II" featured a similar sequence but this one is far more effective. This is how you do it, kids.About the only thing that doesn't work about "The Prowler" is its cast. The film earns points for not featuring the typical horny teenagers. Instead, the hero is a deputy police officer, his girlfriend spunky and strong. The middle chapter of the film is composed of them sleuthing out the mystery, investigating graveyards and old homes. Scenes like the boyfriend trying to convince the girl to stay behind add some character. Also among the cast: Horny college students. Most of the victims are just random by-standers. I suppose it's fair to develop the central duo while filling the body count out with minor characters. Vicky Dawson is likable enough as the final girl but Christopher Goutman, looking all the world like a young William Fichtner, is too blandly heroic to register. The film also makes the mistake of wasting Lawrence Tierney, sticking him in a speechless, undefined "creepy old man" part and not even giving him the dignity of a death scene.The killer's military garb gives him a distinctive look. His habit of leaving roses with his victims gives him personality. I enjoy the bizarre comic relief scene involving a lazy hotel clerk. The last jump scare is totally bogus but effective all the same. "The Prowler" is one of my top slasher picks, fantastically gory, beautifully shot, well structured and paced. I'd rank it above "The Burning" but just below "My Bloody Valentine."

Released in 1981, The Prowler never got the recognition of its peers. Friday the 13th, My Bloody Valentine and Prom Night all went on to pop culture familiarity spanning countless sequels and eventual remakes. Yet the Joseph Zito classic about a masked World War II army gear wearing slasher remains nothing more than a footnote in the annals of horror history.And that is unfortunate. For not only does The Prowler exhibit some of make-up effects artist Tom Savini's best work, but it also might just be the best slasher film released in the glory days of the early 1980's.Opening after the conclusion of World War II where a couple is brutally murdered, the film forwards 35-years to present day (1981 present day) where a group of college kids are preparing for an annual spring dance. Mysteriously, the fatigue donning killer reappears and using his weapons of choice (a bayonet and a pitchfork) he begins his night of terror that will leave the small New Jersey town soaked in adolescent blood.A slasher film is routinely graded on the graphicness or originality of its kills. And The Prowler delivers the bloody goods thanks to the aforementioned Tom Savini. A pitchfork puncturing shower scene, a pool throat slashing and the shotgun blow to the head were arguably three of the best kills of The Prowler's era – and era that included Friday the 13th sequels, A Nightmare on Elm Street and Halloween II.The story itself is horror routine. But the execution by director Joseph Zito (Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, Invasion U.S.A.) is brilliantly choreographed in a thrilling and exciting film that holds up as well today as it did over 30-years ago. The Prowler was produced for $1 million but was self-distributed by Zito therefore relegating the title to the background of VHS rental video stores. But now that it is available on DVD and blu-ray, the title should be sought out by anyone who wants to be considered an authoritative voice on the genre.www.killerreviews.com