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.
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Title: The Prowler (1981)
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Cast
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Vicky Dawson | ... | |
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Christopher Goutman | ... | |
| Lawrence Tierney | ... | ||
| Farley Granger | ... | ||
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Cindy Weintraub | ... | |
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Lisa Dunsheath | ... | |
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David Sederholm | ... | |
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Bill Nunnery | ... |
Hotel Clerk
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Thom Bray | ... | |
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Diane Rode | ... | |
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Bryan Englund | ... | |
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Donna Davis | ... | |
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Carleton Carpenter | ... |
1945 M.C
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Joy Glaccum | ... | |
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Timothy Wahrer | ... | |
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Plot Summary
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Plot Synopsis
Storyline
The film begins with the return home of a wwII veteran who was the recipient of a "Dear John Letter". After swiftly dispatching a courting couple in a Gazebo we leap to present day where a college celebration becomes the hunting ground for a uniform clad killer. Written by Barry Wall <Barry@Mage.demon.co.uk>
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the film that shocked America! See more »Parents Guide:
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Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
6 November 1981 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Pitchfork Massacre See more »Filming Locations:
Cape May, New Jersey, USABox Office
Budget:
$1,000,000 (estimated)Company Credits
Show detailed
company contact information
on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
| (cut)Sound Mix:
MonoAspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1
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Composed and Performed by Nowhere Fast
Courtesy of Trust Me Music, Inc.
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Did You Know?
Trivia
The Colonial Hotel on Ocean St. (now The Inn of Cape May) has always been painted white from top to bottom, and was decorated with crepe streamers for the prom scenes. It rained during filming, and the colors of the crepe streamers ran, staining the white paint. After filming was completed, the building had to be re-painted wherever they had used the streamers. See more »Goofs
The camera's shadow can be seen during the POV shot of one of the girls' getting out of the pool when encountering the killer. See more »Crazy Credits
The color of the closing credits turns from blood red to yellow. See more »Soundtracks
View Through a TearComposed and Performed by Nowhere Fast
Courtesy of Trust Me Music, Inc.
See more »
The Prowler is an overlooked horror film from that golden age of slasher films of the late 70s and early 80s. The film is directed by Joseph Zito who has special effects wizard Tom Savini to thank for the film's best scenes. The two also teamed up for Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (part 4), and that film is a superior effort to this one.
The Plot of this film is very similar to My Bloody Valentine. We have a brutal act of violence taking place many years ago. We have the first big social event scheduled in several years on the very grounds where the trouble took place. And we have a spooky killer chopping up victims left and right. Only instead of full mining gear, our Prowler is dressed in WWII era military fatigues.
The gore is by far the best thing this film has going for it. There are some DISGUSTING killings which look very much like they could be the real thing. Our killer loves to use his bayonet, a pitchfork, and a sawed-off double barrel shotgun on his victims. Most of the killings in the version I have are not mere snippets of knives piercing flesh. You see the killer slice and penetrate these victims until they aren't breathing any more. There is a tidal wave of blood spilled in this film. They saved the best for last, when we see just what a blast from a shotgun at point blank range can do to someone's face. (I would not dream of revealing the victim's identity here!) The film has some glaring dead spots, too. Lawrence Tierney who is billed pretty highly makes such a short appearance you wouldn't believe it. Character development is nearly non-existent, and the motivation behind the carnage is not defined by any logical means. Let me put it this way; I have absolutely NO IDEA why the killer committed these murders. I wonder if the writers even knew.
Gore fans will definitely need to see the uncut version of this film at some point in their lives. It's like a golfer having to play a certain course he heard is interesting before he dies or a skier having to try a certain slope. That kind of thing. See this film out of a sense of duty, but don't expect a true classic.
6 of 10 stars from the Hound.