Cult Slasher Classic: The Prowler

Welcome back to the week kiddies! After the bizarre day of yesterday I was a wee bit exhausted so hence the audio review. We are back with Cult Slasher Classic with a surprising B-movie slasher that was dubbed the most graphic horror flick ever to arise from the depths of Hell. You know with this genre getting CGI blood, green screen effects and ramping up the gore, all the while toning down any suspension. With the graphic SFX practical effects, eerie music and a good tone. This is The Prowler a.k.a. Rosemary's Killer, The Graduation and Pitchfork Massacre.

Rosemary's first DP goes horribly wrong.

A soldier overseas receives a Dear John letter from his girlfriend Rosemary has moved on to her new fella Roy. Yeah man, fighting for your country and left for a guy called Roy. This sticks in his craw causing him to return home during graduation dance. On June 28, 1945, Rosemary and Roy both are murdered by a prowler in military fatigues spearing them both with a pitchfork. Cut to 35 years later, June 28 folks want to revive this graduation dance tradition. Cue the Friday the 13^th music. Pam MacDonald (Vicky Dawson of Another World, The Four of Us, Breaking Up, Carbon Copy, The Prowler and ABC Afterschool Specials) must convince someone on her side to get this dance up and running she talks to Sheriff Fraser (Farley Granger of Rope, Strangers on a Train, Senso, Amuck, The Red Headed Corpse, The Serpent, The Man Called Noon, The Edge of Night, The Prowler and Death Mask) convince this pseudo mayor Major Chatham (Lawrence Tierney of Born to Kill, A Child Is Waiting, Custer of the West, Killer Without a Face, Such Good Friends, Abduction, Bad, The Prowler, Prizzi's Honor, Hill Street Blues, The Horror Show and Reservoir Dogs) like Lori Singer to John Lithgow to allow a dance to happen. Clearly Pam needed Kevin Bacon with his flared nostrils and smooth moves to make like a hoofer Jesus and bring joy to the masses.

BLUGH!!! *difficult to talk when stabbed in the head*

Sheriff Fraser less than enthused at this information while there is a robbery, a murder and grand theft auto all in one event. The Sheriff concerned but not enough to give up going fishing so he leaves his deputy Mark (Christopher Goutman of Texas, The Edge of Night, The Powers of Matthew Star, Goodbye, New York and George Washington II: The Forging of a Nation) in charge of this investigation thus boning Pam's evening. Pam heads out to the dance regardless leaving her roomie Sherry (Lisa Dunsheath of They All Laughed, A Little Sex, Deadly Nightmares, Rags to Riches, Alien Private Eye and Santa Barbara) to shower away. Yup obligatory nude scene was needed. Shockingly enough she is visited a large pitchfork skewering her to the wall and drove a knife into her boyfriend's head.

Grrr...Argh...

Pam has a punch mishap at the dance, heads home to change only to run into our combat garbed loopy who fails to off Pam because... well she is the sweet girl that cannot die horribly...yet. She flees to get back with Mark and warning the whole dance as she believes our nutter to be the original killer from 1945 with a bloody vengeance. Mark and Pam proceed to head back to the dance, warn the chaperone Miss Allison (Donna Davis of Kate & Allie and The Prowler) to keep the kids inside until the killer is caught.

Can Pam and Mork er um Mark stop this nut? Is it the actual soldier? Stay tuned!!

SFX guru Tom Savini thinks this is some of his best gore gags and practical effects and I gotta say I was blown away with how wrong they were. Tom Savini actually fired the double barreled shotgun aimed a hit on a fake head looked amazing. Totally bad ass. Apparently The Prowler that was released in North and South Carolina as Pitchfork Massacre in 1984 no one is truly aware who distributed it or whether or not they had legally had rights to release the film. This was very impressive!

That's not my loofah!