6.6 | / 10 |
Users | 3.6 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.2 |
Avalon Bay, 1945: On the night of her graduation dance, young Rosemary and her date are brutally murdered by a prowler thought to be a jilted soldier home from the war. The killer was never found. 30 years later, the dance is held again for the first time since that horrific evening - but something else may have also returned Tonight, the teens of this sleepy town will meet their grisly ends at the hands - and pitchfork, blade and more - of THE PROWLER!
Starring: Farley Granger, Vicky Dawson, Christopher Goutman, Cindy Weintraub, Lawrence TierneyHorror | 100% |
Thriller | 16% |
Mystery | 9% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
English: Dolby Digital 5.1 EX (640 kbps)
English: Dolby Digital Mono (256 kbps)
English, French, Spanish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 3.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
A prowler has been seen around the campus.
Stick a killer in a random costume, build some lame-to-generic backstory of someone usually in
some way wronged to try and
explain things away, kill a naked girl in the shower, slice through a few other teenagers, and voila,
a Horror movie is born. The Prowler is formula through and through, a movie that's about
five minutes of honest-to-goodness brutality with the rest of it pretty much a bunch of dull but
admittedly atmospheric and well-made scenes of
people slowly walking around as they look for the killer or try to dig up clues as to how or why he's
on a murderous rampage. Despite a
complete absence of originality, though, The Prowler isn't half bad for what it is. It's
certainly lacking in character development and the killer's identity isn't hard to guess, but the
picture is strongly directed by Joseph Zito (Invasion USA); he builds a foreboding and
convincing atmosphere and,
best of all, makes sure to capture every detail of Tom Savini's (Dawn of the Dead)
ooey-gooey special effects work. Still, it's not like those pluses offer much of a reason to watch;
plenty of
other movies can say the same, so why check out The Prowler instead of "random 1980s
low budget Horror movie?" Two reasons: Savini's
gore effects really are that good, and if nothing else, The Prowler is a perfect example of
low-budget and straightforward
Horror formula done about as well as is possible.
On the prowl.
The Prowler stalks Blu-ray with a 1080p, 1.85:1-framed transfer that's, for the most part, nicely realized. Though Blue Underground's transfer is clearly rough around its edges -- this is no The International or Chloe in terms of brilliant and faultless modern day photography translated seamlessly to Blu-ray -- it's hard to ask for much more, all things considered, of a low-budget Horror movie that's pushing 30 years of age. The image is certainly grainy with some accompanying noise in tow, and there's some random speckles, pops, debris, and other assorted maladies that creep into frame from time to time, though they're rarely to the detriment of the viewing experience. The image is certainly not vibrant but it's nevertheless easy on the eyes, despite a somewhat bland and toned down color palette and plenty of dark locales. Black levels sometimes look a bit too bright and sometimes a bit too dark, but never does the transfer fall towards one extreme or the other. Details are adequate at best; faces look flat and absent much definition, and the same may be said of just about any object in any frame throughout the movie. There's definitely a boost in clarity and resolution here over standard definition material, but again, The Prowler is only going to look so good. Aside from some minor banding and blooming, there's not much more room for complaint. Blue Underground's transfer isn't a revelation, but it's a quality offering in its own right.
The Prowler slashes onto Blu-ray with a DTS-HD MA 7.1 lossless soundtrack as the primary sonic weapon of choice. Despite the "7.1" presentation, there's little to the track that extends beyond the primary front three channels. Music is usually spaced well across the front; what it lacks in absolute clarity and definition it makes up for in effort, and the music accompanying the final minutes of the film somehow seems a bit more aggressive and potent than anything that comes before it. Dialogue is usually strong and crisp, with only a few instances of it coming across as muffled. Ambience is limited to the front; there's not much here that's convincing or audibly enthralling, but the track creates the sort of atmosphere that sets a mood and defines a place but doesn't do so with absolute realism and attention to detail in mind. Sound effects, too, are lacking in space, power, and precision, but several play as particularly messy and indistinct, notably those accompanying a pool attack scene in chapter 13. The low end is rarely put to use outside of a couple of musical selections that are pretty much the only element in the track that provide even a hint that the .1 channel is indeed a part of this presentation. The Prowler isn't a feast for the ears, but never does it drop below the point that its soundtrack becomes an ear sore.
The Prowler's supplements are all about quality rather than quantity. First up is an audio commentary track with Producer/Director Joseph Zito and Special Make-Up Effects Artist Tom Savini. Theirs is a fun and effortless track, one that's not just technically informative but relaxed in tone and packed with anecdotal and off-the-cuff comments that make it a strong and highly recommendable commentary. Tom Savini's Behind-the-Scenes Gore Footage (480p, 9:34) is a fantastic no-frills, honest-to-goodness behind-the-scenes piece that's free of talking heads and is comprised of nothing but raw footage of the special effects and kills as they work and played out on the set. If only all supplements were as straightforward and worthwhile as this. The final extra is a copy of the film's trailer (480p, 3:48).
The Prowler is a retread Horror flick from the 1980s that doesn't really offer anything new in its genre. A killer in a World War II uniform is cool, but beyond that, this is the definition of a basic Horror movie that sees about five minutes of violence and 80 minutes of characters either getting ready to be killed or walking around looking for their dead friends or searching for clues as to the motivations and whereabouts of the slasher. Frankly, The Prowler's a little too sluggish, but it's still in its own way better than most of the hyperkinetic and ultra-grisly rubbish that passes for Horror these days. No doubt Horror is a delicate genre that seems more susceptible than most to churning carbon copy movie after carbon copy movie, and The Prowler falls squarely into that trap, though it does the usual genre elements -- particularly its atmosphere and gore -- better than most. The best things about The Prowler? Tom Savini's effects are excellent, and the movie is so good at following formula that's arguably one of the definitive movies of its kind. Blue Undergrounds release of The Prowler delivers a small but exceptionally strong collection of extras, and the video and audio presentations are pretty much in-line with what genre fans should reasonably expect of a movie such as this. Recommended to Horror fans.
Remastered | Collector's Edition
1981
1981
Collector's Edition
1981
1981
Lo squartatore di New York
1982
1983
Director's Cut
1989
1983
Collector's Edition
1983
1982
Limited to 1200 Copies
1986
Death Dorm / Pranks
1982
1978
Slipcover in Original Pressing
1981
1980
1985
Special Edition
1980
1981
2018
2-Disc Special Edition
1980