Release calendarTop 250 moviesMost popular moviesBrowse movies by genreTop box officeShowtimes & ticketsMovie newsIndia movie spotlight
    What's on TV & streamingTop 250 TV showsMost popular TV showsBrowse TV shows by genreTV news
    What to watchLatest trailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb SpotlightFamily entertainment guideIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsEmmysToronto Int'l Film FestivalHispanic Heritage MonthIMDb Stars to WatchSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll events
    Born todayMost popular celebsCelebrity news
    Help centerContributor zonePolls
For industry professionals
  • Language
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Watchlist
Sign in
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Use app
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • FAQ
IMDbPro

The Prowler

  • 1981
  • R
  • 1h 29m
IMDb RATING
5.9/10
14K
YOUR RATING
The Prowler (1981)
An unknown killer, clad in 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 graduation dance.
Play trailer2:51
1 Video
99+ Photos
B-HorrorSlasher HorrorWhodunnitHorrorMysteryThriller

An unknown killer, clad in World War II U.S. Army fatigues, stalks a small California town, bent on reliving a 35 year-old double murder by focusing on a group of college kids holding an ann... Read allAn unknown killer, clad in World War II U.S. Army fatigues, stalks a small California town, bent on reliving a 35 year-old double murder by focusing on a group of college kids holding an annual graduation dance.An unknown killer, clad in World War II U.S. Army fatigues, stalks a small California town, bent on reliving a 35 year-old double murder by focusing on a group of college kids holding an annual graduation dance.

  • Director
    • Joseph Zito
  • Writers
    • Glenn Leopold
    • Neal Barbera
    • Eric Lewald
  • Stars
    • Vicky Dawson
    • Christopher Goutman
    • Lawrence Tierney
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    5.9/10
    14K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Joseph Zito
    • Writers
      • Glenn Leopold
      • Neal Barbera
      • Eric Lewald
    • Stars
      • Vicky Dawson
      • Christopher Goutman
      • Lawrence Tierney
    • 173User reviews
    • 88Critic reviews
    • 45Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:51
    Official Trailer

    Photos115

    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    + 109
    View Poster

    Top cast28

    Edit
    Vicky Dawson
    Vicky Dawson
    • Pam MacDonald
    Christopher Goutman
    Christopher Goutman
    • Mark London
    Lawrence Tierney
    Lawrence Tierney
    • Major Chatham
    Farley Granger
    Farley Granger
    • Sheriff George Fraser
    Cindy Weintraub
    Cindy Weintraub
    • Lisa
    Lisa Dunsheath
    Lisa Dunsheath
    • Sherry
    David Sederholm
    David Sederholm
    • Carl
    Bill Nunnery
    Bill Nunnery
    • Hotel Clerk
    Thom Bray
    Thom Bray
    • Ben
    Diane Rode
    • Sally
    Bryan Englund
    • Paul
    Donna Davis
    • Miss Allison
    Carleton Carpenter
    Carleton Carpenter
    • 1945 M.C
    Joy Glaccum
    Joy Glaccum
    • Francis Rosemary Chatham
    Timothy Wahrer
    • Roy
    John Seitz
    • Pat Kingsley
    Bill Hugh Collins
    Bill Hugh Collins
    • Otto
    Dan Lounsbery
    • Turner
    • (as Dan Lownsberry)
    • Director
      • Joseph Zito
    • Writers
      • Glenn Leopold
      • Neal Barbera
      • Eric Lewald
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews173

    5.913.9K
    1
    2
    3
    4
    5
    6
    7
    8
    9
    10

    Featured reviews

    5markdecarlo-98321

    Dud of a Middle Section

    If it weren't for the insanely dull middle section of The Prowler, it'd probably be one of the most effective slashers of the early 80's. All the other ingredients are in place and are well utilized with Tom Savini's grisly makeup effects stopping the show every single time they make an appearance. As light weight as the story is already, it could have probably used a few trims to cut it down to something more like 70 minutes.
    6lost-in-limbo

    Surviving graduation hasn't been bloodier.

    As for being your usual copy-and-paste slasher. "The Prowler" was a modest attempt, but its looming reputation makes it out better than it actually is. Don't get me wrong. Everyone talks about Tom Savini's magnificently creative gruesome FX work, and deservedly so. But other than the potently bloody gore, and overall nastiness of some memorable deaths. What really drags this one down is how it gets bogged down with a scratchy story, and inconsistent script which led the film to plod along. Director Zito does his best to in-store some life, but while effectively demonstrating a grim, cruel atmospheric wound. In between the death sequences is little in the way of suspense, or even interest since there are too many vaguely ambiguous and padded distractions that cement themselves in the second half and only go on to annoy. Figuring out whose behind that ominous masked solider in uniform figure, doesn't take much. Baffling though was the choice of weapon… no not the army bayonet, but that pitchfork. When did they issue those things out? Odd, but I like it. The stalk 'n' slash angle doesn't entirely wear its self out, since while the jolts are basically telegraphed (but genuine) and having a flimsy story being strung together by its set-pieces that don't tie together. Still it managed to get the heart-racing when needed, and there are few piercing visuals and positioning work by Zito. The shady camera-work luridly focus on the action at hand.

    The performances are soundly delivered, but never did I feel anything for these rather one-dimensional characters. Vicky Dawson makes for a strong, likable heroine, but the rest of the cast don't have much affect. Stalwart actors Farley Granger looks embarrassed and there's rather an unusually pointless role for Lawrence Tierney (who also briefly appeared in Zito's 1979 film "Bloodrage") . Christopher Goutman as the local deputy sheriff just pines a lot, and looks clueless. Richard Einhorn's composed a forebodingly hummer music score that superbly complements the film.

    There are no pretensions here, in what it wants to be. A middlingly gritty, shocking slasher fare.
    6molemandavid

    Great Special Effects Can't Save A Tedious Mid-Section

    I'll get this off my chest - the first 30 minutes of The Prowler are basically slasher heaven. I really mean that. The atmosphere is there, the characters aren't that bad, the killer is imposing, the kills are brutal and nasty...but then...(sigh) things just fall apart and don't get semi-exciting again until the last 10 minutes.

    The Prowler might be so wonderful in its first act, because it starts off like most slasher flicks end. By the time its first act has wrapped up, it seems as if already a half-dozen people have been offed and our Final Girl to be has already had a fairly exciting chase sequence.

    Sounds great, right? It is. But then she's saved and the rest of the film is spent with her and a policeman doing Scooby Doo-esque detective work in old houses with flashlights with brief interludes of death scenes during a graduation party. It just stops everything in its tracks.

    This is not to say that The Prowler is a bad movie. Far from it. It just needed something more exciting and urgent in it's middle section to keep the audience interesting. One never feels like the two leads are in any danger and that drag it down. Still, the special effects steal the show and are wonderful.
    7Fella_shibby

    A jilted lover suffering from ptsd can be a lethal combo.

    I first saw this in the early 90s on a vhs. Revisited it recently. This one is another slasher with a lousy twist but the best part is the eerie settings of that of a sleepy town. Another best aspect is the special effects by Tom Savini.

    The second kill is the most gruesome. This film has one of the best head exploding like a watermelon scene.

    Ther is a scene where a man shoots the killer and he keeps on staring n smiling at a babe and the babe too keeps staring n smiling inspite of enduring trauma. The same killer survives the bullet shot n it is never shown how he survived.
    6TOMASBBloodhound

    Outstanding gore. Some suspense, too.

    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.

    More like this

    The Burning
    6.2
    The Burning
    The House on Sorority Row
    5.9
    The House on Sorority Row
    Intruder
    6.1
    Intruder
    My Bloody Valentine
    6.3
    My Bloody Valentine
    Pieces
    6.0
    Pieces
    Happy Birthday to Me
    6.0
    Happy Birthday to Me
    Blood Rage
    5.8
    Blood Rage
    StageFright
    6.6
    StageFright
    The Slumber Party Massacre
    5.6
    The Slumber Party Massacre
    Madman
    5.1
    Madman
    Hell Night
    5.6
    Hell Night
    The Mutilator
    5.2
    The Mutilator

    Related interests

    Bridget Hoffman in The Evil Dead (1981)
    B-Horror
    Roger Jackson in Scream (1996)
    Slasher Horror
    Jude Law in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011)
    Whodunnit
    Mia Farrow in Rosemary's Baby (1968)
    Horror
    Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway in Chinatown (1974)
    Mystery
    Cho Yeo-jeong in Parasite (2019)
    Thriller

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The cemetery scenes were shot at an actual cemetery on Halloween night 1980. The open grave used in the film was an actual open grave awaiting a funeral.
    • Goofs
      At the end of the movie, Pam returns to her dorm room and sees the bathroom door slightly ajar. Then, there's an angle from inside the bathroom looking out at her, and the door is all the way open. Then, the angle changes back to her heading to the bathroom and the door is only slightly ajar again.
    • Quotes

      The Prowler: [his only line] I want you to be my date, Rose.

    • Crazy credits
      The color of the closing credits turns from blood red to yellow.
    • Alternate versions
      The British cinema release, known under the title Rosemary's Killer, was heavily cut by the BBFC with edits to the pitchfork murder, shots of throat and head stabbings, and heavy cuts to the shower murder. The Greek release also carries this title and is uncut. The BBFC cuts were fully waived for the 2007 Optimum DVD release which retains the original cinema title.
    • Connections
      Edited into Heads Blow Up! (2011)
    • Soundtracks
      Disco Blood
      Composed and Performed by Nowhere Fast (uncredited)

      Courtesy of Trust Me Music, Inc.

    Top picks

    Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations
    Sign in

    FAQ17

    • How long is The Prowler?Powered by Alexa
    • What are the differences between the old BBFC 18 VHS and the Uncensored Version?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 10, 1981 (United Kingdom)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • El asesino de Rosemary
    • Filming locations
      • Cape May, New Jersey, USA
    • Production company
      • Graduation
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $1,000,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 29m(89 min)
    • Color
      • Color
      • Black and White
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
    Follow IMDb on social
    Get the IMDb App
    For Android and iOS
    Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • License IMDb Data
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2025 by IMDb.com, Inc.