Prowl

This starts out like a coming-of-age drama with a young woman named Amber who's sick of small town life in Famfield despite her close friends, mother and part time job. There are some unexplained snippets with ominous visions that include people chasing her and decomposing bodies. Is something calling her, or is it just the stress and mounting pressure of cabin fever? She wants to move away and get her own apartment in Chicago but first she has to get there with a deposit before another prospective tenant. Her five friends tag along for the road trip, until right outside of the city limits their car breaks down. As chance would have it, a friendly semi-truck driver pulls over and they beg him to take them to the windy city, but not before telling him they want to snap his picture, that one should ride up front and, of course, their family should know who they're with for safety's sake. Can never be too careful, or can you? They hang loose in the back cargo area by playing games, drinking and smoking drugs. Suddenly they take a nasty swerve and get thrown about. They call the driver and he gives them the run around to stop, which makes them suspicious enough to call 911, though where they just entered the signal doesn't go through. The driver backs in to a loading area of an abandoned warehouse that looks like it used to be a slaughterhouse. After the back door opens, everything turns into chaos when they step out into the factory with no visible way out and strange creatures who fly through the air, crawl on the walls and want to consume their flesh sooner than they can rip it off. From then on out it ends up being something like "The Most Dangerous Game" as these victims are treated like not only lunch but challenging sport. "Prowl" is a director's film first and foremost. It has a steady pacing that keeps up a certain element of mystery without laying out a full view of its blueprints, as well as it manages to escalate the story to different levels while still slowing down in a few areas to catch its breath and explain. The dialogue also dances around and doesn't lay it all out for the audience, which gives it some challenge and curious questions even after the credits roll. It manages to cover up its plot holes--sometimes after the fact, which makes you wonder about a few in the meantime--such as certain physicalities. It gradually unveils the blood-craving beasts from quick shots to extended, which keeps a viewer guessing as to what they are and what it all means while--thank the horror Gods!--doesn't fold in on itself and make what they have going too cheesy. This is more intriguing and mysterious like a thriller than it is continually scary like a horror, though there are still a few jumping shocks used to rile one's pulse, even if not terrifying. What at first seems like it's only prolonging the inevitable, comes full circle and turns into a tale of finding out what Amber's life means before she even gets to her promised land. The blood is more watery than the truly crimson looking stuff and there are frantic camera shots that go a little overboard. Though this was a quick, basic and entertaining piece that could have been a run-of-the-mill movie with different direction, less measurement and passion put into, not to mention it's a simple story that only has a few conventions tweaked around and isn't the most original out there, but the way it carried itself was turned into an effective experience that urges forward. One where it's a little more unexpected than other don't-take-rides-from-strangers fare.

Essentially Prowl is another splatter flick... actually if there was no minimum review length that would pretty much summarize it.

The protagonist hitches a ride; her friends are there too because really, the film doesn't have enough substance to support just said protagonist trying to survive.

Actually most characters don't last long once the threat appears. That makes the earlier parts seem like padding, which explains why I can't remember much about these people. There was humor during the earlier parts but things quickly get bland.

In short, some quasi-vampires arrive and start killing everyone, naturally a couple of would-be victims escape. Then those people must figure out what's going on. Even with its short runtime things got boring toward the finale.

If you love watching horror movies then this will be fun to watch, Its not ranked up there with the classics, Salem's lot or The Exorcist, but its worth a watch. Only bad thing i can say about it was the ending, it was an anti climax but it does leave it open for a follow on sequel. If you are looking for scantly clad teenagers running around half naked then this is not for you, although the leading ladies are easy on the eye. Gore factor 6.5: Lots of blood in this & a few body parts flying around the movie set.

Scare factor: 6; One scene certainly had me jumping from my seat, but these are BOOM!! in your face flashes & not many off them.

En route to Chicago, a bunch of young friends experience engine trouble and stupidly accept a ride from a passing trucker. He traps them in his trailer. Stuff happens. There's some vampire/monster/creature thingies that attack them. Some of the teenagers die. Yadda, yadda, yadda...

I almost rated Prowl 1/10, not because it's particularly awful, but because I've had a gut-full of mediocre modern horror as of late, and this was very nearly the final straw that broke the camel's back—just another forgettable, bland, derivative scary flick with a pretty female protagonist, an unimaginative threat, lots of dreary and often shaky cinematography, predictable loud noises to make you jump, and a 'surprise' ending that's not all that surprising. It's been less than a day since I finished the film, and I cannot recall a single image that impressed me enough to bother retaining it in my mind.

To be fair, Prowl is probably worth a 4 or 5 out of 10 (although I'll err on the less generous side): it starts out promisingly, is technically proficient, the cast do a good job of looking terrified even if I sported an expression of abject boredom throughout, and there's also some pretty effective gore. But in this day and age where horrors proliferate, a film needs to be so much more in order to make a lasting impression.

I wanted to like 'Prowl'. I really did. Unfortunately all the potential was lost on the way. I have no idea why they had to shoot the movie in Bulgaria, most of it happens in a abandoned warehouse anyway. Acting is decent,the girl who played Amber was very cute and quite good but the script doesn't deliver any thrills and with every next minute you care less and less about what happens next. All characters are your typical teenagers without any background story(except for Amber) and they die so quickly you won't even care for any of them. There is some gore in it(and plenty of blood) which was well done but because in many moments the movie is almost pitch black, it doesn't impress like it could. Not much can be said about the vampires, there is not many of them and make-up is rather weak. Cinematography is so so and I didn't liked the editing much. There is no suspense whatsoever, action is kinda fast paced but still rather boring and ending is quick and extremely disappointing.I was expecting some good, interesting movie but 'After Dark' series gets worse and worse every next year.