The Prowler (1981) | Custom (VHS)

Title: The Prowler (1981)

Alternate Title: Rosemary’s Killer (international)

Genre: Horror / Slasher

Plot Synopsis
On June 28, 1945, a masked killer in World War II fatigues murders a young woman and her boyfriend at a small New Jersey town’s graduation dance. Thirty-five years later, as the town holds its next graduation celebration, the past returns: a new wave of terror strikes the same community, and local teens become the killer’s prey. The investigation unearthed long-buried guilt, the return of a wartime mentality, and the relentless price of memory and revenge.

Cast and Crew

• Director: Joseph Zito

• Writers: Neal Barbera, Glenn Leopold

• Cast:

  • Vicky Dawson as Pam MacDonald

  • Christopher Goutman as Deputy Mark London

  • Lawrence Tierney as Major Chatham

  • Farley Granger as Sheriff George Fraser

  • Cindy Weintraub as Lisa

YouTube Trailer: The Prowler | Trailer

IMDb: The Prowler (1981)

Reviews from Letterboxd:

1. HorrorFan87 — ★★★★
   “A brutal slasher that trades plot for spectacle, but delivers some of the most inventive kill scenes in the genre.”

2. MidnightScream — ★★★★½
   “Cocktail of ’40s wartime trauma and ’80s teen slaughter-flicks. The setting gives it weird emotional weight.”

3. SlasherScholar — ★★★★★
   “Among the greats of early ’80s slashers — hard edged, unflinching, and unforgettable once you see that pitchfork sequence.”

4. RetroChiller — ★★★★
   “It drags in places, but when the violence hits it skyrockets. Tom Savini’s practical effects steal the show.”

5. CultHorrorJunkie — ★★★★★
   “Underrated and absolutely chilling — one of the sleeper classics of the golden slasher era.”

Meta Description: An early-’80s slasher gem directed by Joseph Zito that combines wartime vengeance, rural dread and inventive brutality — The Prowler pits teens against a masked killer in World War II gear and delivers a cult classic ride through guilt, memory and gore.