The Prowler

aka Rosemary's Killer

In 1945, on the night of the graduation dance in Avalon Bay, Rosemary Chatham and her new boyfriend were brutally murdered. The killer was never found. Flash forward to 1980, where preparations are underway for the first graduation dance since that tragic night back in 1945. Spirits are high among the soon-to-be college graduates, but someone is about to ruin their night. Someone with an old score to settle. The Prowler is a semi-independent horror movie from the golden age of slasher films. It's definitely riffing on movies like Halloween and Friday the 13th and there's even an allusion to Jaws at one point. Plot wise, The Prowler is very similar to My Bloody Valentine. Which is likely coincidental, since they were both released the same year. The cast, the music, the setting and the killer are all on point, but The Prowler's script is a little weak. There's not enough going on in the movie, which feels padded out by some long sequences where the main characters explore the same old house twice. The Prowler's main selling point is definitely Tom Savini's special effects makeup. Unlike some of Savini's other work from this era, The Prowler never holds back during the kill scenes. There are several long, lingering shots of people being stabbed and skewered in The Prowler. The kind of shots that typically got cut down by the MPAA in Friday the 13th films. Though not obscure by any means, The Prowler is an under the radar slasher that is well worth seeking out.

Rating: 71%

(Image from Wikipedia)

Maniac

Maniac has managed to achieve cult status among horror fans for two reasons: Tom Savini’s special effects and Joe Spinell’s unhinged performance as the titular maniac. Because much the film was shot at night without the proper permits, it presents an eerily spare New York City. Aside from the lovely Caroline Munro, most of the cast is made up of porno actors who had previously worked for the director. Famously, critic Gene Siskel walked out of a screening of the movie after one particularly gory effects sequence.

Rating: 62%

(Image from bloody-disgusting.com)

The Burning

The Burning is a sleazy little slasher movie from 1981 that has the distinction of being one of the first movies ever made by the Weinstein brothers. The story involves a bunch of camp counselors and horny teens being stalked and killed by a deranged former camp caretaker who had been horribly burned years earlier in a prank gone awry. The Burning's big draw, more than anything, has to be Tom Savini's practical makeup effects. Having recently done the effects for such horror classics as Dawn of the Dead, Maniac and the original Friday the 13th, Savini was at the top of his game. The Burning is also notable for starring a young, though already balding, Jason Alexander.

Rating: 77%

(Image from Amazon)

Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter

Everything should be smooth sailing for young Tommy Jarvis (played by über thespian Corey Feldman). Now that the local axe weilding maniac is dead and his body has been taken to the morgue, things should be nice and calm for once around Crystal Lake. Then again, the cabin next door is being rented by a bunch of horny teens. And there's some guy lurking in the woods looking for his missing sister or something. But Jason's dead...right? I mean, what could go wrong?

Rating: Corkscrew through the hand%

(Image from iconsoffright.com)

Friday the 13th

Written by Victor Miller, directed by Sean S. Cunningham, special effects by Tom Savini. The year is 1979, a group of horny teens and absentee adults are getting Camp Crystal Lake ready for the summer season. Unfortunately for them, the camp has a long and sordid history of mishaps and misfortune. One by one, our young protagonists are stalked and slashed by an unseen killer. Come for the boobs and blood, stay for the ending that totally rips off Carrie.

Rating: Axe to the face%

(Image from annyas.com)