MovieChat Forums > The Prowler (1981) Discussion > Too many unanswered questions! (SPOILERS...

Too many unanswered questions! (SPOILERS)

posted 17 years ago by TheHardTarget6
13 replies | jump to latest

Why was the sheriff killing everyone???? They never gave a backstory or reason. I assume he was the jilted lover??!?!?

How did the deputy not die??? Did he not stick him with the fork because the lights went out????

What was up with the old guy watching the kids bone in the basement???? Was that suppose to be a suspenseful or comedic scene???

What the hell was with that corpse coming back to life in the shower??? Was he a zombie? Was he barely alive (impossible-guy had a knife go through the top of his skull? Was is a dream?

The Prowler is a classic 80's slasher...but man was there a lot of pointless and confusing things in this little horror film.

i also feel the film would have been better if they killed the kid in the cell, explained some backstory, & killed the kids in the basement.

"Karate training is good, but contact fighting like this is the only way to prepare for the street"

[–] kbtoys100 17 years ago

the sheriff was rosemarys lover and didnt want there to be another graduation dance because it reminded him.

he just didnt kill the deputy because he liked him

earlier on in the film the owner of the convienence store said how the guy in the basement was a peeping tom

the corpse coming back to life was supposed to show that for her the nightmare didnt end. she's going to be haunted now for her life.

[–] IllIlllIl 17 years ago

I agree that there were too many unanswered questions. And if the sheriff didn't try to kill the deputy because he liked him then why did he try to kill his girlfriend?

[–] MarcusEvilDead 16 years ago

THere were way to many unanswered questions. I also didn't like how at the end it was a normal looking person, I felt the guy should have been messed up or something. Also, he was like 50 years old...probably older (he goes into the army 18 years of age...round up to 20 cause they said it took so long for him to come back) then kills the girl and 30 years pass now he is killing again? How the hell was he so freaking strong after all that time? I know most 80's slashers never explain that stuff but it just didn't make sense. I also didn't like the ending with the guy in the shower, the girl it would have made more sense to her being alive but that guy had a knife go through his skull and out his mouth, then was hung by his tie in the shower for several hours...probably over night....minimum 12 hours of hanging. Then he somehow is alive to do the cheap scare. I could understand he spasms cause real corpses do that...but he reached out for crying out loud.

I am nit picking about this movie because I thought it was decent but it really isn't anything more than mediocre and I feel the only reason its looked at as an under-rated classic is because of Savini having done the effects for it.

Anyone know why he prides himself on this film the most? I felt Maniac's effects were way better as well as DAY OF THE DEAD which I think is his undisputed masterpiece in terms of effects.

[–] caligula777 16 years ago

The sheriff was in the army so he would still have a lot of strength at his age. The dead guy was never alive the girl was just hallucinating.

*My dick is sick and dangerous, your dick is quick and painless*

[–] adamwarlock 16 years ago

My big questions are:

Why didn't the deputy call the sheriiff sooner? Why not insist this was an emergency to the hick answering the phone? Why not call the next town or state police for more help or at least gather some of the college guys to help him? A deputy and his girlfriend aren't enough to patrol a whole town. What happened to the old man in the wheelchair? Was he killed?

This film is disappointing even as a typical early 80s slasher film it falls short.

[–] RedMal 16 years ago

And I'm wondering, why was the guy at the cemetery watching the chick in the car?

[–] goofyball 15 years ago

OMG! YES... there were so many unanswered questions.

I understood the sheriff was the killer so early on. I didn't have a problem with that and he's obviously the lover but it's never said.

But what about the old man Major Chatham? They explained nothing other than he had a sroke. Yet he grabs the girls dress and rips it, he somehow gets into a basement in his wheelchair and watches those two kids have sex but that was the last we saw of him. No explanation.

The kid in the cell... nothing.

Why was that old man around the cemetary?

Why did the Sheriff put the girls body in the Major's house?

And what kind of college was this? Was it army related? It was co-ed obviously. And Major Chatham used to run it until his stroke. I didn't quite get what kind of college this was.

And why was the Sheriff killing? Just because there was a dance?

This movie is good, and the death scenes are long and scary but the unanswered questions are annoying.

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] carters6 15 years ago

Thanks guys...I thought it was just me that was lost. After reading your thoughts, here are mine as I watch it now at this moment (after rewinding and fast forwarding!):

I believe the sheriff was trying to set it up where it looked like the Major might have been behind all of this some kind of way. I believe he did like Mark, but didn't give a damn about any females because one broke his heart. He probably hated them all after that.

Wasn't the man in the woods, who was grabbing at ole girl's skirt, the Major? And if so, why was he outside like that at night in his wheelchair? And grabbing at her??

And yes, why was that man in the cemetery looking at the girl through the window of the jeep so creepily and obvious? Since he popped back up at the end I thought maybe he was trying to protect the girl or had been following the prowler all along to get him. He was just so creepy about it though...and its a movie and they wanted to trick us viewers into thinking he might be the prowler.

That's all I have for now, I think!

S.C.

[–] jaynobody 11 years ago

The cop was clealy about to get pitchorked, ok we dont see it. But where is he the rest of the time? He clearly lived as he was driving the chick home. So he chilled during the the shooting, screaming etc? He is clearly ok the next day, just fine, even his hair was ok. I guess if you dont see the actual kill the person must be alive in horror movie logic.
And while i am at it WORST COP EVER! He dances great, but doesnt open that door, or even go back to the dorm when he knows those kids are missing. He ignores a whole scene of a double murder, He couldnt care less about forensics as he grabs the coffin by the lid gloveless. He argues with a girl while a killer is loose. He pretty much just keeps the hair looking good and chases chicks.
I still kind of liked it, but even watching it once there are huge holes, scenes that go nowhere and an ending that i can only assume is a carrie type of rip off. Or he is a zombie now. Who knows?
There are much better slasher films than this.
Why did he start killing again? What about the peeper in the basement? The old guy in the wheelchair? Why doesnt this movie make any sense?

[–] davannacarter 10 years ago

Agreed. There were way too many unanswered questions.

1. Are you going to tell me in a local college town there are only 2 police officers? Yeah right.

2. Why was the Prowler constantly walking slowly when chasing after the blonde chick?

3. Why did the deputy take his girlfriend along with him all over the place? Especially after they found the dead body in the grave. After seeing her friend dead, you'd think the blonde chick would be too traumatized to want to leave. Yet, she somehow seems calm when she's in the station. To go further, she's angry with the deputy for wanting her to be in the crowded dance hall where she'd be safe. WTF? She knows a killer is loose yet she's pissed with her boyfriend for trying to keep her safe and out of danger? Doesn't make any sense. Nor does it make any sense why the deputy would take his woman. If the situation is potentially dangerous to the point where you need your shotgun, why would you take your helpless, unarmed girlfriend along, even if she's mad at you about it?

4. Why didn't the deputy call the state police and wait for backup from them?

5. Why did the deputy constantly leave his girlfriend alone? In the jeep, in Chattam's house?

6. After finding the girl's body, why didn't they try to see if other people were safe at the dance?

7. Is it proper police procedure to go snooping around in someone's house with your girlfriend simply because the owner doesn't answer the door?

8. How is the killer able to get up easily from the shotgun blast? I don't care how strong you are, no man is going to get up from a shotgun blast the way the killer did. What's more, I didn't notice any blood or a hole on the killer's back when he was struggling with the girl.

And so many other unanswered questions. I agree with other people who said many plots went nowhere such as the geeks making out in the basement. A potentially good movie that was ruined by stupid storytelling. It would have been great if they had developed the characters and learned more about the killer.

[–] bradleynath 9 years ago

My biggest gripes were with the guy in the wheelchair, why did he grab onto her dress? The only thing I can think of is that he is the killer from the beginning and the killer could be his son. Either that or he is the farther of the killer but not the killer from the beginning.

Why dig up Rosemary?

Why hide Rosemary's body up the chimney?

What was the killers motive?

You can only really assume why the killer was killing them. If you ask me saying he was the jilted lover from the beginning is just going with it as there is nothing else to go on.

The film starts with the Dear John letter then cuts to a graduation dance, Rosemary is seen kissing some guy, the killer appears and kills them both. Surely at this point he has had his revenge as not only has he killed Rosemary but he has also killed the guy she left the killer for. We then flash forward 35 years at this point another graduation dance is being put together. The killer re-appears and kills a few of the kids that attends. There are many people at this dance but he only kills a handful, we can only assume that the killer took a dislike to them or that they got in his way.

If it wasn't for the fact that the killer killed Rosemary at the beginning it may have been more believable, his motive could have been that the final girl is the daughter of Rosemary and the guy at the beginning. As it stands he just killed them all.

[–] 9 years ago

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