By Stephen Pytak 

     There are only two horror films with shower
scenes worth talking about.
     One of course is "Psycho (1960)."
     The other is "The Prowler (1981)."
     While Alfred Hitchcock employed sound effects,
quick edits and a tense score by Bernard
Hermann to effectively illustrate the terror, Joseph
Zito employed Tom Savini.
     In "The Prowler's" shower scene, the killer
enters, throws back the shower curtain and stabs 
the very lovely "Sherry (played by Lisa Dunsheath)"
in the belly with a pitchfork. Then he pushes her
against the wall and picks her off her feet.
     Unlike the scene in "Psycho," the camera shows
you everything here, from boobs to blood. And
thanks to Savini's special effects, it looks very real.
     It's a bold scene and for me it's always been the
best part of this stalk-and-slash flick. But there are
other Savini effects here that are great as well,
including some great tricks with a bayonet.
     The killer is someone from "The Greatest 
Generation" who receives a "Dear John" letter from 
his girlfriend Rosemary. When he returns home
from the war, he finds her and her new beau at
a graduation dance, then skewers them with a
pitchfork.
     The film then flashes ahead to 1980.  When 
another graduation dance is held, the killer returns
to relive his bloodlust. Thanks to Savini, the
massacre is memorable.
     When the make-up master made "The 
Prowler," he was making history doing effects for 
other landmark films as well. He did the effects 
for "Friday the 13th (1980)" and "The Burning 
(1981)." 
     It was quite a time period. And the new DVD
release of "The Prowler" by Blue Underground
will help fans relive the era, thanks to a commentary
track by Savini and director Joseph Zito. 
     The disc also features some behind the scenes
footage which gorehounds will look at again and
again, like old home movies they've never seen 
before.