I didn't think it was all that bad and if you want to know what a boring horror film looks like then check out Demon (1979 or 1981?)

watched this again for the first time in years. i remembered slow spots but i didn't remember that the movie is 60% FILLER. and that's a generous estimate.
this was one of the most cynical undertakings i've ever seen in my life. i've never seen a film so gratuitously and unimaginatively padded.

Thank you! I'm glad someone else noticed! This isn't really a movie; it's a porn video for filler-fetishists.

I just came to say the same thing everyone else has apparently said (lol). Fantastic gore (Savini considers it his best work according to trivia and I think I'd have to agree), a few good chase scenes, but then so many long boring scenes in between.
I could've done without the entire graveyard scene and a huge reduction to Pam running around the dorm in the beginning and the sheriff/Pam looking for the killer later on.
I think what bothered me most was when the movie basically felt like it was on pause. Two moments specifically stick out -
when Pam tries to get the window hook unstuck and The Prowler just stands there watching and at the end when the townie shoots The Prowler and Pam looks at him for like a minute before The Prowler finally shoots him.
In both those moments I was like "SOMEBODY MOVE ALREADY!"
And as others have said above, I love slow moving horrorjust it has to be truly suspenseful when it's slow by having characters act reasonably and creating a real sense of tension with the shots/characters. Acting like you're on pause while waiting for other characters to do their thing isn't really suspenseful or tenseit's just boring.

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I LOVE 80's slashersand I was bored to tears by this.
Every so often something interesting would happen but then it was back to the same ol' chase scenes and plot holes you could drive a mack truck through.
The killer looked good, but that was about it.
http://werewolvesbeatingadeadhorse.blogspot.com/

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If Halloween and Friday the 13th are the Citizen Kane and Casablanca of horror films, then The Prowler is Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot!
It's just sooooooooooooooooooo boring. I honestly had to struggle to stay awake. There's one thing to build suspense, like what Halloween mastered beautifully, but this..was very SLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW.
The gore was good and a really good pool death scene; I'll give 'em that. However, it's just not very good.

The low body count really is inexcusable. They introduced a bunch of characters, and most of them weren't even relevant. Why not kill off the couple in the basement? Why not kill off the old man peeping on them (there was actually two old creepers, and neither one got it). What was the point of the kid in the jail cell? The Prowler is just way too aimless to be a true slasher classicthough it's still miles better than junk like Final Exam.

Ugh I agree Ty! This is probably my least favorite slasher that came out from between 1980-1984.
The Killer kills 6 people. And 2 of them are in the opening. Some revenge that was
The graveyard scene/house searching scenes go nowhere and someone here said it perfect, it was a chore to sit through. I've seen it 3 times and I don't think it will ever click for me. The Carrie rip off ending is cringe inducing too.
Meh all over the place at this one.

Had thrilling time with this great film. Has it all what it needs in this kind of film. Same vein with early Friday and Halloween films.

What? This is one of the best slashers!

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I just watched this for the first time last night and I have to agree. VERY boring. The gore is great, sure, but the pacing of the film - to me - was terrible.
It kinda surprises me because I think Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter is 10x better and it's by the same director and was done only what? 3 years later?
Wait a minute who am I here?

While I liked this movie, it was dead boring at times. The two sequences that stick out for me was the first time they went through the Major's house (soooo slow and drawnout), and the visit to the graveyard (he walks around with NOTHING happening for five minutes).

Agreed.
It's a sad thing that your adventures have ended here

Cool to see you've come around a bit. It's not a perfect film, but it certainly has its redeeming qualities that put it on par with the cream of the early '80s slasher crop.
,
Your friendly neighborhood pastor

Absolutely. Dreadful pacing for sure. Since posting this though I've actually come to enjoy the film alot more than I did at first. My rating is 8/10 now.
It's a sad thing that your adventures have ended here

Although I enjoyed the movie, I do have to admit that the pace was dreadful. The story seemed to stall multiple times throughout. The entire mid-section was a chore to get through.
,
Your friendly neighborhood pastor

I thought the hotel clerk scene was a metaphor for what this movie was doing to the audience.

remember something people this movie is a low budget exploitation/slasher film and of course the acting is just OK butt the violence and suspense was there and yea sure its slow at times i think its a classic tho!
I'm not a lady I'm an anthropologist

spoilers
Yep this movie had severe pacing issues and sub plots that lead absolutely NOWHERE. The kid in the jail, the couple in the basement, the old pervert.never heard from again. I was hoping he'd kill the old bastard.
The hotel clerk scene I can understand because it was an extremely flimsy attempt to make the audience the believe that the sheriff was really on a fishing trip and not on campus slashing people. But again, like someone mentioned before it really is painfully obvious he was the one, so I don't know why they even bothered. I think overall there is like literally 20 minutes of pointless wandering around and dead end sub plots.
WHO IS HECTOR MOLINAAND WHY DO THEY KEEP SENDING ME HIS JUNK MAIL?!

It was one of the earlier slasher films yet it still managed to rip off Halloween, Carrie, and Friday the 13th. There was little originality here and the plot made no sense. What on earth was that scene with the hotel clerk other than to waste minutes of time?
Farley Granger was the only person who could have been the killer since nobody else was old enough and not on screen. Some mysterious stabber was mentioned early on but that wasn't enough to fool anybody.
How did Major Chatham get upstairs to stare at the chicks without a stair lift? Why did we never see him again after he grabbed the woman?
What sort of cop left the woman on her own most of the time and kept her with him while trying to track down a killer?
Good death scenes but the rest was rubbish.