This very strange and dreamlike film set in a well heeled suburb of Sydney was completely misunderstood and ignored in its first release. Almost a preview of Muriel's disenchanted and socially disenfranchised character in MURIEL'S WEDDING so successfully seen in the 90s film as played by Toni Collette, PROWLER has Kerry Walker almost as some sort of distant Muriel relative upsetting her family status quo with fantasies and playacting an adventurous role that leads her into other worldly behaviour. Written by Patrick White and Directed by Rocky Horror's Jim Sharman and Produced by Tony Buckley of BLISS, this film is a peculiar duck that will divide every audience unless they have a way of getting to like the lead character in the first reel. There has been plenty of films about alienated suburban girls seeking nocturnal and dangerous secret lives (HARD CANDY just released is the new cruel century's most recent example) but PROWLER is a quiet secret and a mood piece patient and film literate viewers will enjoy. Whoever has already seen SWEETIE (as someone else on this site recommends) is quite right leading you to PROWLER's mindset and style. One of Jim Sharman's first films was SHIRLEY THOMPSON VS THE ALIENS, a title mixing suburbia and weirdness immediately.... an so to PROWLER
Review of The Night, the Prowler
