Ep 261: Interview w/Vicky Dawson from “The Prowler” (1981)

As final girl Pam MacDonald in 1981’s “The Prowler,” Vicky Dawson mastered the art of running full speed in heels AND outmaneuvering a killer dressed in WWII combat gear. Tune in to hear all about making this slasher film that has developed a cult following, how Tom Savini did the FX for her explosive climax with the killer, and her thoughts on the movie’s final scene.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:10):
Hello, welcome to Happy Horrid Time. My name is Tim Murdoch.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
And my name is Matt Emmert. Today's special guest perfected
the art of running really fast and heels nonetheless while
playing final girl Pam McDonald in the nineteen eighty one
Slasher of the Prowler, and when her deputy boyfriend gets
knocked out in the final act, she takes matters into
her own hands and goes head to head with the killer.
And let's just say that finale is explosive. Please welcome

(00:37):
to the podcast. Vicky Dawson, Hello guys, So nay hey.

Speaker 3 (00:46):
It's so nice to have you on.

Speaker 2 (00:47):
And you know, I read that you were born in Columbus, Ohio, which,
by the way, Tim is from that area.

Speaker 1 (00:54):
So have you heard of Hilliard?

Speaker 4 (00:58):
It does actually send meamiliar.

Speaker 5 (01:00):
My family had a farm in Washington Courthouse, which is
about an hour south of Columbus. Okay, Oh, I've heard
of a lot of those little towns over the years.

Speaker 1 (01:08):
But Dublin, wester Bell, yeah, yeah, oh, Arlington, yeah.

Speaker 3 (01:12):
Oh my god.

Speaker 2 (01:13):
See Tim could talk about a hiphridays but to finish
that off, but then I read that you were raised
actually in New Jersey, and began acting at the age
of ten. So my question is, how did you first
get involved in acting and what was it like acting
at such a young age.

Speaker 5 (01:27):
You know, it was one of those My mom is
a wonderful actress and my dad is also involved, not professionally,
but they were, you know, there was always that kind
of stuff going on. And I did a play in
like fourth grade and I was the best letter E
that there ever was.

Speaker 4 (01:44):
So my mom thought.

Speaker 5 (01:45):
You know, maybe she would like to do something like this,
and so she pursued it and we got connected with
the manager in New York and then it just kind
of went from there.

Speaker 4 (01:55):
And I really did want to do it.

Speaker 5 (01:56):
I wasn't one of those kids where I was shackled
to the you know, parents forcing you to do all
these things.

Speaker 4 (02:02):
I loved it. I have such a passion for it.

Speaker 2 (02:05):
Wait, now, how did you get the part of letter E?
Was there a significance in that?

Speaker 5 (02:09):
Apparently I just like beat out all the other kids,
and then they beat me up every set.

Speaker 3 (02:15):
I don't really want to eat. D and F were
not good enough.

Speaker 4 (02:19):
Terrible, awful. You just want to be to eat because
he is used. You're on stage way more often than
if you're you know the letter F right.

Speaker 3 (02:26):
Oh yeah, well fine, I could shine.

Speaker 1 (02:29):
I mean, like, who knew elementary theater would be so
I can believe it, actually I do.

Speaker 2 (02:37):
Yeah, we're both theater people from high I mean shocker,
or we're so animated of course.

Speaker 3 (02:43):
Look, you guys are no musical theater.

Speaker 1 (02:46):
I can't sing a note, but I mean I can matter.

Speaker 4 (02:50):
You're a guy, that's true.

Speaker 1 (02:53):
That's true. When there were eighty girls auditioning for Kim McAfee,
there were like six for like who was to starve
by Vibertie?

Speaker 4 (02:59):
What was that Margaret?

Speaker 2 (03:01):
Yeah?

Speaker 1 (03:01):
Yeah, yeah, like that role was so coveted. But like, guys,
it was like, come on in.

Speaker 4 (03:06):
Yeah, I know, that's okay, that's just the way of
the world.

Speaker 3 (03:09):
Right. I did mostly plays.

Speaker 2 (03:12):
I was in one musical in like the background of
Little Shop of Horrors, because I was not a singer,
but I love to act, and I was like, well,
can I at least be in this? So they gave me,
like in high school, every side part that didn't involve singing.

Speaker 4 (03:26):
What a fun show to be in?

Speaker 3 (03:30):
Oh, great one.

Speaker 5 (03:33):
Audrey would be my.

Speaker 1 (03:34):
Good, fantastic Audrey.

Speaker 4 (03:37):
Thanks, But I can't sing so I really wouldn't be.

Speaker 2 (03:41):
Well the I'm just thinking of Little Shop of Horrors
without the music, that'd be a very dark could be
a dark show.

Speaker 5 (03:47):
It would.

Speaker 4 (03:48):
So you guys might like that.

Speaker 3 (03:49):
That's true, that's true, true, you know.

Speaker 2 (03:51):
So when looking through your IMDb page, I noticed that
as a kid, you were in an after school special
called Rookie of the Year with Jodie Foster. Now what
was that like and do you have any memories of
working with Jody?

Speaker 5 (04:04):
Yeah? Absolutely, that was That was exciting for me because
that was my first job.

Speaker 4 (04:08):
That wasn't a commercial, so that was sort of like
my first real, you know, I guess acting role, and
I believe I was up for the lead.

Speaker 5 (04:15):
And then usually if they find someone that's more of
a celebrity or whatever, more well known, they're going to
go for the smaller part. They're going to cast somebody
that doesn't look anything like that person, you know, someone
very opposite. So when Jody kind of bumped me for
the lead role, they still kept me for like the
sidekick best friend, which was surprising because I do think

(04:38):
we look alike, you know. But anyway, that's the way
it worked out, and it was fun to do. I
do remember her being very, in my mind like avant garde,
because she spoke French and it was a Canadian crew
and I think she was at a like a French
not boarding school, but private school or something like that,

(04:59):
and so she was very much speaking to them in
French and I just.

Speaker 4 (05:03):
Kind of sat there like a big idiot, you know, like.

Speaker 5 (05:06):
We so I do. I do remember looking at her
and thinking, Wow, she's really she's really smart and fun.
And we communicated for a while and I actually saw
her when she was going to Yale. We met with
friends somewhere in New York. But that's it.

Speaker 4 (05:23):
I you know, I don't see her or know her
now really, but.

Speaker 3 (05:27):
Yeah, you're like rookie of the year, right, Yeah.

Speaker 5 (05:31):
No, I remember she was professional and I started to
watch when I started to do projects other than commercials
and just learned from people who were professional and learned
from people who weren't, you know, what not to do.
So Jody always stands out to me as a as
a one up gal took it very seriously, very bright,
very determined, and a very good actress and now director.

Speaker 2 (05:54):
Yeah I was going to say what I mean that
what a great role model or person to look up to,
especially like where her career went. And yeah, I mean
in the AMD and horror too. I mean like Silence
of the Lambs being one of the only horror films
that is one best picture as an Oscar.

Speaker 1 (06:09):
We went all of them are best sure, best director,
Best actress.

Speaker 3 (06:12):
Yeah yeah, and best actor yeah alassick.

Speaker 4 (06:15):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (06:16):
And so I'm a huge soap fan and you did
Another World like a good five episodes. What was your
storyline and what was it a crazy soap story?

Speaker 5 (06:27):
You know? I actually was on Another World for about
two years, and yeah, it was I was on with
when ray was ray Liota was on, so we were
like the big love story. And then I was on
another show, the same NBC show, So they decided, I
don't know, they decided that I was going to go
do that one and I couldn't do both, so they

(06:47):
literally wrote me off in like because I had always
a big storyline on that show and it was wonderful
to work on that show, but I was going to
go off on this other show.

Speaker 4 (06:56):
And within twenty.

Speaker 5 (06:57):
Four hours I got married. I was in my honey
honeymoon suite with ray Leoda. I got up to go
to the bathroom with a little headache, had a brain tumor,
and the next morning, as it is in soaps, he
hit on the nurse.

Speaker 4 (07:11):
It was wheeling my body to the morgue.

Speaker 3 (07:14):
No way, wait wait wait, you know what We're always
for you?

Speaker 1 (07:19):
I love.

Speaker 2 (07:19):
We asked this question because, well, first off, we interview
tons of people who started in soaps, and every storyline
is always crazy, So we always ask because it's never like, oh,
I was on a number of episodes and you know
we uh, we had dinner and had a nice family.

Speaker 3 (07:32):
It's always something like that.

Speaker 5 (07:34):
It's crazy.

Speaker 4 (07:34):
Yeah. Yeah, well they.

Speaker 1 (07:36):
Have to move fast because like they got to keep
us coming back Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.

Speaker 5 (07:40):
So yeah, they got to tease you, and you know, yeah,
it's crazy. Some of it's so crazy you just laugh
through it and it's fun. But hey, people, I guess
they still watch it.

Speaker 4 (07:48):
I don't know.

Speaker 5 (07:49):
I have been a soap in years, but.

Speaker 4 (07:53):
I've been watched.

Speaker 1 (07:53):
Okay, yeah I haven't stopped.

Speaker 5 (07:57):
Wait are you a certain are you a diehard like
CBS fan?

Speaker 1 (08:01):
Well, I watch. I can't commit to the Young and
the Wrestles because that's an hour, but I can do
The bold and Beautiful because it's thirty minutes and I've
watched it since nineteen ninety nine, but I got my
wisdom teeth pulled. Okay, I love the Beautiful.

Speaker 5 (08:14):
Well, it's so funny because I'm kind of in an
obscure area, but not next door, but the next house.
Kimberland Brown, who's been on Bolden and Beautiful, per you. Yeah, yeah,
one house for me, and so here we are these
like soap opera people in this odd little area. But yeah,
I guess you gives a really nasty person on that.

Speaker 1 (08:34):
Yeah, she's terrible, she kills and.

Speaker 4 (08:37):
Does she not walk by her house anymore?

Speaker 1 (08:39):
Does she give you free avocados? She always talks about
her avocados.

Speaker 5 (08:42):
Yeah, she's got this huge property, and yeah she hasn't
given me any free avocados, but there's so many around
here nobody needs. It's like when you give people avocados here,
they're like, ooh, thanks so much.

Speaker 4 (08:53):
I mean you can only you know, make so much
block them onie.

Speaker 2 (08:56):
Oh my god, I'll I'll take those free avocados anytime.

Speaker 4 (09:00):
I'll give you so many avocados.

Speaker 3 (09:02):
That was amazing.

Speaker 2 (09:03):
So we also saw that from nineteen seventy nine to
nineteen eighty you were part of the main ensemble cast
for the variety show Hot Hero Sandwich. Now was this
like a Saturday Night Live type of show with sketches
and celebrity guests and such.

Speaker 5 (09:17):
Exactly, It was like Saturday Night Live for kids. It
was the Saturday Night Live writers and also Sesame Street writers,
so you can imagine that strange dynamic and it was
an amazing show to work on, very long hours, but
it was fun because there was like bands that would
come in and celebrities that were being interviewed, and a
great troop of people that you know, we would just

(09:40):
do like Saturday Night Live, we have recurring characters and
we would just do sketch sketches, so it was really great,
great fun training.

Speaker 2 (09:48):
Any crazy recurring characters you remember playing that stand out
to you, Hi.

Speaker 4 (09:53):
Because I was the blonde.

Speaker 5 (09:55):
I sort of played like the you know, the whatever,
some of the classic blonde dumb long girls. And I
don't remember the names of some of my recurring characters,
but we had.

Speaker 4 (10:07):
Like the puberty Fairy.

Speaker 5 (10:08):
I mean, we had things that would kids could relate to,
and then the celebrities would talk about similar experiences growing
up or you know, so, but.

Speaker 4 (10:17):
It was fun.

Speaker 3 (10:18):
Yeah, that does sound fun. I feel like there we
were in.

Speaker 5 (10:22):
The Saturday Night Live studio because they were on hiatus,
and I my dressing room was John Belushi's dressing round.
Oh my gosh, I opened, I remember, I just opened,
like like side closet and all of this. I think
it was like like crocheting or knitting or something. It
was just like a string, it was all coiled up.

(10:42):
And somebody said that he would do that. I don't
even know if this is true, but that he would
do that before the show is like because he was nervous,
just like continue to do the same stitch over over.

Speaker 4 (10:52):
So it was like this big.

Speaker 1 (10:53):
Coil of I mean at that time, I don't know,
he was like the biggest thing ever. I mean like
he was pulp culture at the time.

Speaker 4 (11:00):
Yeah. Yeah, this was a probably three years before he died.

Speaker 1 (11:05):
Oh my gosh.

Speaker 2 (11:06):
Wow, crocheting to go to get rid of anxiety. I'm thinking, like,
I don't know if I've ever heard of that.

Speaker 4 (11:12):
Oh, I mean I've crushed before.

Speaker 5 (11:15):
Knitting is nerve racking because you got to follow a
pattern and you see mistakes.

Speaker 4 (11:19):
That cruscheg is the same thing over and over and it.

Speaker 5 (11:21):
Just builds on its own and it's it's relaxing because
you can watch TV. I don't do so much anymore,
but I can see where that would be relaxing. I
don't even know, honestly, if that's a true story.

Speaker 4 (11:32):
But I wasn't. I know, I was.

Speaker 5 (11:34):
In his dressing room and I saw other things of
his and that's what they said about that.

Speaker 4 (11:39):
So I will just say, Okay, that sounds.

Speaker 2 (11:43):
Sounds true to us, as it was like the cleaning
person who came in and threw that just.

Speaker 1 (11:46):
Stopped it in there.

Speaker 5 (11:48):
They know everything anyway, that's true.

Speaker 1 (11:51):
And growing up, were you a fan of horror movies
at all? Like, did the cast of what was.

Speaker 3 (11:55):
The show called Hot Hero shall Yeah, did you.

Speaker 1 (11:57):
Guys talk I'll see horror movies together or anything?

Speaker 5 (11:59):
No?

Speaker 4 (12:00):
No, actually I don't think. I think I did the
Prowler after that. I think that it was after but
I remember being obsessed with the Poseidon Adventure. Oh my gosh, yeah.

Speaker 5 (12:13):
So ten times at least.

Speaker 1 (12:15):
Oh wow, so.

Speaker 3 (12:16):
That one happened.

Speaker 2 (12:16):
Because we always ask people like to what horror films
or thrillers something had an impact on you as a kid.

Speaker 3 (12:22):
So that one did well.

Speaker 5 (12:23):
That one, and then Rosemary's like or not Rosemary's maybe
the Exorcist.

Speaker 4 (12:28):
I didn't even really watch it because it scared me.

Speaker 5 (12:30):
It scared me so much. I couldn't really watch it.
That really, that really scared me.

Speaker 4 (12:34):
You're not alone, yeah, but honestly, I'm not. Really it's
not my genre. I'm embarrassed to say that.

Speaker 5 (12:42):
When I went back to that the thing five years ago,
they were like.

Speaker 4 (12:46):
Oh, the Final Girl, and I was like, what is that? Like,
I oh, that term was.

Speaker 3 (12:52):
Do you see Tim's shirt?

Speaker 5 (12:54):
That's like yeah, boy.

Speaker 1 (12:57):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (12:57):
Now that I know, I'm like, oh, I was.

Speaker 4 (12:59):
The fun I made it through alive, Like I get it.
But I just never at that time, nobody ever said it.

Speaker 5 (13:05):
I don't know when that term became a thing, And
because I amn't really dealt with horror movies since then,
I've just never heard it.

Speaker 3 (13:13):
So I don't want to.

Speaker 2 (13:15):
I'm gonna misspeak because I don't know exactly when it
came to be, but I know it wasn't around in
the eighties when Final Girls were becoming like a trope.
But like, it really just refers to yeah, It's like
there was always like a girl in a slasher movie
who was the last one that made it through, that
faces off of the killer and doesn't get killed even
though all her friends do.

Speaker 4 (13:34):
Yeah, it makes perfect sense.

Speaker 5 (13:36):
I guess I just never heard it and everyone was like,
you're the final girl.

Speaker 4 (13:39):
I was so perplexed. I had no idea what that meant.

Speaker 1 (13:42):
So, yeah, you remind me so. I don't know if
you've gotten this. Do you remind me so much of
Amy Steele from Five Thirteenth Part two? Do you get
compared to her a lot?

Speaker 4 (13:51):
Well?

Speaker 5 (13:52):
I think Amy, I don't think she's in the business
anymore so much. But actually my friend Julie, Amy, myself
and Jodie, I mean like we all look very similar.

Speaker 4 (14:02):
And yes, I was sort of doing Friday that I
don't know.

Speaker 5 (14:06):
She did one of those Fridays and I was supposed
to do one of those Fridays and I did it
because I had a conflict.

Speaker 4 (14:11):
When I was on the soaps.

Speaker 5 (14:12):
I booked a lot of other things and they were
really they were not I mean understandably, it was hard
for me to be able to get away, especially it
was on location and I'm under contract to them. So
I just couldn't do those things. But I know she
ended up doing one of those, and I saw a
few clips of it and I was like, dang, we
do look alike.

Speaker 2 (14:31):
You know. I mean, it's the parallels are uncanny because
not only do you look alike.

Speaker 3 (14:35):
Let me just tell you this.

Speaker 2 (14:38):
Her Friday the thirtieth, Part two came out in nineteen
eighty one, same year as The Prowler, and she has
a pitchfork in it that she fights off the killer with,
just like you.

Speaker 4 (14:46):
So love to see.

Speaker 5 (14:48):
I would love to see a picture of us side
by side with the pitchfork.

Speaker 1 (14:51):
And there's one more comparison. You guys are both going
under a bed and a rat comes up to you
under the bed at the same time.

Speaker 4 (14:58):
Well, somebody copied, somebody don't.

Speaker 1 (15:00):
Well, but I mean I know all this because I haven't.

Speaker 5 (15:03):
Seen that movie, but yeah, a little too, we don't
know who copied.

Speaker 2 (15:07):
And then there's a prow No. But it is really
weird that these movies come out at the same time.
But you know, in the early eighties, there was kind
of a formula that people had for slasher movies. So
it's not like the biggest surprise, but So moving on
to n I Kti Ones The Prowler, which, by the way,
it's one of those We're a huge eighties Slashers fans.
It's one of the ones we revisit all the time.

(15:28):
We love it.

Speaker 3 (15:29):
Now, this was your very first feature film, correct.

Speaker 4 (15:34):
I guess, so you can probably tell me that we thought.

Speaker 2 (15:37):
Yeah, I thought looking through your resume, but you know,
sometimes there's TV movies and things. But what do you remember,
if anything, about the actual audition for the role of Pam, Like,
do you remember what they had you read or if
there were callbacks or anything.

Speaker 5 (15:50):
I do remember like a callback or something, and I
do remember reading. I don't remember anything else specifically, so
I don't remember too much about that audition process. Honestly,
I remember way more about the location and the actual
shooting of it. I don't remember anything remarkable, so I
think it was just like any other audition. You get

(16:11):
the audition, you go in if you know, you get
a callback, and I ended up booking it.

Speaker 4 (16:16):
I don't think there was anything like a chemistry read
with people, because I don't remember meeting anybody until I
was there, so I think it was pretty pretty quick.

Speaker 1 (16:26):
Did they have you read for multiple roles or just
strictly Pam McDonald.

Speaker 4 (16:30):
I don't remember.

Speaker 5 (16:31):
They probably in their mind were keeping it open for
any of the roles, and maybe they did honestly, but
I don't remember that really, I would have been, well,
I wasn't going to do the nudity, and I think
that that Gal sort of regretted it, honestly. But and
then I wasn't really right for the other roles, so
they probably do were just thinking of me for Pam.

Speaker 3 (16:51):
Yeah, did you know?

Speaker 2 (16:52):
I mean, you get the part and obviously you see
the script and even though you didn't know what final
girl was, it must have been nice to see, Oh,
I'm the one who survives and gets.

Speaker 4 (16:59):
The right hey the most because I'm there the longest, and.

Speaker 2 (17:04):
You know, so when after you got cast as and
you know, Pam is this very likable, very responsible character.
Was there anything you did to prepare for the role,
Like did you watch any Slashers to get used to
the formula?

Speaker 4 (17:16):
No, I think I was coming off a show, or
no I didn't.

Speaker 5 (17:20):
I really didn't. I mean I could lie to you
and say yes, I was, so you know, blah blah,
And I research all the time for Roles. So it's
not like I'm just like a fly by night. But
for that I just don't I remember trying to figure
out what am I going.

Speaker 4 (17:32):
To do with my dog? And you know, like.

Speaker 5 (17:35):
Because I think it was almost three months, like it
was a long shoot at least two and a half months,
and it was night shooting because most of it was
exterior at night, so we got on that schedule or
we were sleeping during the day and shooting at night.
But I don't know. I mean I was young man,
and like you know, you just something comes your way,
you jump on.

Speaker 3 (17:55):
And there you are, you know, no, totally get it.

Speaker 1 (17:57):
I mean that's something the movie really Like it's so
un like it's not like you're in a studio because
like some like Scream five is filmed in a studio
and you can tell.

Speaker 2 (18:08):
She's she's like, oh, of course, I've said Scream five
so many times. So one of the things about The
Prowler was directed by Joseph Zito, who, three years later,
funny enough, went on to direct Friday the Thirteenth, Part four,
So obviously he must be a fan of horror. What
was Joseph's directing style, Like, like, do you any fun stories.
Remember from working with him.

Speaker 5 (18:29):
I feel like consistency. You know, I don't feel like
it was ever a stressful set. I think I feel
like he obviously knew what he was doing because there
was never never issues. You're always running a little behind,
but that's kind of always the case. And there were
some times we had to work late to get stuff done,
but you know, that's just the way it goes. So

(18:51):
I just remember him kind of having a good, cool set,
everybody doing their job, and there wasn't a lot of drama,
if you know what I mean.

Speaker 3 (18:59):
No, that's great.

Speaker 2 (19:01):
Yeah. One thing that I read that he said about
Cape Maine, New Jersey, where The Prowler was filmed, that
it had a ghost town feel to it.

Speaker 3 (19:09):
Do you agree with that? What was it like for
you to film in that area?

Speaker 4 (19:12):
Well, it was.

Speaker 5 (19:13):
The fall, so it'd be chilly and windy, and that
always helps create that feeling. I mean, it's actually a
very charming town and it's quite a draw in the
summer and that kind of thing. But the houses are
Victorian and big, and yeah, it lends itself certainly to
that kind of feel.

Speaker 1 (19:31):
So yeah, yeah, And when you were filming, was it
was it called originally Graduation and then what yeah, when
did it change to the Prowler? And what do you
know why it was changed to the Prowler?

Speaker 4 (19:44):
I really don't know.

Speaker 5 (19:45):
I mean I would assume that they just wanted to
shift the focus to really what the whole rest of
the movie was about, you know, because it was that
opening scene. Was the graduation from the forties or whatever?
I don't know, or maybe there was another you know,
there's so many things that maybe it was a legal thing.
I don't know.

Speaker 1 (20:03):
Yeah, that's another horror film called Graduation Day. Yeah, that's
Prowler is the period which.

Speaker 3 (20:08):
Came out in nineteen eighty one.

Speaker 5 (20:09):
Again, Yeah, I think it's a better names.

Speaker 3 (20:12):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (20:12):
So, you know, one of the other big names involved
in The Prowler was special effects and makeup wizard Tom Savigni,
who's done effects for tons of horror films, you know,
and by that time he had already actually worked on
the original Friday the Thirteenth in a film called Maniac.
Now we'll get to the big ending in a little bit,
But did you get to work much with Tom or
was he like always around setting up all the death scenes?

(20:32):
You know?

Speaker 5 (20:33):
I count working with him, like my greatest takeaway from
The Prowler because that was sort of iconic in a
way as it was there was like no cgi, all
of the effects were practical. It was like doing a
stage play. And so he was really the master behind
all of that. And he had some sort of a
large warehouse. It's almost like a full city block. I

(20:57):
mean it was huge, and I unfortunately wasn't really involved
in any of those, but he had body for you know,
he had all of his magic going on.

Speaker 4 (21:08):
And I would go in there and I did end
up taking my dog.

Speaker 5 (21:11):
I would go in there with my little dog on
a leash, and I walk around and look at all
the stuff.

Speaker 4 (21:16):
He was doing.

Speaker 5 (21:17):
And he was really nice as I were calling him
school me on a certain thing, and he was showing
me how condoms were, like probably like the number one
part of his craft because it looks like skin and
you can fill it with you know, paint that looks
like blood. And so that was like one of his

(21:37):
big tools of the trade. There.

Speaker 3 (21:40):
Did you know that, Tim, I never knew he worked.
I used condom.

Speaker 1 (21:43):
The mood this movie's blood is probably like I've obviously
met and I have seen a ridiculous amount of horror films.
But the blood in this film is so red and
I don't know, I don't know what's it called color
coding after the movies made or something. Yeah, yeah, I
don't know if that was needed. But every death scene
in this movie is so well crafted.

Speaker 3 (22:03):
Yeah, it's very Tom Savine like teens.

Speaker 1 (22:06):
They probably were like under the.

Speaker 3 (22:09):
Still figuring things out, and they couldn't.

Speaker 1 (22:11):
Do as much because it was a paramount movie and
there was much more eyes were on it. But this
movie gets away with a lot of really red blood
and just brutality.

Speaker 2 (22:22):
Like I mean, the thing is so and we heard
you mentioned in A Q and A. I think it
may have been the anniversary one. Actually that Lisa Dunnheith,
who plays Sherry, the one who gets brutally pitch fork
to death of all showering, was not so happy about
having to do a nude scene. Can you tell our
listeners the story of what happened with all of that?

Speaker 5 (22:39):
You know, I just think it was something that like
all of us have in our lives where you think, okay, yeah, you.

Speaker 4 (22:44):
Know, that's all right, I can do that.

Speaker 5 (22:47):
That's part of the whole thing that really looks great,
and then you just kind of get there and it's like, oh,
I wish that I hadn't said that.

Speaker 4 (22:53):
I would, you know.

Speaker 5 (22:55):
And I don't really know. I've never seen her since then,
and I don't know how she reconciled it, if she
got okay with it, if it's bothered her all these years.
I mean, I have no idea, but I just know
that she kind of had some second second thoughts there,
and yeah, so it was just one of those things.

Speaker 2 (23:14):
Was she thinking of just like like pulling out of
the movie, or or she just was just not happy
about it.

Speaker 5 (23:20):
I just think she felt I think that the day
was looming and I think she was getting nervous about it,
and I and I just think I remember counseling her, like,
you know, you do have a choice. You can you
can say I shouldn't have said I could do this.
And we weren't just at the beginning, so it wasn't
like they had footage ever yet. But you know, you

(23:40):
certainly you've signed a contract and that will follow you
that you've agreed to something, and I you're breaking that,
but it's also going to follow you to do it,
you know, so you kind of you put yourself in
this situation. I probably didn't say it quite like this,
but but that's it. We all have those choices when
you get there, and you've got to make your choice.
And she made her choice to do it, and I
hope she, you know, is at peace with it and

(24:02):
a long time ago and whatever. You know.

Speaker 4 (24:05):
I honestly don't know where.

Speaker 2 (24:06):
She ended up with it, I think, I mean, I
obviously I don't know what she was thinking at the time.
But it's like there's one aspect of it is is
that you know, you're in a shower and you're naked,
and that's obviously if you're being vulnerable and showing that
to the camera. But then there's the fact that she
gets so brutally murdered while naked in the shower. It's

(24:27):
like the pitchfork is just drawn into her. So I'm
just like, I get it.

Speaker 4 (24:33):
Well, that was all that was all.

Speaker 5 (24:37):
Form or whatever too, so she had to go through
all that with you know, in Tom Savini's just getting
the the I don't even know what the material was, honestly,
I don't know that much about it, but.

Speaker 3 (24:50):
Just items.

Speaker 1 (24:53):
Were you when when the death scenes were being filmed,
like the one in the swimming pool.

Speaker 4 (24:59):
Yeah, I mean I I.

Speaker 5 (25:00):
Wasn't on set like called, but usually they were doing
many things that we're all kind of there if you're
not the scene, year around waiting for the next scene
that you are in or whatever. So I remember I
remember them doing it. But also if you're not in
a scene, and I was working a lot and it
was I would probably go be taking a break somewhere,

(25:21):
curling up and trying to get some sleep or you
know whatever, because it was long hours and it was
a little bit of a jolt to be working nights
and then not sleeping during the day too well, because
you're not used to.

Speaker 4 (25:34):
That, so it's bad.

Speaker 3 (25:36):
So you weren't sitting there watching all the scenes like
with popcorn.

Speaker 1 (25:39):
It's time.

Speaker 5 (25:40):
You know, it's a job, you guys, like anything, you know.

Speaker 1 (25:44):
Like the one thing my big takeaway from The Prowler
was that each death seem was like like he kicked
her in the face, Like it's so drawn out. I'm
just like, oh my goodness, Like it must have just
been like hard on especially the actress, like it'd be so.

Speaker 5 (25:58):
Well, she's in the pool too. I just finished a
film yesterday. It was raining down here. It was horrible
weather and it was pool or I had to like
just be thank goodness, just my feet like up to
my knees all day long though it was so cold.
I was so cold last night I thought, oh my gosh.
So working in a pool like she had to do
was hard, the true.

Speaker 3 (26:20):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (26:21):
So one thing I noted in the intro, and I
really think you deserve mad praise for this, is how
fast you run during these chase scenes. Like, but seriously,
we watched so many horror films where someone's supposed to be,
you know, running from the killer, but they're either taking
their sweet time or it's just you don't believe that
they're truly running for their lives. But in this film,
like you seem to be running at full speed. So

(26:43):
was all that running tough to do? Especially in those
white heels.

Speaker 5 (26:46):
Well, you're so funny. You're very generous when you say heels.
Those were character shoes. Talk about musical theater. I mean
they're fugly, let's face it, there, look like old lady
old late in the dress too, So they were comfortable.
So I could do all those stairs on one hundred
miles an hour and run and I guess I didn't
think of it because I'm not necessarily an athlete. I

(27:07):
could never be on school teams and stuff because I
was always working, or I like horseback riding or those
kinds of things, so I'm not really athletic.

Speaker 1 (27:17):
But yeah, did Joseph ever tell you to like, oh,
we didn't, we didn't get you. You ran past the camera. Yeah, sure,
and go.

Speaker 4 (27:26):
Back up and do the whole thing again.

Speaker 5 (27:27):
No. I never remember feeling physically. Oh a few times
like one of the I don't know, I have bruises
on my arm for one of those things with one
of the characters. But that was it like that that movie.
Actually I had no physical like issues with r nothing.

Speaker 2 (27:47):
No, no major mishaps or trips while you're running that fast.

Speaker 5 (27:50):
First thing was the was the rat thing, And that
to me was like a personal I mean, I don't
mind spiders, I don't mind snakes, I don't mind I'm
not like freaky about stuff, but I do not like rats.

Speaker 4 (28:04):
I really don't. I hate them. So that was that
was huge.

Speaker 5 (28:08):
And they did hold them by their tails and make
them a darker gray with a toothbrush. Oh wow, is
not humane, I suppose now, that would probably be a
big problem. So they were pissed, you know, when they
let them out to come toward me. They were not
in a good mood.

Speaker 2 (28:24):
How did they know that the route wasn't good? I mean,
I guess I don't know enough about rats, but like,
how did they know it.

Speaker 3 (28:27):
Was gonna bite?

Speaker 4 (28:28):
You know where you're going?

Speaker 5 (28:29):
And I'm glad I didn't think about.

Speaker 1 (28:30):
That then they bite?

Speaker 3 (28:33):
Well, yeah, rats can bite.

Speaker 5 (28:34):
They didn't, but they could have, I suppose.

Speaker 1 (28:37):
And also, like it looks cold at night, and like
you were just wearing like a little tiny dress and
like the other guy's like a cop, he's got like
a jacket. Thank gosh, he does give you his jacket, does.

Speaker 5 (28:47):
Yes, he does? But it was cold because it was
like I said, fall and it was cold.

Speaker 2 (28:52):
Yeah, so you were you constantly freezing while filming?

Speaker 3 (28:56):
Like how did you adapt it to it?

Speaker 4 (28:57):
Would you put the coat on?

Speaker 5 (28:58):
You know, when we're cut and they're setting up or
whatever you work code, then you take it off and
you try not to shiver?

Speaker 3 (29:05):
I mean the running fast probably helped. Also, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2 (29:09):
You know another random fact trivia thing you can get
on the internet. I read on IMDb was that the
cemetery scenes when you and Mark discover Lisa's body in
the grave were filmed on Halloween night nineteen eighty and
that the grave that you use was an actual open
grave awaiting a funeral.

Speaker 3 (29:27):
Is that true?

Speaker 4 (29:29):
I hope they had a.

Speaker 5 (29:30):
Permit to do that unless everybody shows up. It's like, what,
I don't remember that it was Halloween night, but yes,
I guess it was, and I do remember the open grave,
and I do remember it being creepy.

Speaker 4 (29:42):
You know, I don't ask questions. I just show up
and say the lines.

Speaker 3 (29:45):
And you know, no, But that's good.

Speaker 2 (29:48):
I was going to say, I sometimes knowing too much,
like you said with the route could freak you out.
Like if let's say, and again, not all the IMDb
stuff is accurate, anybody can put it on, but like,
let's say it was an actual grave that was awaiting
a body, that probably we would have freaked you out
a little.

Speaker 5 (30:01):
I didn't know that, but I all couldn't do sure.

Speaker 4 (30:05):
I mean, it's better. That's better than that they dug
it up and like took.

Speaker 5 (30:09):
The you know, I mean, I don't know either way,
it's kind of creepy, and I don't think I was down.

Speaker 4 (30:15):
Inside it, like I think.

Speaker 5 (30:17):
Mark was down inside it.

Speaker 4 (30:18):
I don't remember myself having to do that.

Speaker 2 (30:20):
So yeah, no, I'm just now I just want to
know who was in that grave. Today I never know.
So another thing that I love about your character in
this film is that even though your love interest, Deputy Mark,
tries to make Pam go back to the dance and
stay there out of arms way, Pam insists on going
with them to look for the killer. You know, she's

(30:41):
she's kind of tough and she doesn't just sit back
letting her boyfriend do all the fighting. So looking back,
do you do you feel pride in having played a
character who kind of subverted the typical gender roles At the.

Speaker 5 (30:50):
Time, I didn't necessarily think about it that way, but
I guess I am a strong a strong person, and
I guess I I don't know. If you have a mission,
you know you complete it, and so I didn't really
think of it like I am a woman hear me, roar.
It's just like this is something that you got to
do and whether you know whoever you are, you.

Speaker 4 (31:12):
Just you do it.

Speaker 3 (31:14):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (31:14):
No, no, But the funny thing is is that, especially
in like the early eighties, there was a lot of
the boyfriend wanting to take care of things and saying
like you wait behind or something, and so it felt
like it was definitely different, only because we've watched so
many of these movies that Pam is like, no, I'm
going with you. I'm going to fight this guy, like,
I'm not going to just let you do this. And

(31:35):
he's a cop, so he very much could have just
taken care of it himself, but you wouldn't let him
do that, which I thought was awesome.

Speaker 4 (31:41):
Yeah, yeah, that's nice. I never really thought of it, honestly,
It's just I mean, that would be in the writing.
You'd have to beg the writer for that.

Speaker 1 (31:47):
Well, you also were stuck at the punch bowl when
he came into the death and you you're stuck.

Speaker 5 (31:52):
At that punch bowl, Like that was an editing thing.
Like when I saw that, I remember, I.

Speaker 4 (31:56):
Was like, how long am I at that punch bowl?

Speaker 1 (31:59):
Like, and then he came in and your friend Lisa,
her name was Lisa, and she would dance with him.
So were we supposed to think like your friend was
no longer a friend and we're supposed to be okay
with her getting killed by the pool.

Speaker 5 (32:11):
Maybe they were maybe they were preparing you to feel
that way, because yeah, because that's pretty meant. But I
do remember that scene going on forever, and you know,
when they're shooting it, you'll do one hundred takes looking
over like being pissed and serving your punch and all that.
But I feel like there were one hundred takes in
the movie. Continuing me looking at said, I thought.

Speaker 4 (32:33):
That was a lot.

Speaker 2 (32:35):
Lisa got her come up, and so that's it is funny,
like Tim saying not anymore, Like like he's coming in
there and she steals him away to go dance, and
she obviously knows that your dating.

Speaker 3 (32:46):
Give it's just so.

Speaker 1 (32:47):
Fun on her head, it's like because I mean, I
have a soap brain. So I was like, is she's
trying to steal the cop?

Speaker 3 (32:52):
Like, Vicky, have you been thinking about that for forty
four years? You've been thinking? What was she really thinking?
The prowl keeps me up at night, guys before I
go to sleep. I just don't think about that contrable.

Speaker 5 (33:07):
I'll figure this one out, Okay.

Speaker 2 (33:09):
So now moving on to that explosive finale now spoiler alert,
and I mean it's not really a spoiler alert because
it's been forty four years and if you haven't seen
The Prowler, you need to see it because it's one
of the best eighty slashes. But so just to kind
of go through how it goes down, Mark, the deputy
gets knocked out by the Prowler, leaving you to face
him alone. And first the character of Auto, a side character,

(33:30):
comes in and shoots the Prowler, but this doesn't kill him,
and sadly, he ends up blowing Auto away with a shotgun.
Now is it true, because I think I heard you
say this that you didn't actually film that scene with
the actor who played Auto, and that was just edited together, Yes.

Speaker 5 (33:45):
Because of scheduling problems. So I mean, and it's an
intense scene, and you know you I don't know, so
people have asked me about it over the years, and
I just never met him, you know, I never met him.
And then I did see him on the street in
New York like years later.

Speaker 4 (34:02):
And that was quite odd. But yeah, and what happened.

Speaker 5 (34:06):
It does happen in films where you don't necessarily meet
people and you are in the same scene just because
of the way they sheet it. But that one was
like especially odd, just because there was so much going
on and it was so intense.

Speaker 3 (34:20):
But I, by the way, did you know, I would
have never guessed.

Speaker 1 (34:23):
That it ended so well. I was like, oh, they're
all three there.

Speaker 2 (34:27):
Yeah, how what happened when you ran into him in
person years later?

Speaker 4 (34:33):
Well, he sort of seemed like auto ish, like he
was sort of just walking and like, you know, and
I kind of did a double take, and I, as
I remember.

Speaker 5 (34:42):
I think I just said, hey, did you ever play auto?
And he stopped and he looked at me, and so
I'm assuming you know that it was the right guy,
and he just went like that, and I was like hey.

Speaker 4 (34:57):
And I just kept walking. I don't know. We never
really had a conversation.

Speaker 5 (35:01):
I think I was probably in a rush.

Speaker 4 (35:03):
In New York, You're always in a rush, you know, so,
But yeah, so it was kind of funny.

Speaker 1 (35:08):
I love that I'm a remarkable.

Speaker 5 (35:10):
Looking person and you doesn't, you know not, It's not
like he just looks like anybody else.

Speaker 1 (35:16):
It's distinct.

Speaker 2 (35:17):
Yeah. Bill Hugh Collins actually is the name of the actor.
I would love it if that actually wasn't him and
it was just someone who got it.

Speaker 4 (35:24):
Who knows who knows, but yeah, yeah, it's so funny.

Speaker 2 (35:28):
That's such a random but you know, I mean that
kind of thing happens in New York and LA all
the time.

Speaker 3 (35:33):
I just love that you yelled and said, did you
play Auto?

Speaker 4 (35:37):
He might have just thought I was like a fan.
You know, I don't even know if you knew. He
probably didn't know who I was.

Speaker 2 (35:42):
He's like, uh, sure, lady, Yeah, probably and how much?
Wait and approximately, like, is this like twenty years later,
thirty years later?

Speaker 4 (35:52):
Probably?

Speaker 5 (35:53):
Oh? Man, I don't know, maybe like fifteen years later
because I left. I mean, I go back to New
York to visit, but I was because I've been out here,
so maybe like fifteen years later. You know, it wasn't
like like within the last fifteen years it was. It
was closer to back then.

Speaker 3 (36:10):
Oh then he should remember.

Speaker 2 (36:11):
But anyway, so after Auto gets killed, the big explosive
finale is you finally unmask the prowler and oh my god,
surprise reveals it to be the sheriff. And then after
a long struggle struggle, you're able to get the shotgun
under his chin and literally blow his entire head apart.
I mean, it's a amazing effect. So I had to ask,

(36:32):
do you remember how that was done? And like how
long that took to film?

Speaker 4 (36:37):
Yeah?

Speaker 5 (36:37):
I never we did everything, and the choreography of all
of that was we never had a chance to rehearse it,
so we did spend a lot of time. I think
it was two days in that room. Literally, you know,
the choreography was like a dance, because everything had to
be very specific so that we would end up in
the position for the big, big event, which did not

(36:59):
take place there.

Speaker 4 (37:00):
It took place weeks later or months later.

Speaker 5 (37:02):
I have no idea when they did it in a
studio with probably four or five camera setups, because they
could only do it once. You know they're gonna because
that again, Tom Savini did up a whole head that
they were going to blow up into smithereens, and so
they wanted to get it from all the different angles.

Speaker 4 (37:22):
So that was that was a day or.

Speaker 5 (37:24):
A week or whatever they did in and of itself
that I was no part of. So we did everything
up until the point where you know, I pulled the trigger,
and then that other was they just did that in
a very controlled environment, so.

Speaker 2 (37:38):
You okay, so then you did the whole scene, but
then you never saw the actual explosion being filmed, So
what did you think when you first saw it in
the film?

Speaker 4 (37:47):
That was pretty intense. Yeah, like what.

Speaker 2 (37:51):
I blew his head a bart Like, yeah, it is.
It's an amazing effect. I actually read that he really
pulled the trigger on a real shot gun to explode
that head, which is like scary and crazy at the
same time.

Speaker 3 (38:04):
But hey, it's Tomas.

Speaker 1 (38:06):
You did not know that.

Speaker 3 (38:06):
Yeah, I just read that well, I mean gruesomely.

Speaker 5 (38:09):
I'm assuming Ahead explodes a certain way based on you know,
the firearm, and I don't really know, but I'm sure
you wanted to be as as authentic as you know
could so, but again, we can only do that once
because that was that was a lot of work to
do that one head. So it wasn't like they were like,
bring him the next head, bring him the next head.
I mean, maybe they had a backup, but I really

(38:31):
don't think they did. I think that it was a
one shot deal and they wanted to get it from
every angle they possibly could, so that if it didn't
look good in one one angle, they had they had
something from another angle.

Speaker 2 (38:43):
I'm just imagining, like, as you're filming that scene, it's
like such a struggle and you finally get to the
part where you get hit the shotgun up between the
head and then they're like, cut, okay, that's all.

Speaker 3 (38:51):
We need you a dinner? Yeah, cut, you're good. Thanks,
Vicky's later.

Speaker 1 (38:56):
You know, it's just buddy, It's like, yeah, that last
sea filmed, I mean, did they do it in order?

Speaker 4 (39:01):
No? No?

Speaker 5 (39:02):
Oh?

Speaker 2 (39:02):
Yeah, well, but speaking of it in order, Just like
most horror movies, there's one final scare, but this one's
a little confusing because it's the dead body of your
friend's boyfriend comes alive and like lunge is out at
you in the shower. Now, did you interpret this as
like more of a hallucination because of what Pam had
just went through?

Speaker 5 (39:22):
You know what, if you can tell me, I would
appreciate it, because I don't. I don't really understand any
of the things that you just said could be what
it is. And I heard they did that in case
that we're going to do a power too or whatever.
I don't know, but I don't know.

Speaker 4 (39:37):
If it was.

Speaker 5 (39:38):
The event was so stressful that that's kind of how
I did it as an actor, because.

Speaker 4 (39:42):
I don't know. It didn't make sense any other way
to me.

Speaker 2 (39:46):
I mean, it couldn't like literally that guy got a
bayonet through yead.

Speaker 1 (39:50):
So I knew he was dead. I knew that everything
she went through she probably was.

Speaker 4 (39:55):
Where That's where I landed on it.

Speaker 2 (39:57):
Yeah, I mean, obviously it's it's got to be that.
But I think the reason why it wasn't as clear
is that usually when there's a final scare like that,
like then the character wakes up from a dream or
you know, like eyes pop open and they know that
they hallucinated.

Speaker 3 (40:10):
In this one, it just kind of ends, well, she
was happy.

Speaker 5 (40:13):
I think they were leaving the door open for you know,
for I don't know, I think that that's what they
were doing.

Speaker 4 (40:18):
I don't know why and how that how that.

Speaker 1 (40:21):
Would, but well, at that time, you know, they did
car Carrie had that famous scare at the end and
then Fri thirteen. So it was a pattern, but it
was a good pattern. I thought it were it was good.

Speaker 2 (40:31):
It just like again, I think for me, it's like
maybe if Pam had just woken up, I'd be like, Okay,
it's one hundred percent of jury.

Speaker 1 (40:38):
They're not going to give that to you.

Speaker 2 (40:39):
Yeah, yeah, come on, let's go back, Joseph Zido, let's
do that new ending, Vicky, can we do a reshoot
real quick?

Speaker 1 (40:47):
And was there like a like a cast and crew
screening when it was all wrapped and was like a
red carpet premiere? Like, what did you think when you
saw it on the big screen for the first time,
like especially all the death scenes, were you just like,
oh my god.

Speaker 5 (40:59):
No, I I think I honestly don't remember the premiere
for this movie, and I don't know if I could.
I'm thinking that I couldn't make it. I don't know
why unless they didn't have one, but I don't remember one.

Speaker 4 (41:15):
I remember seeing it at.

Speaker 5 (41:16):
Like a New Jersey theater with a friend who was
like and people behind us were like talking, and he
was like, I mean, this is how I saw the movie.
I don't remember seeing it.

Speaker 4 (41:27):
Maybe I did, sorry, so long ago.

Speaker 5 (41:30):
I don't remember us all being together and enjoying a
big premiere.

Speaker 4 (41:33):
So either I missed it or it never happened.

Speaker 2 (41:36):
Oh I wonder you know it wasn't premiers weren't like
on every film at that point, like when we talked people, Yeah, yeah,
but that's so funny that so the first time you
saw it after you wrapped? Is just in a random
New Jersey theater public?

Speaker 1 (41:50):
What was that like?

Speaker 5 (41:51):
There weren't very many people there, oh, really, which made
it weirder.

Speaker 1 (41:57):
I've been lucky. I saw it at a revival house
Scream and it was packed. So it's really really a
fun movie to see with. Like, I think it's.

Speaker 5 (42:04):
Almotly more popular now, although it did.

Speaker 4 (42:07):
My mom saved this thing for me the.

Speaker 5 (42:09):
New York Times, you know, the top ten of the
week or whatever, and I had done a movie Carbon Coffee,
and that week both The Prowler and the Carbon Coffee
were of top ten.

Speaker 4 (42:19):
So she had framed that for me. That was really cool.

Speaker 5 (42:22):
But yeah, I don't know. I mean, it was a
smaller film, and I just don't know that they necessarily
did them.

Speaker 2 (42:28):
You know, Yeah, no that makes sense. What and you
you kind of said this, but I mean, and maybe
you don't know for sure, but was or had you
heard any talk of them wanting to do like a
Prowler Part two or wanting you back for a sequel?

Speaker 4 (42:40):
I never heard anything, and I don't think anything.

Speaker 5 (42:43):
I mean, if there was talk about it, I wasn't included,
or maybe there just was never talk about it.

Speaker 4 (42:49):
I never heard anything after.

Speaker 3 (42:51):
Yeah, I mean I get.

Speaker 2 (42:52):
I mean you could watch it and be like, well,
they killed the Prowler, how can there be Prowler too?
But you know how with horror movies, there could be
a Prowler, the other Prowler.

Speaker 5 (43:01):
Yeah, yeah, the worst, the twin that's even worse than
the first Prowler.

Speaker 1 (43:06):
Yeah, exactly, if that's possible, that would be the Prowler
is brutal.

Speaker 2 (43:11):
Yeah, and now you know, it's been forty four years
since then, But when do you think because you even
said it's more popular now than it was then, but
when do you think you first became aware that the
Prowler had such a cult following When I went.

Speaker 5 (43:26):
Back to do that anniversary, I was sort of surprised
that they even asked me to do something anyway, and
I thought there'd be like two people there. There were
so many people there, and they were like, what do
your kids think about it? I mean, if you guys
watched that, then you know, my kids have never seen
and my kids could have cared less about that, you know,
and I never I don't know, It's just a movie
I made, you know, I never really thought about it

(43:48):
until they asked me to do that anniversary thing, and
I thought, oh, well that'd be great. You know, I'll
go do that and then I'll go to New York
and see some shows and see some friends. And I
was really really taking back at how many people do
know of it and still watch it, and you know,
I was like, that's so cool that it has legs
and you know, yeah, you're.

Speaker 1 (44:08):
So you're so likable and it like no one wants
you to die. Yeah, it's just a change because usually,
like I talk.

Speaker 5 (44:14):
To my husband just right, Yeah, I do have that
you know from Kansas, kind of a wholesome Yeah, yeah,
all American.

Speaker 1 (44:29):
Look, I guess, oh definitely.

Speaker 2 (44:31):
And you and I yes, you and the Ohio who
you Tim?

Speaker 3 (44:37):
And Amy Steele.

Speaker 1 (44:38):
That's right, let's go on vacation absolutely top Arlington. And
why do you think like Slasher fans have really held
on to this movie? Like what do you think the
appeal is?

Speaker 4 (44:52):
That's a very good question. Can you answer that?

Speaker 3 (44:56):
We can give you our thoughts. Yeah, yeah, I mean.

Speaker 1 (44:58):
It's so funny.

Speaker 5 (44:59):
Yeah, no to say to that.

Speaker 2 (45:01):
I mean, and I'm sure maybe we have different answers,
but I think, like you know, it came I love
where I'm answering the question. But you know, it was
the heyday have slasher films, and so there were tons,
but not every slasher film had a a villain that
was truly scary, b kills that were really brutal and
like sadistic, and see you a final girl that you

(45:22):
could really kind of feel for and was likable and
you wanted to survive. So I think you put all
three of those together and you have a quality eighty
slasher film.

Speaker 3 (45:30):
And that's what The Prowler was.

Speaker 1 (45:32):
Yeah, I think it checks all the boxes, like you
have an eerie setting, you have a hot young cast,
you have a you do have a scary villain, and
I'm happy he doesn't do like one liners.

Speaker 3 (45:41):
Oh my god. Yeah yeah, yeah, he's a scary villain.

Speaker 1 (45:43):
Talk yeah, and like it. It follows the tropes, but
it also because we've seen so many, it holds up
so well. I feel like it could be made today.
Like I mean, I think remake, yeah, like I mean,
I mean I don't want to remake, but I mean, like,
because this one's so solid, it's a colid film.

Speaker 5 (46:02):
Well, I think all those things are are definitely valid.
But after hearing you speak. I think that literally the
legs it stands on it are the special effects. I mean,
I think that's why. That's what's given it the staying power.
All those other things are there and it's nice and
it supports it. But I think true the people like
they are horror people, and.

Speaker 4 (46:21):
They love those kills.

Speaker 5 (46:22):
They love that red blood, they love the quality of
the of the special.

Speaker 2 (46:26):
Effects and chase. I mean, the thing is is like
your characters. Yeah, yeah, and your characters, but no, the
chase are good too, because a good I mean I
think slasher fans, yes, there are. We call them like
the gore hounds, which is just like more blood, more blood,
more blood. We're not really like that, like you know,
blood whatever. But I appreciate the craftsman shell. Yeah, but
the chase scenes also, like you know, we have you running,

(46:48):
it's dark, it's scary, running through.

Speaker 4 (46:50):
The psychological builds. I like those kinds of films.

Speaker 2 (46:55):
Yeah, yeah, exactly. So I read that you took a
break from acting to raise your kids, but decades later
you returned to feature films with the it's kind of
horror adjacent crime drama. It's twenty nineteen toxicity and now
this was a very different role than the Browler because,
without giving too much away, your character goes to some

(47:15):
pretty extreme lengths to keep up a certain impression of
her life and such. And by the way, I thought
you did a great job in this movie. It's a
very serious role. How did you get involved with this
film and what drew you to playing this part?

Speaker 5 (47:29):
I just you know, Yeah, I auditioned for something, and
you audition for things, and sometimes you never hear you
audition for things, and sometimes you do, and this one
I did hear on and connected with Andrew who wrote
it and ended up directing it. And yeah, it was
a really challenging role because I feel like I would
want someone to watch that movie and not ever think

(47:53):
that what's going to happen at the end could possibly happen,
and then watch it again and say at every turn say,
of course, what's going to happen is going to happen.
You know, it was a very hard line to walk
and to make believable, And yeah, it was hard. It

(48:14):
was a real challenge for me, and I really enjoyed
the opportunity.

Speaker 3 (48:17):
To do that.

Speaker 2 (48:18):
Yeah. No, And like I said, you did a great job,
and were you when you first read the script. Were
you as shocked when you read the ending as we
were watching it?

Speaker 4 (48:27):
Yeah? Yeah, And it was hard to play.

Speaker 5 (48:30):
And that night that we shot that scene was more
upsetting to me than I than I thought it was
going to be. I mean, it's just a movie, right,
But yeah, Ariya the actor played my son. It was
a hard It was a really hard It was a
hard one.

Speaker 3 (48:46):
I can imagine.

Speaker 2 (48:47):
Yeah, But I mean again, it's like I as an actor,
I would think it's like almost like it's kind of
exciting to play these roles that are so different from you,
are so different from things you've played in the past.
I'm assuming you haven't played a care like that beforeever.

Speaker 5 (49:02):
No, I mean I look, literally, I look at every character,
even though you can say, oh, that's the.

Speaker 4 (49:07):
Soccer mom or that that's this, So that's that.

Speaker 5 (49:09):
Every character is unique and different and you have to
find those things in order to make it interesting and specific.
So as much as I love that character and is
challenging as it was, I find it with almost every character.

Speaker 3 (49:24):
No, yeah, no, no, that's that's a good way to
look at it, you know.

Speaker 2 (49:27):
And then in twenty twenty one, you start in the
thriller Amazon Queen. Now, did you actually get to film
along the Amazon River in Brazil?

Speaker 3 (49:36):
And what was that?

Speaker 5 (49:37):
Like? We did and it was amazing and there was
a beautiful boat and we would get on the boat.
We would go like I know, a thousand miles or
whatever up the Amazon and film all of our stuff
and then turn around and head back film all of
our stuff. And then we would be in Manaos and.

Speaker 4 (49:53):
We would shoot the city stuff while they would reload
the boat.

Speaker 5 (49:56):
It's all the food and every you know, all the
stuff that we would need for the next all on
up the river. So we did that several times and
it was great experience, was it?

Speaker 3 (50:06):
I Mean, I know you're working, but was it also
kind of like being on a river cruise? Like for real?

Speaker 5 (50:11):
Yeah, it was like being at camp and you know,
you can't really tick anybody off because you don't get
pushed over the side of the boat. I mean, you're
in it for the long haultogether. You know. Luckily, everybody
on that she was really great and we had a
we had a really fun time together. But yeah, I
would saying, you get on that boat and there's just
a real jerk. You know, you're gonna have a long

(50:33):
five weeks.

Speaker 1 (50:34):
You would have to pull a prowler.

Speaker 5 (50:36):
Yeah, yeah, I honestly would have considered it.

Speaker 1 (50:40):
And do you have any run ins with wildlife or anything?
Hopefully no route No.

Speaker 5 (50:44):
Oh well the scene where we did the night the
night boat thing. I mean you would look up on
the banks and there was a million little red dots
everywhere and that's all eyes of who knows what you know, nikes. Yeah,
it's a little and you'd hear the howler monkeys all
the time. And it was nice though.

Speaker 4 (51:04):
It was because we were I never felt.

Speaker 2 (51:06):
In danger, so nothing threatening, just like nice wildlife.

Speaker 4 (51:11):
Yeah those jaguars.

Speaker 1 (51:15):
Yeah, No, you.

Speaker 5 (51:16):
Weren't allowed to go go to the bathroom by yourself
in the woods.

Speaker 4 (51:20):
Let's put it that way.

Speaker 5 (51:21):
You were more you were more willing to have someone
hold your hand while he went to the.

Speaker 4 (51:24):
Bathroom and be alone.

Speaker 3 (51:26):
I can imagine. Yeah, I mean it's like and it's funny.

Speaker 2 (51:29):
In the movie they kind of put in what I
would assume are like stock video shots of wildlife and stuff.

Speaker 3 (51:34):
But I didn't.

Speaker 5 (51:35):
Marlon Dara, who directed the movie, he is an I
mean that is goes against his grain. Like we had
the sloths, we had the anakon. We have so many,
so many things that he could have done that with,
and he like, if he is so particular, he will
sit there with a camera for twenty hours and not

(51:56):
move waiting for real wildlife to go by.

Speaker 4 (51:59):
I don't know if maybe there was one or.

Speaker 5 (52:01):
Two, but all of that stuff he's gotten because he's
done like so many documentaries and he's been in one
hundred and forty.

Speaker 4 (52:09):
Countries, So the feature work is sort of like he's
just for raid into that.

Speaker 5 (52:14):
His work is with animals and that is his love
and he feels it super cheap to you stalk.

Speaker 3 (52:20):
Oh wow, I stand corrected. I didn't.

Speaker 2 (52:23):
I mean, because it's such beautiful shots of these animals. Yeah,
I was like, oh, maybe they just stock. So he
really got that footage. That's amazing.

Speaker 5 (52:32):
And I don't know if there was maybe one, because
I know, and some of it you went to Costa
Rica to get because honestly, the animals there are more
used to people, and so you have a better chance
they'll sneak out a little bit more than in the
Amazon because they don't they're never used.

Speaker 4 (52:46):
To people, at least where we were, So I think
it's harder.

Speaker 5 (52:50):
I'm not sure.

Speaker 4 (52:51):
I think I heard this from him or someone connected
to the film, but no, he's.

Speaker 5 (52:56):
Avid about that and he really takes offense.

Speaker 4 (53:00):
To like that kind of.

Speaker 3 (53:02):
Stock oh stuff.

Speaker 4 (53:05):
He's the real deal when it comes.

Speaker 2 (53:06):
No, I'm glad that you clarified that, because I mean
it is it's so beauty like in a way, it's
so beautifully shot that I was like, how could they
get this and all the characters and the film footage?

Speaker 3 (53:15):
But it's like the whole movie.

Speaker 2 (53:17):
It's just like it looks like it could sell vacation
footage for River Cruise.

Speaker 5 (53:22):
Well, that's his background. I mean, he loves you know.
I think he'd probably rather work with the animals. I
think I've even told him this than the actors, because
we can be way more difficult sometimes, I think.

Speaker 2 (53:35):
So. Just a couple last questions before we wrap up,
just out of curiosity, have you ever done a horror convention?
And if not, would you be open to appearing at one,
knowing how popular the Prowler is.

Speaker 5 (53:47):
I have never done a horror convention, and I never
say no to any opportunity. You know, when it actually
comes your way, you look at it a little more
specifically and see, but I'm always open to fun things,
new things, So.

Speaker 3 (54:03):
Yeah, oh that's cool.

Speaker 2 (54:04):
I mean, we love we go to horror conventions all
the time, big shocker, but like you know, the horror fans,
especially this movie, very dedicated and loyal. And we've talked
to a lot of people who they were a little
hesitant at first, and then they go to one and
it's like the most fun experience they've ever had. It's
just and they're kind of shocked by the amount of fandom.
So yeah, I think you could get a great crowd.

Speaker 4 (54:24):
The anniversary thing. You know.

Speaker 5 (54:26):
I was surprised that anybody even still wanted to even
watch it once in a while.

Speaker 1 (54:30):
Oh my gosh. I think any true horror fan that
we've talked to i've seen the.

Speaker 3 (54:33):
Press, yes exactly. Uh huh.

Speaker 1 (54:35):
And what are you up to today?

Speaker 4 (54:38):
Well, I am.

Speaker 5 (54:39):
I'm still working as an actress, which I love. I
have my own business as well, which I've had for
quite a while, just you know, helping elderly parents, following
up with my kids who are all adults now doing
their thing.

Speaker 4 (54:54):
They're great, and yeah.

Speaker 5 (54:56):
Just just having fun and working hard.

Speaker 1 (55:00):
I'm still avoiding Sheila Carter right down the road.

Speaker 4 (55:03):
I didn't know all this about her character.

Speaker 1 (55:05):
Oh yeah, that's great. She's I mean, her character is
on quite a bit. So if you want to tune
in CBS, it.

Speaker 2 (55:11):
Will any any new projects that you're working on at
the moment you can tell us about. I know you
said you had just finished filming something, is there.

Speaker 5 (55:19):
I've just finished filming something again. It was just a
wonderful role for me because there's not you know, I'm
getting I'm old, and I don't know that my all
American look is in as much, if you know what
I mean. So I really appreciate the roles that come
along with are meaningful and challenging, and there's a story

(55:41):
behind it that's well written.

Speaker 4 (55:42):
So I love that.

Speaker 5 (55:43):
So anyway, so yes, i just finished something yesterday that
was great, and I'm getting ready to work on a play.
I love doing the theater too. Down here in San
Diego with rasked about theater play called True West. You
probably have heard of it, says Sam Shepard play. Yes,
and so I'm excited to start rehearsals on that.

Speaker 1 (56:02):
Matt and I could come the end.

Speaker 3 (56:03):
Yeah, we could welcome you.

Speaker 5 (56:05):
Let me know we'll have dinner and I'll get you.

Speaker 2 (56:07):
Oh that would be amazing. Oh my god, I love
that because we love theater.

Speaker 3 (56:11):
We love that.

Speaker 5 (56:12):
Again, great show. Yeah, it's a really good it's two
brothers who are basically trying to kill each other through
the whole play.

Speaker 3 (56:19):
We love it even more.

Speaker 4 (56:22):
It's a great horror dynamic there.

Speaker 3 (56:24):
I love that.

Speaker 2 (56:25):
And well, And in speaking of horror, would you today
be willing to start in another horror film if given
the opportunity.

Speaker 5 (56:34):
Again, you know, it depends if it's just like the
stupidest thing ever, Probably not, you know, but if there's
a story to be told and it's well done, you.

Speaker 2 (56:44):
Know, sure, No, that's a good Yeah. JOSEPHO. Prowler to
we got Pam.

Speaker 4 (56:51):
Still he's still busy doing his thing. I mean, like yeah,
he's like great.

Speaker 2 (56:58):
I mean, speaking of horror conventions, Tom Savigni is at
all of them like he do a ton. Oh yeah,
I mean like he having done, he's done. It would
take me forever to name all the films he's done.
But like Prowler, Friday, thirteenth Maye, like a lot of
his eighties things are the things he's most known for.
I think well love that. I mean, that's all they want. Really, Yeah,
so he goes to them. I don't know does Joseph

(57:20):
Zito go to any convention.

Speaker 1 (57:21):
I went to Joseph Zito's screening of Fred Thirteenth Part four,
the final chapter of thirty fifth Anniversary, and he was
very proud of the movie, like he was excited to
be there, Like I got a picture with him. He's
really nice.

Speaker 4 (57:33):
Yeah, he's a nice guy.

Speaker 5 (57:34):
Yeah. So you guys know, the Prowler was like the
second ad, right, I think.

Speaker 3 (57:40):
Yeah, I read that multiple people played so mean. You mean,
under the.

Speaker 5 (57:43):
Mask's pretty much always Peter, who's like the nicest guy
in the world.

Speaker 4 (57:46):
So it was hard to be scared of him. Yeah,
put your element on and let's go.

Speaker 1 (57:53):
You know it looks so uncomfortable.

Speaker 2 (57:55):
Yeah, it would look like a really but warm. He
must have been warm and all that.

Speaker 1 (57:59):
Yeah, could you see because we couldn't see his eyes?

Speaker 4 (58:02):
I don't remember, probably not anyway, this guy in the world.

Speaker 2 (58:08):
It is funny that you have to be terrified of
like the nicest person in the world as the kid.

Speaker 1 (58:12):
But we believed you.

Speaker 4 (58:14):
Yeah, I'm glad, I'm glad you did.

Speaker 3 (58:17):
So we have one final question for you, Vicky.

Speaker 4 (58:19):
We asked all of questions for the Final Girl.

Speaker 2 (58:22):
I as the final coach for the Final Girl, and
it's kind of puts you on the spot a little bit.
We ask everyone this, what is one thing that you
can tell us about your experience working on The Prowler
that you've never told any other interviewer, publication Q and
a screening your kids. No, even if it's the littlest thing,

(58:42):
just one detail. It doesn't even have to be crazy,
or it can be about your experience working on the
film that you've never talked about before ever.

Speaker 5 (58:51):
Well, I mean, there's way juice here. Things, but I
think I've probably already told them and mentioned them to people.
This just came into my mind. This is not not
very incredible, I don't think. But driving away after we
wrapped leaving Cape May, I was like in my car
and I just remember the road out of there. It

(59:14):
was like all these trees. It was like three in
the morning. I was headed back to New Jersey and
the moon was shining in a certain way and it
was just like the most cinematic look on that road,
and I just got like I'm getting it now, like
just overwhelmed with the experience and just the friendships and everything,

(59:37):
and I'll just never forget the way that looked driving away.

Speaker 4 (59:40):
You know, it's like it's in my mind. So thanks
for that question.

Speaker 3 (59:43):
Yeah, no, that's really cool because what I love.

Speaker 2 (59:46):
We love hearing now because yes, some people will answer
that and say something very salacious or like oh I.

Speaker 3 (59:51):
Slept with the second ID. Other people.

Speaker 2 (59:56):
Yeah, like oh that too, but that's no. But but
other things like that, that's really great. I love those
kind of memories that people think, you know, oh, nobody's
going to want to hear about it, but like we
want to hear about it, And that's a really cool
thing because anything that sticks out in your mind, especially
forty four years later, is a worthwhile memory.

Speaker 4 (01:00:13):
Yeah, that is true.

Speaker 5 (01:00:14):
So thank you for making me recall that, because it
was it was a way to emotionally close that experience.
But it's something very vivid that just kind of it
just it just fueled every emotion that I had had
through the whole experience.

Speaker 4 (01:00:28):
Was it just in that one vision?

Speaker 1 (01:00:30):
So, and it's so cool that you embrace being in
a horror film because some people we talked to them
kind of like I don't even know if I wanted
to put it on my resume, like you know, like
I love at work.

Speaker 4 (01:00:40):
Yeah, I'm proud of it. And I know sometimes we'll
do things that maybe you are not so proud of.

Speaker 5 (01:00:44):
But if the intention is there, not everything is going
to always be the success that you hope it is.
But hey, if you take it seriously and you grab
the bull by the horns and you work hard, you
should be proud of it, you know.

Speaker 2 (01:00:57):
Absolutely, Yeah, of course that's a great message for people.
And anyway, well, thank you so much, Vicky. We so
much for me, you guys, Yeah, this is so much
fun for us getting the chat with you. We're gonna
maybe we can try and see your show and yeah,
because or again, maybe we'll sometime maybe.

Speaker 1 (01:01:14):
Maybe we'll jump on stage with a Pittsburgh. Was the Prowler?
She was, okay, yes, oh my.

Speaker 2 (01:01:22):
God, I love that week that way. I promise we're
not that creepy. Can you imagine we show up dressed
as the Prowler?

Speaker 1 (01:01:28):
Hey, I want to do a tap dance number.

Speaker 4 (01:01:31):
Yeah, the Prowler. I think that's like a go to.
You guys have still more tickets probably than our show.

Speaker 3 (01:01:37):
Oh my god. Well, like Vicky Toss at the Prowler
nineteen eighty.

Speaker 5 (01:01:40):
One, whoa funny.

Speaker 4 (01:01:44):
But you guys have been great.

Speaker 5 (01:01:45):
It's been a great way to spend an hour.

Speaker 4 (01:01:47):
On a Saturday.

Speaker 2 (01:01:48):
Oh well, thank you for us too. Thank you really,
we're really grateful for your time. We wish you nothing
but the best and we will definitely we hope to
stay in touch.

Speaker 3 (01:01:55):
And yeah, thank you again.

Speaker 4 (01:01:57):
Yeah, thank you guys.

Speaker 3 (01:01:59):
Okay, take care, I get by.

Speaker 5 (01:02:01):
Hi.

Speaker 1 (01:02:08):
Thanks for listening to another episode of Happy Horror Time.

Speaker 2 (01:02:11):
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slash Happy Horror Time. As a patron, you get access
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(01:02:31):
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Speaker 1 (01:02:37):
Patrons also get all our regular episodes, ad free and
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Speaker 3 (01:02:47):
I'm Matt Emmerts and I'm Tim Murdoch, and we hope
you have a happy horror time.

Speaker 5 (01:03:08):
H