Prowler set to release "The Stalker" on Friday the 13th

Myrtle Beach Music: A screen from "The Stalker"It’s been more than three decades since the release of the film which carries Prowler's namesake, but this Friday the 13th the local horror metal group will breathe fresh life into “The Prowler” with the release of a new music video for its song which pays homage to the classic 1981 slasher flick.

“The Stalker” was the third single to be released by the band — formed in September 2010 — and the first off its “Prowler, Pt. 2” EP, which was released in June of last year. Frontman Patrick Best says the band plans to make videos for each of its singles, which have been released periodically as two-song EPs that will culminate in a full length release at a later date. 

Best and bandmates Jak Sumwalt (drums) and Shawn Bruce (bass) will celebrate the release with a headlining spot Friday night at The Sound Hole, 1004 Chester St., playing alongside local death metal group Conception of Being and Wilmington-based metal group Salvacion.

The release party begins at 9 p.m. (All ages, $5 cover) and will be sponsored by Crystal Head Vodka, Surf Skate Music Culture (SSMC) and ListenUp. In addition to Prowler’s new video, the costume party — fans are encouraged to dress like their favorite horror movie character — will also mark the debut of Conception of Being’s first EP “Unearthed.”

Click to view flyer larger.Prowler’s third video release is by far its most elaborate effort to date with work with SSMC and local independent filmmaker Dwayne King (Kluckin Films) both contributing to its making.

Filming took five video shoots, five different sets, more than 200 takes, and countless hours of editing from SSMC Director and Producer Chris Canada. King, who has produced the band’s previous videos for “The Dead Rise Again” and “Friday The 13th,” acted as the Director of Photography during the initial shoots.

SSMC’s Mark Massey also contributed to the shoot helping with gaffing and electric work on the set and even Canada’s wife, Barbie, as a last-minute call-up to be the star — aka victim — of “The Stalker.”

Best says the video was a lot of fun to shoot and in addition to the horror themes in depicted, a strange twist of fate during shooting also gave the video a deeper meaning.

“We were filming in an actual classroom, with our ‘victim’ tied up to a chair and I looked up on the wall they had a flyer that said January was National Stalking Awareness month, which was really ironic and just gave me the perfect solution for the video,” said Best. “So we figured that if we shot the video to double as a stalker awareness month video and for people to see the seriousness of the crime, with the stalker chasing a female victim that would really help drive it home and address the violent nature of the video.”

And while bringing this ominous piece of work has been a lot of effort for both the band and the production team, it’s been a labor of love for all involved.

“I have been working countless hours on this project,” says Canada. “Seems like most every free hour this past month has been devoted to either filming, editing, helping promote the events.”

The SSMC creator — an up-and-coming videographer who’s nearing a degree in his craft — has done the work on Prowler’s video pro bono as a showcase for both his production company and to help promote the talent within the Myrtle Beach music scene.

“Everyone involved so far in this portion of the production, has been awesome to work with,” he said. “Overall I’ve enjoyed working with Prowler and now it’s all about the release! And for the future, who knows what’s next.”

While the future remains an uncertainty, both SSMC and Prowler remain focused on continuing to build support for their own projects while contributing to the growth of the scene.

“We were really lucky to have the greater support of both the local and regional music scenes,” says Canada.



Check out a preview of “The Stalker” above or get details on the release party here. Find out more about Surf Skate Music Culture here of visit Prowler’s Reverbnation page to hear more of the band’s music.