Charles B. Pierce’s original The Town That Dreaded Sundown have never been a favorite of mine, even if I like it for the true crime classic it is. What I don’t like is the silly car chase and some oddly placed comedy, which just doesn’t fit at all. Except that it’s a quite creepy thriller, but nothing unique. So when I heard that it would get a remake, also titled The Town That Dreaded Sundown, I felt happy, because I wanted to see this story again - just a little bit better. To my surprise, which was a good one, I realized they didn’t end up doing a remake, but a very clever self-referential slasher, maybe too smart for its own good - but for me that means it’s better than the average.
The film starts with a grave voice over telling us the story about the legendary Texarkana Moonlight Murders in 1946 and how Charles B. Pierce film from 1976 is screened every Halloween in Texarkana since many years back - which is very true. The the voice continues with telling us that what we're about to see is based on a true story… and I love that! That last thing is of course a big fucking lie, because there wasn’t a string of murders in Texarkana last years, of course! Then it starts at Halloween last year, where Jami (Addison Timlin) and her date Corey (Spencer Treat Clark) is watching The Town That Dreaded Sundown at a drive-in, until she can’t stand the tension anymore and Corey offers her to take the car to a secluded place for some heavy petting… but they don’t get far into the petting when a man with a sack on his head shows up from the darkness and brutally kills Corey. Jami escapes and then the horror enters Texarkana once again…
First of all, this is NOT a remake. I hate when people don’t understand simple things like that (people think the latest My Blood Valentine and Friday the 13th are remakes also, but of course they’re not - which is VERY obvious). This is an interested mix of references to the original case, the shooting of the 1976 movie and the modern tradition of watching that movie on Texarkana today...plus making it a modern, but still old-school slasher with a surprisingly open-minded view on both people and storytelling. There’s a fantastic sequence where the camera stays on Addison Timlin for a long time during a dialogue, and it goes on and on and on and it becomes so powerful. An excellent performance.
As a viewer you can sense that there’s a lot more heart and ambition in this little slasher than many other genre films right now, just look at the casting, packed with fine, fine talents: Veronica Cartwright, Gary Cole, Ed Lauter and Joshua Leonard. Now, there’s one thing finding a good cast, but it a homerun when the characters - even the smallest supporting parts - are people you really care for. Gary Cole makes a fantastic semi-asshole, you kinda like him. Why? Because he’s written like a human and not a stereotype. Same thing with the the rest. One of the most emotionally strong scenes is when two teen boys meets up to try gay sex for the first time - but get interrupted by the masked killer. This is a very interesting trap. We want these guys to be happy, do what they want and at the same there’s some humor involved in the writing, but when the Phantom (as the killer is called) shows up everything turns very ugly. A rug pulled from under our feet.
As a horror film/slasher it stands out as one of the best ones I’ve seen in a quite a while. The locations is both familiar, because it evokes the first film and also many regional horror films made in the 70’s and 80’s. A typical small American town with a dark past. The twists are nice, not bad. It leads to an ending that equally disappoints as it’s successful. I like it even more and more I think of it. The violence is violent and quite graphic, it hurts - so I guess that means I can approve it. Something I wanted to see more of was flashbacks to the shooting of Charles B. Pierce’s original film. Mr Pierce, who died in 2010, or references to him, are still very important for the story and there’s some fun use of his legacy also, where the filmmakers in a very brave way blurs reality and fiction.
The Town That Dreaded Sundown is a very good modern slasher, a great thriller and horror movie. It’s smart, cleverly written and with a perfect cast. One of my top ten this year, believe it or not.
"Charles B. Pierce’s original The Town That Dreaded Sundown have never been a favorite of mine, even if I like it for the true crime classic it is."
I haven´t seen this one yet....
"First of all, this is NOT a remake. I hate when people don’t understand simple things like that (people think the latest My Blood Valentine and Friday the 13th are remakes also, but of course they’re not - which is VERY obvious)."
Some sort of reboot?
"packed with fine, fine talents: Veronica Cartwright, Gary Cole, Ed Lauter"
Yep, they have done a fair share of great stuff over the years......Lauter died in 2013...RIP.
"As a horror film/slasher it stands out as one of the best ones I’ve seen in a quite a while. The locations is both familiar, because it evokes the first film and also many regional horror films made in the 70’s and 80’s. A typical small American town with a dark past."
I love small towns with secrets......
"The Town That Dreaded Sundown is a very good modern slasher, a great thriller and horror movie. It’s smart, cleverly written and with a perfect cast. One of my top ten this year, believe it or not."
That good huh?
I haven´t seen it yet, but I would like too.
Good review and thanks Fred, looks better than Cloud Atlas (2012) , Blue Valentine (2010) and Lincoln (2012).
Posted by: Megatron | October 21, 2014 at 23:13