The Town that Dreaded Sundown (2014)

Simply Perfect

Nice effects though.

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

This film is not a remake, but sequel. The action takes place in modern times and there is another wave of killings in Texarkana. However plenty of scenes and characters are simply copied from the movie of 1976. In general - the film was boring, predictable, characters were artificial (especially terrible "Lone Wolf" - why the same nickname?). Not worth your time.

Following a brutal series of murders, a teen survivor of a killer's rampage starts to realize that she's being targeted by the relative of a legendary killer from the town's past attempting to correct a travesty in the legacy and tries to solve the crimes in order to halt the killings.This one proved to be quite the fun and highly-enjoyable remake which had a lot to offer. What really gives this one plenty to like here is the fact that it plays around with the blurring of reality quite well here as there's a rather distinct and original atmosphere present. Tying this one together with the events of the original as if it was a true film depicting the original rampage is quite an original touch and gives this the kind of presence that not very many ever create where a remake treats the original material as taking place in that universe where the characters are not only aware of the original incident as well as the film adaptation and treat it as such. This is a clever twist which is quite nicely designed here as it gives this one the chance to not only feature the investigations into the original spree and featuring scenes of them watching the original for clues but also a subplot about them looking for the film's creators in an attempt to help them with the current case, itself another original move that gives this one a different feel. There's also quite the impressive amount of stalking and slashing going on here which are incredibly fun and manage to be enjoyable enough in their own right. The opening attack at the drive-in is quite brutal and chilling as he forces him down on the ground before turning to her and chasing her through the woods, the stand-out scene at the motel where he attacks the couple there together in a great chase scene out of the room into the surrounding alleyways, a fine scene in an abandoned playground that features some great re-enactings of moments from the original movie alongside the great stalking and the chase out into the cornfield where he stalks one victim into the area before a rather gruesome kill at the end makes for a truly great and creepy series of stalking scenes. As well, there's plenty to really like here about the finale which is quite the enjoyable stalking scene in the school and out into the surrounding marshlands which really works rather well in the action departments while leading on with a fine revelation for the killer which is quite surprising. Along with the imposing design of the killer and the brutal, gory kills, these here hold this one up over it's rather minor and barely detrimental main flaw. The one thing holding this one back is the fact that there's just such a scattershot investigation here which doesn't really offer up much of any interest in the grand scheme of things with the clues being dropped before anything can be done with them, generates plenty of wrong turns and dead ends and nothing is really followed up on. It's quite a lame investigation since they never really find out who it is anyway and renders large sections of that pretty moot. Otherwise, this one was highly enjoyable and really fun.Rated R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language, Nudity and sexual scenes.

Every year in Texarkana they play the 70s movie The Town that Dreaded Sundown to remember the horrible killings in the 50s.A young couple decides to leave the movie early because the girl, Jami, doesn't really like horror movies. They go to some desolate road where they make out. Then a guy who looks like the killer from the real life events/movie shows up. He basically just has some cloth bag over his head. He ends up killing the kid but lets the girl live so that everyone will remember Mary. Mary was one of the victims from the 50s.The killer kills some more people always showing up at the unlikeliest times and places. There's a joint Texas/Arkansas task force designated to track down the killer but it doesn't accomplish much. Jami who has some more similar run-ins with the killer is assigned a deputy Sheriff to guard her. At some point she decides to investigate the 50s murders to see if something was overlooked. She gets help from a guy who likes her and they actually develop some good leads.Jami was also accepted by various colleges so her family decides it's time to move to California. But the killer won't let that happen.The Town That Dreaded Sundown has all the elements of a great slasher--a better-than-average story, the lovely Addison Timlin, who doesn't look as lovely here, violence, gore, sex, nudity. What it doesn't have is a good director nor writer. This crew doesn't have a clue how to film a horror movie. There's are no thrills here, no suspense, no sense of dread. Timlin's character doesn't make a convincing lead. The film focuses way too much on her, instead of the law enforcement operation, for instance which doesn't serve any purpose here. This movie does become a whodunit eventually. One of the rules of a whodunit is that the players have to be known, that what makes it effective. The Town That Dreaded Sundown cheats the audience and it does so in two ways. So not even the end is satisfying. And certainly the way to get there isn't because it moves in a crawl and doesn't manage to get us involved or interested. This movie is a royally wasted opportunity.

Hate to tell the truth but whether or not you personally "liked" a film does not necessarily qualify you to review it.This reviewer was hosting horror festivals when the original NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD came out, and the hardest thing to do in a horror flick is be subtle.But this director has mad skills. And can do subtle.The framing in many of the scenes is incredible, there are times you almost feel the characters on-screen are the only people left on the face of the earth.And Gomez-Rejon also is shrewd enough to get more mileage out of Addison Timlin's face than a Prius.And a nice face it is. I counted over 50 closeups and then stopped counting. Her character is the glue, the connection, for this story and she is set up as a shy girl who (quote) never gets asked out.Which is why this story is fiction and not a documentary.And you the viewer get to watch the whole story through her eyes.The juxtaposition of the new movie and the "old movie" only makes my point -- putting this film alongside Whedon's Cabin in the Woods for cleverly deconstructing a tale from within the story arc itself.