The Town That Dreaded Sundown (2014) Reviews

• Director Gomez-Rejon has serious skills

  A_Different_Drummer2015-11-30

  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.

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• An interesting REQUEL!!

  sanjidparvez2014-10-23

  The original TTTDS was one of the earliest slasher films in the genre that even came before (in 1976) popular franchises like Halloween & Friday the 13th and I've always been a fan of that flick for its humor, suspense & docu-drama like narration style & last but not the least the haunting ending. So when I first heard about there will be a new TTTDS, I thought it'd be another pointless, some cash-in effort but last night after watching this new take on T3DS, I'd like to admit...I was pleasantly surprised!! Directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon (the most frequent director of American Horror Story), this new film is a strange version to categorize as a remake, reboot or a sequel; actually it's neither a straightforward remake or sequel...I'm not sure but I think REQUEL (a sequel-ish remake!) can be a more appropriate term for it. After more than half a century of the actual events of The Moonlight Murders that resulted the very making of 1976 original film, this new story is set on present day at the same town, Texarkana that once again begins to plagued by "The Phantom" murders. Interestingly, the 1976 original film is also very much alive in this movie as a film that we know in our 'reality', as in the film the town now maintains a tradition in every Halloween to show a drive in screening of the original film. So, as the film progress we see a fine blend between this version & the original film where some scenes from the original brought back through a kind of flashback style while also creating some copycat murder sequence in this new one. I liked this approach of providing homage to the original; bring it to an entirely new generation. This new & refreshing kind of take & treatment to this already known & filmed story is the most appreciating part of this version. And overall the film is beautifully shot, liked the camera works, the character development was fine for a slasher flick, but still as a slasher it's not above the clichés as well as it comes with a routine ending & weak motive for the killer which I couldn't find much point to it. And lastly there's another strange part of it and that's the Town itself! It looks like the town hasn't really age after all this years!! May be for the homage issue but though the film is set on late 2013, it still got the 70s vibe almost all over it. Anyway, there's not much masked killer-slasher flick comes out this days with good or decent budget & film making like this one and still despite some clichés & the ending, as a slasher flick it's pretty good one, IMO.

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• Good idea with some clichés

  LinkGoku2014-10-18

  Some 60+ years since a serial killer left the town of Texaracana in fear the killer seems to be back for more, but one girl will stop at nothing to uncover his identity. This film is really intelligently shot, it mixes in several scenes from the original film while also creating some copycat scenes with different characters, I really enjoyed it. Good acting all around. That being said this lost a lot of likability with its death scenes, there are several characters with less then five minutes of screen time, yet they leave us thanking the killer for offing them. you'll notice the mpaa rating says it has strong sexual content, I'm not one to really complain about unneeded sex and nudity that being said the sex scenes were really used to degrade the characters. Overall this was a nice slasher film, fans of the sub-genre will enjoy it. Not a slasher fan? you should probably pass on it.

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• Fun Reboot/Sequel

  Slasher_Lover232014-10-17

  Many years after the killings in small town by a killer known as "The Phantom" resulted in the making of the 1976 film The Town That Dreaded Sundown, Texarkana is once again plagued by murders. Every Halloween, the town has a drive in screening of the original film depicting their own town. On this particular night, Jami (Addison Timlin) and her boyfriend Corey (Spencer Treat Clark) decide to bail on the film and go elsewhere. When they are attacked by an assailant dressed as The Phantom, Jami starts to suspect that history is about to repeat itself, and the new Phantom has certain plans for Jami and her small town. It is difficult to say whether this version of The Town That Dreaded Sundown is a reboot or a sequel. But whatever it is, it works. The original film had its creepy moments, but this film has a lot more going for it. For starters, this definitely has more of a slasher film feel to it than the original. We are given a very creepy killer, plenty of great and spooky night time scenes with him, plenty of chase scenes, and excellent and bloody kills. Not to mention it is VERY well- filmed with a great atmosphere and nice splicing between this and the original film. It also keeps you guessing as to what exactly is going on. Our leading lady played by Addison Timlin, while definitely isn't legendary as far as a Final Girl, but she's likable enough for us to root for her. And she has very sweet scenes with her grandmother, played by Veronica Cartwright. The acting isn't bad, but it's not anything great either. Timlin does well with the lead role, and easily does give the best and only note-worthy performance of the film. The concept itself is very interesting in how it is trying to bring new life the original film, and bring in a new generation. However, the concept does have a few problems. It bares a very strong resemblance to Scream 4 in trying to re-create the events of a real story/film in the film's world. In fact, there's a few things that can be compared to with Scream in regards to this film. The twist is another one of its weak spots. When it's revealed, it's not so much shocking as it is that you don't see much point to it. Despite the film's borrowing of ideas and strong resemblances to Scream/Scream 4 and the awkward twist, this reboot/sequel is ultimately a fun slasher film. Let's face it, there haven't been many good ones. So if you look for particular aspects in a slasher film like a creepy killer, chase scenes, a decent body count, and bloody kills, with a likable lead, you may just enjoy this. It doesn't take itself too seriously, which makes it all the more fun. My Rating: 9/10

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• Phantom Killer strikes again.

  HumanoidOfFlesh2014-11-24

  The original true crime slasher flick "Town That Dreaded Sundown"(1976) directed by Charles B.Pierce was based on true story of a mysterious serial killer called the Phantom Killer,who during spring of 1946 killed five people and wounded three in a small border town of Texarkana.The perpetrator of these heinous crimes was never caught.The new "Town That Dreaded Sundown" remake plays more like "Scream" influenced modern teen slasher flick with plenty of references to the original movie and the Phantom Killer unsolved case.Addison Timlin plays teenage girl who after seeing her would-be boyfriend brutally murdered by masked maniac decides to find who really the Phantom Killer AD 2014 is.The movie-within-a-movie premise is certainly well-played and there are some gruesomely bloody kill scenes.Frozen in time Texarkana is also a nice touch.Unfortunately the final reveal of the killer is disappinting.7 trombone deaths out of 10.

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