Genre: Horror
Country: United States
Studio: Ryan Murphy Productions, Blumhouse Productions, Orion Pictures
Release Date: January 8, 2015
Director: Alfonso Gomez-Rejon
Starring Addison Timlin, Travis Tope, Spencer Treat Clark, Ed Lauter, Veronica Cartwright, Gary Cole, Joshua Leonard, Anthony Anderson, Denis O'Hare
In the spring of 1946, a series of unsolved violent crimes committed in and around Texarkana by an unidentified serial killer known as the Phantom killer made headlines in the news across the U.S. The Phantom killer was credited for the attack on eight people within ten weeks, five of these victims were killed. These attacks occurred on weekends between February 22, 1946 through May 3, 1946, mostly involved couples. This news sent the town of Texarkana into panic, with some residents leaving and moving into other towns for safety. After a few months of no activity from the killer, the Texas Rangers concluded that the killer is gone and may have left town already. Since no one was caught for the murders, people believed that the killer is still roaming around, looking for his next victims.
This became the inspiration for the 1976 independent cult slasher flick by producer and director Charles B. Pierce entitled The Town That Dreaded Sundown. The film proved to be popular as it became the source of urban legends surrounding the murders in Texarkana, even going as far as previous victims of the killer filing lawsuits against the producers of the film. It is also considered one of the earliest examples from the slasher genre that became a trend in the 1980's.
After a few years, Ryan Murphy (Glee) and Jason Blum (Paranormal Activity, Insidious, The Purge ) decided to come up with a meta-sequel to the original film, with a script from Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (Glee, Carrie remake) and helmed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon (American Horror Story). After receiving praises from critics upon it's release, I've decided that I need to see this film for myself. Unfortunately, I didn't had any luck of seeing this film last year. But to my surprise, I finally found a DVD of this movie and got the chance of watching it.
So was the film able to meet my expectations being a fan of slasher flicks myself? Let's find out as we have a breakdown of the film itself.
Story
The film starts with some clips of the town of Texarkana during way back in 1946, at the time of the murders. A voice-over narrating the events in time of the murders said that the man behind these murders is still free, roaming around the town. It then introduces the film based on these murders, The Town That Dreaded Sundown, released in 1976. According to the voiceover, the film is being shown in town to commemorate the anniversary of the murders every year.
The film's main story begins with a bunch of teens watching the film being screened at a late night drive-in theater. Corey Holland (Spencer Treat Clark) and Jami Lerner (Addison Timlin), a couple watching, decides to leave after Corey realizes that Jami isn't enjoying the film. The pair went into a secluded area to spend time with each other as they talk about their plans for college. Jami then sees a man wearing a bag in his head to cover his identity watching them from behind the trees. The man soon attacks them in their car, breaking the glass window and pulling out Corey. The man put him down in the ground and ordered Jami to look away. The masked man then stabs Corey to death. Jamie ran away from the killer but she eventually fell down and was caught by the killer. But instead of killing her, the man whispered to her that "This is for Mary. Make them remember." The man left her and she runs to safety as she finds herself back at the drive-in theater.The next day, Texas rangers went to their house to ask her some information about the murder of Corey. Then they asked her not to say what happened to them to anyone else, to avoid a widespread panic in town.
Later on, another pair gets killed by the masked man dubbed as The Phantom. Jami receives a call from Corey's phone with the Phantom saying to her, "I'm going to do it again and again until you make them remember."
Because it seems to her that the police are not giving attention to her claims, she decides to investigate for herself.
As she looks for archive information at the City Hall, she meets Nick (Travis Tope) a former classmate of hers at school. He helped her find all the information that she needed, and later on they became friends. With his help, she starts to track down the people connected to the original film who might have the answers as to why The Phantom killer has returned to terrorize their town.
One good thing about the film is that it is not a direct remake of the 1976 film. Instead, its sort of a meta-sequel as it follows a film-within-a-film theme, as well as a reboot since it features a new storyline and a new set of characters.
I really love the decision of using the film-within-a-film theme instead of a direct reboot or sequel. This sets it apart from the rest of the slasher remakes that plague the genre right now.
Also, I liked the twist in the end, which was so unexpected. Originally, I thought this movie would be a general slasher flick but after watching the movie myself and reading all the reviews, I didn't expected it to be this good.
Acting
She has all the makings of a final girl. Travis Tope on the other hand, though considered by many as a newcomer, is a great actor.
He is good especially whenever his character would have these awkward moments with Addison Timlin's character, especially during their supposedly first encounter at the city hall while her character is researching about the Phantom murders.
Veronica Cartwright is also a good choice as Lillian, Jami's grandmother. A veteran actress when it comes to horror, as she have starred in well-known cult classic genre films even before as a child - from Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds to Ridley Scott's Alien. She gives the movie a vintage feel with her presence.
Direction
With the opening scene featuring Corey Holland (Spencer Treat Clark) and Jami Lerner (Addison Timlin) in the woods as they are watched by The Phantom, there is an unsettling feeling already present in the movie. The sight of The Phantom hiding behind the bushes, with his head covered in a sack mask only visible from afar, was really creepy. And when he attacked the couple in their car, that one caught me by surprise and made me jump. The same feeling that I have whenever I'm watching American Horror Story.
I also liked how he added dread and suspense to the murders. Instead of killing them off straight, Director Gomez-Rejo added more tension the these scenes making them more terrifying than the usual slasher fare.
another good thing in the movie that really made this slasher flick work is it's fast pacing. It reveals it's story straight out, maximizing the 87 minute running time. But despite the fast pacing and short running time of the movie, it was able to create characters that audiences would really root for. Characters that really feel like real people. This places it above the rest of the slasher movies today.
Technical Aspects
It adds dread to the atmosphere of the film. It's as if these characters were secluded from the rest of the world. Like wherever you go, there's really no way out of this town. No where is safe. No help coming.
Another good thing that would be a big blowout to horror fans is it's promise to deliver all the goods that make up a slasher: gore, nudity and sex. It features a lot of them. For example, one of the best kills in the movie involves a soldier, Daniel Torrens, returning from the military to spend Thanksgiving with his girlfriend, Kendra Collins. After having sex, he went out to get some snacks from the vending machine outside. After a few minutes, she heard some weird sounds outside so she went in the window to see what it was. Then, all of a sudden, the Phantom appears outside their room's window and smashes it with her boyfriend's severed head. She jumps out of the bathroom window, breaking her leg in the process, with her bone protruding from her feet. Then, she tried her best to run to their car and drives it. This is one of the most painful scenes in the movie. Every time Kendra tries to press the pedal with her feet and the bone sticks out of her leg further, I say to myself, "Man, that really hurts!"
Unfortunately, she ends up being caught by the killer.
Such painful death.
Overall
The film is one of the best slasher films I've seen for a while since Adam Wingard's You're Next. The film is probably far superior than the original film.
Dark, gritty and full of suspense, the film seems like a throwback to the slasher heydays during the 80's, giving viewers a nostalgic feeling.
With all the goods that fans of the genre are expecting, The Town That Dreaded Sundown will surely surpass your expectations.
I'm rating this film 5 out of 5 stars.
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