“The Town that Dreaded Sundown” was released in December of 1976. Based on the Texarkana Moonlight Murders, a string of five killings in Texarkana, Arkansas in the 1940s, the movie takes liberties with the facts of the case, but retains the perpetrator’s infamous moniker of the Phantom Killer and his signature practice of committing the murders while wearing a white hood. As in real life, the Phantom Killer is never caught. The story is presented docu-drama style by an offscreen narrator who describes the events as theyre played out, with the cast lead by Academy Award-winning Ben Johnson as the beleaguered Texarkana police Captain J.D. Morales who unsuccessfully pursues the killer. Although the film is not greatly respected and certainly not considered by most as a horror classic, main character Sidney (Neve Campbell) mentions it in writer Kevin Williamson’s/director Wes Craven’s self-referential ‘90s pop culture fixture,“Scream” (1996). Along with “The Legend of Boggy Creek” (1972), a horror docudrama about a Bigfoot-type creature set in the area of Fouke, Arkansas, “The Town that Dreaded Sundown” is the best-known production from prolific actor/writer/producer/director Charles B. Pierce. Starting his career working production jobs at television stations in Hammond, Indiana, Pierce moved to Texarkana in the early ‘70s and opened an advertising agency. He moved into low-budget features from there, regularly using film students as crew and locals as actors. “The Town that Dreaded Sundown” is the fifth of the twelve features Pierce directed. He’s also known for writing the story for “Sudden Impact” (1983) – the fifth entry in the Clint Eastwood Dirty Harry series – and is credited with the phrase, “Go ahead, make my day” – one of the most famous movie quotes in history. American International Pictures handled the original theatrical release of “The Town that Dreaded Sundown”, and Warner Home Video issued the film on VHS in the 1980s. MGM then acquired the rights but never released it on DVD. Horror website Horrorbid listed “The Town that Dreaded Sundown” at number nine on the top ten horror films never released on DVD, and fans wishing to see it were relegated to watching readily-available online bootleg copies of the VHS. But on October 5 of 2011, Scream Factory – a new horror division of cult DVD distributor Shout! Factory – announced the acquisition of the films DVD/Blu-ray rights, and followed with a release on May 21, 2013. Extras include commentary with film historian Jim Presley, actor interviews, poster and still galleries, and more. Also in 2011, MGM announced plans for a remake, with the resulting film opening through Orion Pictures this year on October 16. A same-titled sequel rather than a true remake, the low-budget production was shot in the same cinema-vérité style as the original and recounts the return of the Phantom Killer 65 years after his original string of murders. (spoilers ahead) Unlike the original story, though, the identity of the Phantom is revealed – of two Phantoms, actually – one being the grandson of one of the original Phantoms victims, and the other the first of his/their current victims, who in conjunction with the grandson faked his own death. Emmy-nominated regular “American Horror Story” director (12 episodes) and co-executive producer Alfonso Gomez-Rejon directs, with the film receiving a “Fresh” rating of 78% by critics on the review aggregation site, Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences werent so impressed though, with only 43% liking it. The link below is to a trailer of the original production of “The Town that Dreaded Sundown”.
Posted on: Sat, 06 Dec 2014 15:41:46 +0000
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