1979. A long time ago, and a more innocent time for horror. I was young, in an altered state from an especially potent substance, and going to a midnight movie double feature. The big draw was Dawn of the Dead. I don't think I had even seen Night of the Living Dead in its entirety a that point. It wasn't easy to see back then. I caught part of it on a UHF station one night, until the signal went kabalooey and I missed the end.
I had seen Siskel and Ebert review Dawn of the Dead on their show, which was called Sneak Previews at the time. They both liked the movie and I was hot to see it. I finally had the chance one cold night in early '79.
Dawn blew us all away. My horror-shy brother hated it. I thought it was the best thing I had ever seen. We were all numb after Romero's masterpiece concluded. No one had ever seen anything quite like Dawn of the Dead.
Can you blame me for being a little bored by the second feature?
Yes, it was The Town That Dreaded Sundown: A good movie that predates the slasher era by a few years. I saw it again a few months later, when it was broadcast on HBO.
Writer-director Charles B. Pierce had a hit in 1972 with a modestly budgeted independent horror film called The Legend of Boggy Creek. Boggy Creek is a pseudo documentary exploring a Sasquatch creature in rural Arkansas. He decided to repeat the formula in '76 with The Town That Dreaded Sundown.
The Town That Dreaded Sundown adheres closer to historical fact than Boggy Creek. It's the story of the Phantom Killer who terrorized Texarkana in post World War 2 Arkansas.
Sundown paints a nice portrait of postwar optimism. The boys were home and prosperity was around the corner. New cars, new businesses, new horizons. Texarkana is like a thousand other tiny towns in mid Twentieth Century America. Except this place has a killer who stalks young people.
The Town That Dreaded Sundown succeeds best as an intimate look at a town in terror. Grim-voiced narration gives the story a verite ambience and the small-town police procedures are nicely depicted. The murders are tightly executed and there is a substantial amount of tension in the film.
Ben Johnson, several notches down the Hollywood pecking order after his triumphant work five years earlier in The Last Picture Show is a disheveled hot dog detective brought in to help snare the elusive killer. Dawn Wells, Mary Ann from Gilligan's Island, is on hand. She doesn't have a lot to do, and it's sad she was so typecast she couldn't get much more than this thankless role and sitcom reunions. Andrew Prine, a veteran of rural roles, is quite good as the Texarkana Sheriff.
The Phantom Killer wears a hood over his head, and is probably a direct inspiration for pre-hockey mask Jason Voorhees.
The worst thing about The Town That Dreaded Sundown is the cringe-worthy attempts at comic relief. Charles Pierce himself steps before the camera as Deputy Spark Plug, a bumbling cop more inept than Barney Fife.
All things considered, The Town That Dreaded Sundown is a near-classic, and should be seen by all fans of seventies horror. The entire production looks great, the cinematography is always interesting, and the acting is mostly above average. Especially considering non-professional locals were used in the minor roles.
The Town That Dreaded Sundown ends on a small meta note, as we see the Texarkana citizenry in line to see the movie we have been watching. A surprisingly good requel was made thirty-eight years later.
Shout! Factory's Bluray of The Town That Dreaded Sundown looks and sounds great, and I highly recommend it to all fans. Just don't watch it after Dawn of the Dead.
Written by Mark Sieber
I had seen Siskel and Ebert review Dawn of the Dead on their show, which was called Sneak Previews at the time. They both liked the movie and I was hot to see it. I finally had the chance one cold night in early '79.
Dawn blew us all away. My horror-shy brother hated it. I thought it was the best thing I had ever seen. We were all numb after Romero's masterpiece concluded. No one had ever seen anything quite like Dawn of the Dead.
Can you blame me for being a little bored by the second feature?
Yes, it was The Town That Dreaded Sundown: A good movie that predates the slasher era by a few years. I saw it again a few months later, when it was broadcast on HBO.
Writer-director Charles B. Pierce had a hit in 1972 with a modestly budgeted independent horror film called The Legend of Boggy Creek. Boggy Creek is a pseudo documentary exploring a Sasquatch creature in rural Arkansas. He decided to repeat the formula in '76 with The Town That Dreaded Sundown.
The Town That Dreaded Sundown adheres closer to historical fact than Boggy Creek. It's the story of the Phantom Killer who terrorized Texarkana in post World War 2 Arkansas.
Sundown paints a nice portrait of postwar optimism. The boys were home and prosperity was around the corner. New cars, new businesses, new horizons. Texarkana is like a thousand other tiny towns in mid Twentieth Century America. Except this place has a killer who stalks young people.
The Town That Dreaded Sundown succeeds best as an intimate look at a town in terror. Grim-voiced narration gives the story a verite ambience and the small-town police procedures are nicely depicted. The murders are tightly executed and there is a substantial amount of tension in the film.
Ben Johnson, several notches down the Hollywood pecking order after his triumphant work five years earlier in The Last Picture Show is a disheveled hot dog detective brought in to help snare the elusive killer. Dawn Wells, Mary Ann from Gilligan's Island, is on hand. She doesn't have a lot to do, and it's sad she was so typecast she couldn't get much more than this thankless role and sitcom reunions. Andrew Prine, a veteran of rural roles, is quite good as the Texarkana Sheriff.
The Phantom Killer wears a hood over his head, and is probably a direct inspiration for pre-hockey mask Jason Voorhees.
The worst thing about The Town That Dreaded Sundown is the cringe-worthy attempts at comic relief. Charles Pierce himself steps before the camera as Deputy Spark Plug, a bumbling cop more inept than Barney Fife.
All things considered, The Town That Dreaded Sundown is a near-classic, and should be seen by all fans of seventies horror. The entire production looks great, the cinematography is always interesting, and the acting is mostly above average. Especially considering non-professional locals were used in the minor roles.
The Town That Dreaded Sundown ends on a small meta note, as we see the Texarkana citizenry in line to see the movie we have been watching. A surprisingly good requel was made thirty-eight years later.
Shout! Factory's Bluray of The Town That Dreaded Sundown looks and sounds great, and I highly recommend it to all fans. Just don't watch it after Dawn of the Dead.
Written by Mark Sieber
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