Town That Dreaded Sundown
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VHS Tape Cover Information
Actor: Cindy Butler, Jim Citty, Joe Catalanotto, Robert Aquino, Roy Lee BrownPrimary Contributor: Ben Johnson
Primary Contributor: Andrew Prine
Edition: VHS Tape
Audio: English (Original Language), Analog
Format: Color, NTSC
Release Date: 2001-05-15
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Publisher: Good Times Video
Studio: Good Times Video
VHS Movie Reviews of Town That Dreaded Sundown
Movie Review: Campiness At Its Finest
Summary: 4 Stars
The year is 1946 and while some last minute soldiers are still making their way home, most of them are already back from the war and are starting up families, going to work or school, or just enjoying their time at home. Little did they know that on this day, Sunday, March 3rd, that a hooded killer would begin his onslaught right here in Texarkana, Arkansas. They call him The Phantom Killer and his legacy begins here and now.
This film is in some desperate need of restoration and an official DVD release, for that matter. The dated film reel is too dark during most of the scenes I wanted to see most, which is just about every scene with The Phantom Killer since most of his kills take place at night. I feel it hurts the film more than anything. If it was just grainy throughout the film, then it'd kind of add to the general feel of the movie. The film is not only grainy, but the colors also bleed into each other, lighting is off in some scenes, some scenes have terrible audio quality, and some scenes wind up being too dark to see what's going on. I understand that the film was a bit low budget and it's basically a B-grade horror film, but restoration would help in some aspect.
Getting back to the B-grade horror film point, the film definitely lives up to that monicker. The acting is pretty bad, for the most part. Ben Johnson and Andrew Prine are pretty much as good as you're going to get in the cast as Captain J.D. Morales and Deputy Norman Ramsey. Everyone else is pretty much what you'd expect in a film like this. The silly attempts at humor really hurt the film more than anything. I mean, do you really want to see Patrolman A.C. "Spark Plug" Benson dress up in drag and basically get felt up by a fellow officer? Or cop cars running around in circles when they're in the middle of a high speed chase? Seriously, all that was missing was the Benny Hill music. Spark Plug is pretty much the comedy relief of the film and, in my opinion, just doesn't really need to be there to begin with.
While the film does have its drawbacks, what is done right is done fairly well. Some of the killings are pretty creative. The trombone kill is probably the scene that'll be the one anyone brings up first when this film comes up in conversation. The opening kill scene is the one I was referencing about being too dark at times, but what you can make out is pretty intense. The darkness puts the viewer a bit more on edge as you don't really know where the killer is going to pop up next or what he's going to do to his victims. Speaking of the victims, most of them do a really good job of acting terrified. It seems so genuine at times. I also liked The Phantom Killer. When someone with a mask over his face is generally able to express emotion somehow through body movements or bady language, I find that pretty impressive. The breathing heavily through the sack over his face was a bit over the top on one hand, but really added to the character on the other.
I guess my biggest gripe with the film is that I wanted more of The Phantom Killer and less of the cops rounding up the troops and acting silly. It just left me wanting more. With a film that's based on true events around a killer that was never caught and the murders never fully solved, the open ended finale doesn't help a whole lot either.
The Town That Dreaded Sundown could be considered a hidden gem to many people. Despite the fact it was silly, over the top at times, and was basically a part of the films that sparked the slasher horror film genre(which could be good or bad depending on what your opinion on slashers is), I still enjoyed it and recommend hunting it down. Yes, it's a B-grade horror film, but the horror that's in this film is worth seeing and is the highlight of the film.
Rating: 7/10
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