Following a brutal series of murders, a teen survivor of a killer's rampage starts to realize that she's being targeted by the relative of a legendary killer from the town's past attempting to correct a travesty in the legacy and tries to solve the crimes in order to halt the killings.This one proved to be quite the fun and highly-enjoyable remake which had a lot to offer. What really gives this one plenty to like here is the fact that it plays around with the blurring of reality quite well here as there's a rather distinct and original atmosphere present. Tying this one together with the events of the original as if it was a true film depicting the original rampage is quite an original touch and gives this the kind of presence that not very many ever create where a remake treats the original material as taking place in that universe where the characters are not only aware of the original incident as well as the film adaptation and treat it as such. This is a clever twist which is quite nicely designed here as it gives this one the chance to not only feature the investigations into the original spree and featuring scenes of them watching the original for clues but also a subplot about them looking for the film's creators in an attempt to help them with the current case, itself another original move that gives this one a different feel. There's also quite the impressive amount of stalking and slashing going on here which are incredibly fun and manage to be enjoyable enough in their own right. The opening attack at the drive-in is quite brutal and chilling as he forces him down on the ground before turning to her and chasing her through the woods, the stand-out scene at the motel where he attacks the couple there together in a great chase scene out of the room into the surrounding alleyways, a fine scene in an abandoned playground that features some great re-enactings of moments from the original movie alongside the great stalking and the chase out into the cornfield where he stalks one victim into the area before a rather gruesome kill at the end makes for a truly great and creepy series of stalking scenes. As well, there's plenty to really like here about the finale which is quite the enjoyable stalking scene in the school and out into the surrounding marshlands which really works rather well in the action departments while leading on with a fine revelation for the killer which is quite surprising. Along with the imposing design of the killer and the brutal, gory kills, these here hold this one up over it's rather minor and barely detrimental main flaw. The one thing holding this one back is the fact that there's just such a scattershot investigation here which doesn't really offer up much of any interest in the grand scheme of things with the clues being dropped before anything can be done with them, generates plenty of wrong turns and dead ends and nothing is really followed up on. It's quite a lame investigation since they never really find out who it is anyway and renders large sections of that pretty moot. Otherwise, this one was highly enjoyable and really fun.Rated R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language, Nudity and sexual scenes.

Every year in Texarkana they play the 70s movie The Town that Dreaded Sundown to remember the horrible killings in the 50s.A young couple decides to leave the movie early because the girl, Jami, doesn't really like horror movies. They go to some desolate road where they make out. Then a guy who looks like the killer from the real life events/movie shows up. He basically just has some cloth bag over his head. He ends up killing the kid but lets the girl live so that everyone will remember Mary. Mary was one of the victims from the 50s.The killer kills some more people always showing up at the unlikeliest times and places. There's a joint Texas/Arkansas task force designated to track down the killer but it doesn't accomplish much. Jami who has some more similar run-ins with the killer is assigned a deputy Sheriff to guard her. At some point she decides to investigate the 50s murders to see if something was overlooked. She gets help from a guy who likes her and they actually develop some good leads.Jami was also accepted by various colleges so her family decides it's time to move to California. But the killer won't let that happen.The Town That Dreaded Sundown has all the elements of a great slasher--a better-than-average story, the lovely Addison Timlin, who doesn't look as lovely here, violence, gore, sex, nudity. What it doesn't have is a good director nor writer. This crew doesn't have a clue how to film a horror movie. There's are no thrills here, no suspense, no sense of dread. Timlin's character doesn't make a convincing lead. The film focuses way too much on her, instead of the law enforcement operation, for instance which doesn't serve any purpose here. This movie does become a whodunit eventually. One of the rules of a whodunit is that the players have to be known, that what makes it effective. The Town That Dreaded Sundown cheats the audience and it does so in two ways. So not even the end is satisfying. And certainly the way to get there isn't because it moves in a crawl and doesn't manage to get us involved or interested. This movie is a royally wasted opportunity.

I never expect too much from horrors however, this has a certain stylish élan that raise it above the crowd. Set in Texarkana some 65 years after the town was devastated by a serial killer who only struck his victims at night – this was the Phantom or 'The Moonlight Killer. Since the making of a controversial film depicting the crimes the events have become more notorious. Then on the anniversary of his first killings he comes back... mwah etc.Only this time The Phantom wants a certain victim to tell the truth about what really happened all those years ago or he will keep on killing the hapless inhabitants. Problem is no one actually does know what really happened so how to stop him? Now this is surprisingly good. The blood and gore is there but not a splatter fest, nor is it 'torture porn', it gets the point (forgive the pun) across that being killed is far from being a red letter day.Maybe a mild plot spoiler later on!!It is all well acted with some performances that stand up to be noticed – like Travis Tope ('Boardwalk Empire') playing Nick and Anthony Anderson playing the fabulously named 'Lone Wolf Morales'. It also has high production values that are only let down by – what I felt – was a pretty lame ending. It did try so not a huge disappointment. This is one where the journey is the value and the final destination not all it promised in the brochure – despite that I would still recommend this well made and entreating film. You may never look at a sensor motion light in the same way again though.

This 21st century version of "The Town That Dreaded Sundown" isn't really a remake, or a sequel. It fashions a fictional tale around the real life murders that plagued Texarkana (a town straddling the Texas and Arkansas borders) in the 1940s, and the subsequent film adaptation of those events by regional filmmaker Charles B. Pierce in the 1970s. Addison Timlin plays Jami, a high school graduate whose boyfriend is slaughtered by a masked psycho, approximately 66 years after the original murder spree. She becomes caught up in her hometowns' strange history, deciding to do some sleuthing of her own and thereby assisting the local police and a big shot Texas Ranger (Anthony Anderson).Filmed on location in Texarkana (and Shreveport, Louisiana), this turned out to be more entertaining than this viewer expected, if mostly because it's played commendably straight. This viewer was afraid that these filmmakers were going to be overly impressed with their own supposed cleverness, and get cute too often. This is more of a straight up slasher film (albeit one with a fairly limited body count) than docudrama, although it does quote one memorable moment from TTSD '77, and the characters do study that film hoping to come up with clues. It's slick (with some inspired touches here and there), and pretty damn violent, but some people in the audience are going to be left wanting more because there just ain't THAT much gore. Ultimately, it's too predictable to work very well, and falls right into that old trap of having our villain talk too much once revealed.It also makes a waste of some of its veteran talent. In addition to the cute Timlin, who's appealing enough to carry the story, there's Veronica Cartwright as her grandmother, Edward Herrmann as a priest, and Ed Lauter as a sheriff. Sadly, this was the final feature film for both Herrmann and Lauter, and they deserved better swan songs. Gary Cole gets precious little to do as one of Lauters' deputies. Denis O'Hare tends to steal the show, playing the real-life Charles B. Pierce Jr., with his own theory of who could be behind the killings. Anderson is no Ben Johnson, not by a long shot.The finale isn't very satisfying, but getting there is entertaining enough. At the very least, it's nice to see that logo sequence for the long defunct Orion Studios once again.Six out of 10.