MovieChat Forums > The Town That Dreaded Sundown (1976) Discussion > Very good - could have been excellent

Very good - could have been excellent

posted 2 years ago by DoctorThirteen (10226)
3 replies | jump to latest

Entertaining horror/thriller, loosely based on the 1946 Texarkana 'Moonlight Murders', crimes attributed to an unidentified serial killer known as the Phantom. Great lead performances from Ben Johnson as the Texas Ranger leading the hunt, and Andrew Prine as the local deputy assisting. And nice to see the lovely Dawn Wells as one of the victims. There are some great attacks/kills, and some very atmospheric photography, complete with Texas Chainsaw-type grittiness. Unfortunately, it's marred by occasional lame - and very out of place - attempts at comedy; I really have no idea what director Charles B Pierce was thinking. 7/10 (without the 'humour' it would be an 8/10, easy).

[–] Galilguy (2327) 2 years ago

Never seen this one, I'll have to check it out.

[–] DoctorThirteen (10226) 2 years ago

What's good in it is really good. The killer's a cross between the Zodiac killer and Halloween's Michael Myers.

Interestingly, there's a meta-sequel to it (same title, made in 2014) about a second spate of killings that start when the town of Texarkana shows the 1976 movie on Halloween, seemingly 'reawakening' the Phantom Killer. Hoping to catch that sometime.

[–] [deleted] 2 years ago

The humor is absolutely woeful. Horribly dated. By far the biggest flaw in this film. Aside from that this is definitely a film worth checking out.