This movie claims to be based on actual events, and the reading I've done on the case seems to suggest that - except for the ending and some extraneous comedy material focusing around a bumbling, Barney Fife-like local cop (which seemed totally out of place) - it's relatively true to the events that actually occurred in Texarkana in the spring and summer of 1946.One night, a young couple is parked on "Lovers Lane" when they're suddenly attacked by a violent, masked man. Both survive the attack, but this is the beginning of a season of terror in Texarkana which eventually leaves five people dead and the murderer unidentified. All five murders (and the original two attacks) are portrayed (not graphically, but clearly) and the setting of a wooded, swampy area late at night makes this a truly frightening movie at times.
The movie is pushed along by the use of narration, which filled in some details. The characters (except for the comedy cop named Benson) came across as realistically portrayed, although their names were changed. Some of the more graphic details from the real cases (especially the parts dealing with sexual assault) were left out. The record would seem to suggest that "Morales" - the Texas Ranger assigned to head up the investigation and whose real name was Gonzaullas - was not as warmly received by the local officials as the movie depicts. The biggest alteration from the facts seems to be the ending of the movie. Here, police find and chase a masked suspect into the swamp but never catch him, and the movie speculates that he may have died in the swamp. In truth, there was an arrest made in the case, but there was never a conviction, although many people believe that the man arrested was in truth the killer.
Overall, this is a decent movie - better than I was anticipating to be honest. It would seem to have had some impact on the "Friday the 13th" series - the mask the killer wore being very similar to the mask that villain Jason Voorhees wears in the first installment of that series. The performances here are pretty good, although the cast isn't exceptionally well known - the most familiar name and face is probably that of Dawn Wells (who played Mary Anne on "Gilligan's Island.") Apparently this isn't an easy movie to find - but it's worth taking advantage of the opportunity to see it if it should pop up somewhere.
The movie is pushed along by the use of narration, which filled in some details. The characters (except for the comedy cop named Benson) came across as realistically portrayed, although their names were changed. Some of the more graphic details from the real cases (especially the parts dealing with sexual assault) were left out. The record would seem to suggest that "Morales" - the Texas Ranger assigned to head up the investigation and whose real name was Gonzaullas - was not as warmly received by the local officials as the movie depicts. The biggest alteration from the facts seems to be the ending of the movie. Here, police find and chase a masked suspect into the swamp but never catch him, and the movie speculates that he may have died in the swamp. In truth, there was an arrest made in the case, but there was never a conviction, although many people believe that the man arrested was in truth the killer.
Overall, this is a decent movie - better than I was anticipating to be honest. It would seem to have had some impact on the "Friday the 13th" series - the mask the killer wore being very similar to the mask that villain Jason Voorhees wears in the first installment of that series. The performances here are pretty good, although the cast isn't exceptionally well known - the most familiar name and face is probably that of Dawn Wells (who played Mary Anne on "Gilligan's Island.") Apparently this isn't an easy movie to find - but it's worth taking advantage of the opportunity to see it if it should pop up somewhere.