I had assumed that The Town That Dreaded Sundown 2014 was simply a remake of the 1976 slasher of the same name; this, I am glad to say, is not the case—it's a bit cleverer than that.
The film is set in the small town of Texarkana, where a masked psycho known as The Phantom committed a series of vicious murders 65 years earlier—it is these killings that provided the inspiration for the original movie, which—in this film—is now a cult favourite amongst the town's teenagers. It is during a screening of the film that young couple Jami (Addison Timlin) and Corey are attacked by someone dressed as the Phantom. Corey (Spencer Treat Clark) is repeatedly stabbed in the back, but Jami manages to escape to tell the tale.
Over the next few days, The Phantom claims several more victims; meanwhile, Jami investigates the history of the original murders (with help from archivist Nick, played by Travis Tope) in the hope of shining some light on the identity of the current killer.
A little bit meta, this plot is intriguing enough to help distinguish it from all of the other remakes/re-imaginings/sequels that have plagued the horror genre in recent years, but the film also delivers the basics—scares, gore and nudity—making it a fun way to spend an hour and a half. The scares are sparing, but well executed; the death scenes are sufficiently nasty, with some nice and bloody effects, including the surprisingly graphic sight of a major character cut into several pieces; unfortunately, despite having a sex scene, star Timlin fails to flash the goods, leaving it to a blonde bimbo to do the honours during a motel romp.
The final act, which relies on a very improbable twist, is something of a disappointment given all that has gone before, but overall I had a good time with this film. Time to revisit the original, methinks
The film is set in the small town of Texarkana, where a masked psycho known as The Phantom committed a series of vicious murders 65 years earlier—it is these killings that provided the inspiration for the original movie, which—in this film—is now a cult favourite amongst the town's teenagers. It is during a screening of the film that young couple Jami (Addison Timlin) and Corey are attacked by someone dressed as the Phantom. Corey (Spencer Treat Clark) is repeatedly stabbed in the back, but Jami manages to escape to tell the tale.
Over the next few days, The Phantom claims several more victims; meanwhile, Jami investigates the history of the original murders (with help from archivist Nick, played by Travis Tope) in the hope of shining some light on the identity of the current killer.
A little bit meta, this plot is intriguing enough to help distinguish it from all of the other remakes/re-imaginings/sequels that have plagued the horror genre in recent years, but the film also delivers the basics—scares, gore and nudity—making it a fun way to spend an hour and a half. The scares are sparing, but well executed; the death scenes are sufficiently nasty, with some nice and bloody effects, including the surprisingly graphic sight of a major character cut into several pieces; unfortunately, despite having a sex scene, star Timlin fails to flash the goods, leaving it to a blonde bimbo to do the honours during a motel romp.
The final act, which relies on a very improbable twist, is something of a disappointment given all that has gone before, but overall I had a good time with this film. Time to revisit the original, methinks