The Town that Dreaded Sundown (1976)

[baumer]

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[baumer]

Written in 2000I think THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN was inspired in many ways by Wes Craven's superior film THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT. It is a good film to try and emulate but there are reasons that Craven's film was the way it was. LHOTL was a terrfying film. It was one that kept me disturbed days after I watched it. True horror can do that to you. I believe that is why Cunningham and Craven had humour in the film. They knew that there was enough horror to keep you out of breath. The comedy with the inept deputies was almost like a breather. I think the makers of this film thought they had a similar work of art in their hands.They were wrong.TTTDS is a fairly good horror film---- when it is horrific. The scenes of murder and stalking are quite well done. There is a true sense of fear and anxiety when the Phantom Killer is stalking his victims. Especially well done is when he is trying to kill Marianne, of Gilligans Island. This is where some of the best camera work is achieved. We have point of view shots from the killer, point of view shots from Marianne and we have some truly disturbing shots of the killer carrying a pick-axe. At first, the two victims are just shot. But then when she lives and runs out into the cornfield, we see the killer pick up a pick-axe. And we feel for her. At least if she was dead, she was so because of gunshot wounds. But the thought of a miners pick-axe being impaled into her skull or back is quite a nasty thought. Also quite well done is a scene where a trombone is used to torture someone. Although in reality, I think the torture would have lasted much longer than it did, but that does not really matter. What does matter is the style it was done in. And that style has to be given full kudos. These scenes are quite creepy and they are ripe with tension. But it is when the film is working in the light of day and away from the killer that it fails, and it fails miserably.There are way too many elements of comedy here. And this is where the pastiche of LHOTL is not what is needed. This film does not contain enough true terror to need maudlin comedy to relieve the viewer of his or her veritable increase in pulse. I enjoyed the scenes of murder for their style but they did not make me afraid or uneasy. I was intrigued with how the director accomplished the feat but it was not terrifying enough to justify all the incoherent comedy. This directly takes away from the over all aesthetic of the film. And that is too bad.If The Town That Dreaded Sundown could have concentrated more on it's Wes Craven like qualities and steered away from Buster Keaton like antics then this would have been a fine addition to the horror family. As it stands, it is an ersatz of the very thing that it tries to imitate.6 out of 10Just an interesting side note. This is one more film that used the name Loomis as one of their characters. That name was started with PSYCHO, used again in HALLOWEEN and then again in SCREAM. Quite an homage to Hitchcock. But then again, he is the pioneer of the horror genre. He deserves all the homage that is bestowed upon him.

[Kvikk Lunsj]

@Baumer loves Oogieloves

I am watching a documentary called Killer Legends have you seen it? It is about Urban tales that were inspired by true events.