The Town That Dreaded Sundown

This movie is based on the true story of a 1946 murder spree in Texarkana, where there's a hooded killer on the loose.

"The Town That Dreaded Sundown" was a real surprise. It starts out as a documentary and evolves into a terrifying recount of a masked killer that sadistically snuffs out young adults. I say terrifying because the masked killer is genuinely disturbing. And although there is not a lot of gore, the killings are extended moments and they are visceral. I was amazed at the depiction of what is largely the torture of the victims before their deaths.

This is difficult to explain fairly because this is not your typical slasher movie. The murders were never solved and were done without any detectable motive. The police and other law reinforcements try to catch the killer, but he always seems a step ahead of them. And why wouldn't he be? The "law" at times is portrayed as bumbling idiots. There's comedy in this movie, but it's not dark comedy. It tries to get laughs but ineffective police work isn't all that funny.

Contrary to what you'd expect, the story moves along at a good clip. Even those with a short attention span should be able to stay awake.

What an odd flick this is. I would rank it high on my list of '70s Horror.

This is a good movie and you can see where a lot of inspiration came from. A few weird things...the killer uses a gun, weird for a "slasher" and also, there are some good deaths, its rated R, but there are some crazzzzzzzy sound effect punchlines over hammy faces it's nuts. Like slide whistles and shit!!! It mostly came from the front desk cop, which I think they tried to match the funny in Black Christmas (1974) with that front desk cop, but that movie is a masterpiece. Don't even try.