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Suzanne Cappelletti versus The Town That Dreaded Sundown (1976)

I have been a fan of this movie for a long time. I watched this with my Mom when I was a kid and its always struck a chord. It is based the true story of a series of murders dubbed the “Texarkana Moonlight Murders” in 1946.

The movie is a documentary style telling of this series of murders, still unsolved to this day. What I like is that you see the POV of the killer and of the police trying to catch him. It seems like a slice of life after the war, men starting their lives after serving. A general sense of peace surrounding the community and a killer moves in and turns that peace into fear. His main targets were young couples parked out in the local lovers lane.

The killer himself is quite the imposing figure as well, a burlap sack with crude eyeholes cut out.
The murders are bleak. A couple in a car hearing noises outside and see the killer holding part of the engine. Its menacing. There is an unusual death by trombone sequence, very creative.

The dual POV's keep this interesting for me. My friends have complained a bit about the comic aspect of one of the characters “Spark Plug”, I think it's a needed bit of comic relief because the story is so tense. It is an overlooked gem. I hope you go and visit this one. It is a classic.

I give this a three thumbs way up rating of Good. If you enjoy the classics and haven't see this yet, move it to the top of the list, as a side note, the Shout! Blu is worth every penny. I had to write this as a follow up to Jason's review of the remake. I know its not a true remake and being notorious for my dislike of remakes I still may give the remake a try. 

Follow Suzanne @Flyye01

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