Retro Review: The Town That Dreaded Sundown (1976)

If ever there's a forgotten genre classic, the 1976 flick The Town That Dreaded Sundown has to be one of them.

I know that's a bold out-of-the-gate statement for a critic, but that's how I felt after viewing director Charles B. Pierce's retelling of a chilling true-crime story.

It must be stated at this point that I dig true crime, especially true-crime documentaries. And Pierce directs this story of the masked killer who stalked a post-WW II Texas town in the same pseudo-documentary fashion he used for the 1972 feature The Legend of Boggy Creek.

That's also a forgotten genre classic, in my biased opinion.

Back to The Town That Dreaded Sundown. Sure, it's dated, and I bet facts were skewed to make for a more chilling (for 1976) feature film. But this movie still holds its own, and Pierce does generate some chills. It's helps this is a true story, and the killer was never caught.

The death scenes are intense, especially the now notorious trombone murder. Combine these, along with some decent southern-gothic atmosphere, and one can't help but feel a few comic-relief sequences are out of place. I'd have preferred a more straight ahead fright picture, but that's my one complaint.

Take note, horror fans: this movie came out two years before John Carpenter's Halloween and just after Black Christmas, two flicks credited with creating the slasher genre. Having seen The Town That Dreaded Sundown, it's influences on the films that came after it are apparent. Pierce's film deserves more credit!

All in all, this is good stuff, and I'm glad I rented it on a whim. It's one I'll catch again when the mode strikes me. A Good.

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