The Town That Dreaded Sundown

THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN

Director : Alfonso Gomez - Ramon

Year : 2015

Genre : Horror

Rating : ****

Serving as not only a remake but also as a sequel, Alfonso Gomez - Rejons 'The Town That Dreaded Sundown' is one of the rarest things imaginable; a horror remake that not only lives up to the legacy of it's original but surpasses it too. Based on indie-king Charles B. Pierces 1976 classic proto-slasher, 'The Town That Dreaded Sundown' takes the ideas, themes and key plot points of it's original and changes them around just enough to be a different viewing experience - one that is much more violent, sexual and exciting than it's influential but problematic predecessor.

Much like the 1976 movie, 'The Town That Dreaded Sundown' is very loosely based on the notorious Phantom killings that shook the town of Texakarna in the the Summer of 1946. Set 65 years after the original so-called 'midnight murders', a psychopath is once again wreaking havoc on the streets of Texakarna, brutally slaughtering innocent teenagers canoodling on lovers lane. Is the murderer a copycat killer or could his motives prove to be much more sinister?

While Pierces film held back when it came to gore and sex, Gomez - Rejon relishes in the lenient classification regulations of the 21st century and regularly fills the screen with nudity and deep red blood; usually flowing from the veins of a recently slit throat, gun shot or stab wound. In fact, the film is probably the bloodiest made in recent times outside of the increasingly tedious 'torture porn' barrier. But while 'The Town That Dreaded Sundown' may glorify in on-screen carnage, it also boasts a very well written and quite ingenious screenplay that not only hearkens back to the 1976 film but also stands as a fervent commentary on the state of the genre today. The result is an incredibly entertaining and very well executed shocker that takes the best parts of a massively influential and revered picture and makes it that little bit better.