The Town That Dreaded Sundown (1976) by Charles B. Pierce

Director: Charles B. Pierce

Year: 1976

Country: USA

Alternate Titles: N/A

Genre: Slasher

Plot:

Following a string of murders, a small-town detective and his staff join forces to find the masked, anonymous killer stalking their small Texas town as he continually stays ahead of their efforts to contain and stop his rampage.

Review:

This one wasn't all that enjoyable of an effort and had quite a few problems. Among the many problems here is the fact that there's quite a large amount of absolutely dull and lame pacing that makes this one such a drag to get through. With the main part of the film based around the factual details of the spree and police procedural investigations into the incidents, there's way too much feeling like this one isn't concerned with appearing all that much like a true slasher film. Though it pays attention to the details of the real-life crime spree at the forefront of the film's story, these come at the expense of telling a true slasher story that it really seems to want to be, as this one does drop the documentary vibe for the rather fun slasher scenes, but once those are finished, this one goes back to the rather pedestrian pace featured for the other scenes. Throughout, this is where this one really gets caught up in too many other areas here that put this too much at a documentary-like feeling.

As well, that's another factor here where the film's documentary feel is attributed to factors accomplished here that are just plain useless here, eating up time quite often throughout here when it's focusing on the rather lame investigations done by the officers, whether it be the comedy of the officers attempting to catch the killer by dressing in drag or focusing on the citizens out there without any sort of positive proof on them beyond being simply in the vicinity. It's all part of the final half here being so overlong, filled with these deviations in the tone, causing this one to feel so jarring while it's going away from the slasher-film aesthetics it should've had.

On top of these issues, the film also manages to feature a few other problematic areas in that there's some patently ridiculous features that are highly unlikely to be true, as the film's signature highlight kill is not only pure speculation to have actually happened but is so clunky and bizarre it's just awkward, the killer's features are completely guessed at, and it's filled with way too many lame gunshot kills that are really holding this one back. Even with these flaws, there are a few that are well-done here. What really works nicely here is when the film drops into prominent slasher territory, which manages to feature some rather enjoyable and fun slasher scenes.

The opening attack on the couple in the car makes for quite a thrilling opening when the killer appears and gains entry into the car in quite aggressive fashion, a later stalking scene out in the woods where he manages two highly enjoyable kills with the area coming into play, and the finale chase through the sand-pit, through the train tracks, and the surrounding swamps, which is quite a nice finish here. The other of the film's strengths is that the killer is genuinely frightening. Sporting the potato-sack look with icy blue eyes staring out from small peep-holes, sucking the bag in and out as he rapidly breathes, and his tense and hulking stance make for a visually imposing killer whose aggression and mental instability are palpable. Otherwise, this one isn't all that enjoyable.

Overview: */5

A bland proto-slasher with too many non-slasher elements, there's not a whole lot to like here, with quite a few problems and not all that much to help hold off the slew of issues keeping this down. This one is mainly for those with an appreciation for this era of the genre or who are curious about its historical impact, as most others out there should heed extreme caution.