The Town That Dreaded Sundown (2014)

65 years after a masked serial killer terrorized the small town of Texarkana, the so-called 'moonlight murders' begin again. Is it a copycat or something even more sinister? A lonely high ... See full summary »

Director:

Alfonso Gomez-Rejon

Writers:

Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (screenplay), Earl E. Smith

Stars:

Addison Timlin, Veronica Cartwright, Anthony Anderson

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Addison Timlin	...	Jami
Veronica Cartwright	...	Lillian
Anthony Anderson	...	Lone Wolf Morales
Travis Tope	...	Nick
Joshua Leonard	...	Deputy Foster
Andy Abele	...	Sackhead
Gary Cole	...	Chief Deputy Tillman
Edward Herrmann	...	Reverend Cartwright
Ed Lauter	...	Sheriff Underwood
Arabella Field	...	Dr. Kelly
Denis O'Hare	...	Charles B. Pierce, Jr.
Spencer Treat Clark	...	Corey
Wes Chatham	...	Danny
Morganna Bridgers	...	Kendra
Jaren Mitchell	...	Johnny

Storyline

65 years after a masked serial killer terrorized the small town of Texarkana, the so-called 'moonlight murders' begin again. Is it a copycat or something even more sinister? A lonely high school girl, with dark secrets of her own, may be the key to catching him.

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Plot Keywords:

characters killed one by one | younger version of character | high school | murder | teenage girl | 

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for brutal violence, grisly images, strong sexual content, and language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 October 2014 (USA)

Also Known As:

Assassino Invisível

Filming Locations:

Louisiana, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Blumhouse Productions,Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM),Ryan Murphy Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The character Nick(Travis Tope) mentions that his mother is a patient at "Trans-Allegheny". Trans-Allegheny is the name of a historic mental hospital located in Weston, WV which ceased operating in 1994.

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Goofs

Towards the end of the movie when they are chasing the killer in the pit, the Texas Ranger has a rifle in his hands for a couple of scenes but then when he goes to shoot at the killer he has a handgun which he uses to shoot at the killer. They have different guns as they chase the killer and shoot at him.

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Quotes

Phantom: [voiceover narration as Jami reads the email he sent] They couldn't catch me 66 years ago and they never will. I come and go as I please, I kill when I please. You may think I'm a horrible sick murderer, but I'm not; I love my neighbors, I wish they would stop and let my soul rest in peace.
Jami: [reading the rest to the police] For you see I am the soul of Texarkana, I'm the reckoning foretold.
Paul Mason: Now look, I can understand how this can be upsetting, but it's also most likely a fake.
Jami: Well the Zodiac, he ...
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in The Cinema Snob: The Town That Dreaded Sundown (2018)

User Reviews

Good idea with some clichés

Some 60+ years since a serial killer left the town of Texaracana in fear the killer seems to be back for more, but one girl will stop at nothing to uncover his identity.

This film is really intelligently shot, it mixes in several scenes from the original film while also creating some copycat scenes with different characters, I really enjoyed it. Good acting all around.

That being said this lost a lot of likability with its death scenes, there are several characters with less then five minutes of screen time, yet they leave us thanking the killer for offing them. you'll notice the mpaa rating says it has strong sexual content, I'm not one to really complain about unneeded sex and nudity that being said the sex scenes were really used to degrade the characters.

Overall this was a nice slasher film, fans of the sub-genre will enjoy it. Not a slasher fan? you should probably pass on it.