Film review: The Town That Dreaded Sundown
11th August 2015
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★★★★☆
If there are two things that filmgoers are getting sick of it’s remakes and sequels. The latest attempt to bring life to the Fantastic 4 felt about as smooth and comfortable as using treacle as lube. And the fact the Minions get their own film makes me want to buy a shotgun and start doing toe exercises.
Yet The Town That Dreaded Sundown manages to be three things. A remake, a sequel and awesome.
The premise of this film is a little strange. It exists not as a direct sequel to the first film. Rather it exists in a universe where both the murders the first film is based on AND the first film exist. So… I guess the real universe.
We know this because the movie opens with people watching the first film at a drive-in.
Ooooooh, "meta". And when I say “people” watching the first film I mean a background cast of assorted who-gives-a-fucks and two good -ooking protagonist types. Seriously, these two (a man and a woman) look like they fell straight out of a 1960s clothing catalogue. I kept expecting them to try and sell me cans of Spam or a pack of smokes.
Of course, these two also have stereotypically perfect All-American backstories. He plays football but only to get a scholarship to a good college. She raises puppies.
After the woman gets scared by the film they drive off on their own into the middle of some secluded woods. You know, because that works so well in horror movies.
Naturally, a murderer called The Phantom (the villain of the first movie) comes along to chop up the bloke and let the girl run away and spread his myth.

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