Pop Ninja's 31 Days of Horror

Day #6: October 6, 2021

'The Town that Dreaded Sundown' (1976)

For my 6th day of the 31 Days of Horror challenge I watched a film that I've always seen the poster for and was intrigued by, but never got around to. I had no idea that it was based on a true story and I was delighted to see actress Dawn Wells from Gilligan's Island in it.

It was directed by Charles B. Pierce, who directed the Boggy Creek movies. It starred Ben Johnson who I've seen in countless films, Andrew Prine who I was familiar with from "V" and Dawn Wells.

The movie was ok, the cinematography didn't stand out or anything, but the story was very captivating. This was based on a true story of a masked serial killer who terrorized the town on Texarkana Arkansas in the late '40s.  He wore a pillow case to hide his identity, which reminded me of 'Friday the 13th.' The killer would target young couples who were parked and making out at night. The real-life murder spree was known as the "Texarkana Moonlight Murders." The killer was never identified. He killed 5 people and injured others that got away. Local, state, and federal police were baffled and never caught him. Much like the Zodiak killer.

The movie is sort of documentary/narrative hybrid. If you find films about unsolved murders or serial killers interesting, then this is a movie you should watch.

- Patrick