THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN

2014
DIRECTOR:  ALFONSO GOMEZ-REJON
WRITERS:  ROBERTO AGUIRRE-SACASA (SCREENPLAY) AND EARL E. SMITH (1976 FILM)


STARRING:  ADDISON TIMLIN, JOSHUA LEONARD, GARY COLE, AND SPENCER TREAT CLARK

AS MUCH AS I LOVE HORROR MOVIES, I SOMEWHAT DREAD BEING ASKED WHAT MY FAVORITE IS AND WHICH ONES I RECOMMEND.  FIRSTLY, AS I'VE SAID NUMEROUS TIMES BEFORE, DIFFERENT HORRORS AFFECT PEOPLE IN DIVERSE WAYS.  GHOSTS, CLOWNS, SERIAL KILLERS, ALIENS, AND SPIDERS ALL CAN BE ORDERED IN ENDLESS WAYS ACCORDING TO THEIR FRIGHT ON VIEWERS.  SECONDLY, ALL THE SCARY MOVIES I ENJOY ARE NOT PERFECT IN MY MIND.  AS MANY GREAT COMPLIMENTS I HAVE TO GIVE CERTAIN MOVIES, I HAVE THAT MANY NEGATIVE THOUGHTS ABOUT THEM TOO.  THAT IS UNTIL THE OTHER DAY...

ONCE AGAIN I FOUND MYSELF RELENTLESSLY SEARCHING THROUGH FREE FILMS IN THE HORROR GENRE IN THE HOPES OF FINDING SOMETHING THAT HASN'T ALREADY FORCED MY THUMB TO AGGRESSIVELY JAM THE STOP BUTTON ON MY REMOTE TEN MINUTES INTO THE MOVIE.  AND THERE IT WAS...ABBREVIATED BY WHAT SEEMED LIKE AN ALPHABET BUTCHER, "TOWN/DREADED '14".  

HOLY SHIT!  I FOUND A TERRIFYING MOVIE THAT NOT ONLY OPENED AND CLOSED WITH A BANG, BUT ALSO MADE SENSE WHILE SCARING ITS VIEWERS!  FINALLY SOMEONE ELSE OUT THERE GETS IT!  THIS IS ONE OF THOSE MOVIES WHERE I WANT TO PERSONALLY CONGRATULATE EACH AND EVERY MEMBER ON THE CREW LIST, INCLUDING THOSE GENERALLY OVERLOOKED LIKE THE MUSIC PRODUCER, CASTING DIRECTOR, CINEMATOGRAPHER, AND EDITOR.  

TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN IS A REMAKE ABOUT THE PHANTOM KILLER WHO, SIMILAR TO "THE SON OF SAM",  PREYS ON YOUNG COUPLES FOOLING AROUND IN THE DARK.  I AM UNFAMILIAR WITH THE ORIGINAL, HOWEVER, IT IS REFERRED TO THROUGHOUT THE FILM IN AESTHETIC WAYS INCLUDING A DRIVE IN MOVIE, FLASHBACKS, AND B-ROLL.  

MY FAVORITE PARTS ABOUT THIS MOVIE ARE THE KILL SCENES.  TO ME, THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT KEY FACTORS IN A FILM ATTEMPTING TO CREATE FEAR IN THE VIEWERS' EYES.  EVERY SINGLE DEATH WAS DELIVERED IN AN ORIGINAL, YET SCARRING WAY.  THE FIRST MURDER WAS INTERESTING BECAUSE INSTEAD OF WATCHING THE BLOODY GORE, WE SAW IT THROUGH A SHADOW.  OTHERS FEATURED AN UNEXPECTED BULLET THROUGH THE EYE, A HUMAN SCARECROW, A DECAPITATED HEAD KNOCKING AND SMASHING THROUGH A WINDOW, AND A TROMBONE STABBING.  YES, A KNIFE ON THE END OF A TROMBONE THAT WAS REPEATEDLY JAMMED INTO A VICTIM.  AS EPIC AS THAT WAS, I STILL MUST ADMIT THAT MY FAVORITE MURDER, AND PROBABLY THE MOST SIMPLISTIC TO FILM, WAS WHEN "NICK" WAS WALKING DOWN A PITCH BLACK STREET.  EVERY FEW SECONDS A MOTION CENSORED LIGHT WOULD GO OFF AS HE GOT CLOSER AND CLOSER TO THE CAMERA.  OBVIOUSLY YOU KNEW IT WAS COMING, BUT THE MUSIC AND CLOSE UP OF THE KILLER EXECUTED THE SCARE PERFECTLY.  

THE SOUNDS OF THE FILM WERE BROADCASTED A BIT UNIQUELY.  TYPICALLY HORROR MOVIES USE THE MUSIC TO FORESHADOW A SCARY SCENE BEFORE THE TERROR IS VIEWED.  THIS FILM MANIPULATED THE MUSIC TO MAKE YOU JUMP BY BLASTING IT AS THE ACTION BEGAN, RATHER THAN BUILDING UP TO IT.  EVEN THE "STABBING" SOUNDS LEFT A DENT IN MY MIND, ESPECIALLY DURING THAT INFAMOUS TROMBONE SCENE.  

THE BREATHING THROUGH THE MASK IS ANOTHER SOUND I COULD NOT HELP BUT TO NOTICE.  ALTHOUGH SOME MAY LABEL IT AS ANNOYING, I FEEL ADDITIONAL TERROR AND A FURTHER SENSE OF REALITY AS A RESULT OF IT.  THE PHANTOM MASK IS ALSO GREAT BECAUSE IT LOOKS LIKE A PRODUCTION ASSISTANT WAS SPONTANEOUSLY ASSIGNED TO CREATE A MASK ON THE SPOT USING ONLY MATERIALS FOUND IN A DUMPSTER.  I DIG THE SIMPLICITY.  

IN THE MOVIE SCREAM, THE GHOST MASK IS SYMBOLIC BECAUSE, AS DEWEY SAID, "...IS SOLD AT BOTH KROGER'S AND WAL MART."  IN OTHER WORDS, ANYBODY COULD BUY ONE, AS ALMOST EVERY HIGH SCHOOLER IN THE FILM DID, AND THAT CREATED THE INTENSE SCARE THAT "EVERYBODY IS A SUSPECT!"  I ALSO BELIEVE THIS THEORY IS TRUE FOR YOU'RE NEXT, HALLOWEEN, AND FRIDAY THE 13TH.  THE LACK OF INTRICATE DETAIL AND CREATIVITY IN A MASK CASTS AN EVEN DARKER SHADOW ON A KILLER'S PRESENCE.  

I ALSO APPRECIATED THE FACT THAT THE MASK HAD EYE CUT OUTS SO YOU COULD SEE THE TRUE PUPILS OF THE PHANTOM KILLER.  THE SOUL OF A PERSON CAN BE SEEN THROUGH THEIR EYES, AND WITH THIS SAID, ABSOLUTE EVIL CAN BECOME APPARENT WITH DIRECT CONTACT.  EVEN THOUGH THIS KILLER HAD BRIGHT BLUE EYES, IT DID NOT INTERFERE WITH THE FACT THAT THERE WERE STILL NUMEROUS SUSPECTS SET UP.  IRONICALLY, OUT OF ALL THE PEOPLE I THOUGHT IT WAS, I WAS STILL WRONG IN THE END.  DEAD WRONG.  

THERE ARE A FEW AESTHETICS THAT CAUGHT MY EYE THROUGHOUT THE FILM.  DURING THE FIRST MURDER SCENE, THE PHANTOM KILLER BREAKS A CAR WINDOW AND HOLDS A GUN TO THE YOUNG COUPLE.  THERE IS AN EPIC LOW ANGLE SHOT.  I LOVE HIGH AND LOW ANGLES BECAUSE IT GIVES AN AUTOMATIC SENSE OF EITHER SUBMISSION, OR IN THIS CASE, POWER.  SHORTLY AFTER THIS, THE KILLER CHASES THE GIRL THROUGH THE WOODS.  THERE WAS ADDED INTENSITY WHEN THE KILLER'S EYES AND THE TREES WERE OVERLAPPING SO YOU COULD SEE BOTH SCENES SIMULTANEOUSLY.  IT WAS ALSO TRIPPY WHEN SCENES OF THE GIRL RUNNING WOULD RANDOMLY APPEAR SIDEWAYS.  

WE SEE THIS OVERLAPPING CREATION LATER ON IN THE FILM WHEN THE SAME GIRL IS RESEARCHING THE PHANTOM MURDERS FROM YEARS BEFORE ON A COMPUTER.  AT TIMES, THE COMPUTER SCREEN WOULD SHINE THROUGH HER EYES, AGAIN DISPLAYING AN OVERLAP OF IMAGES.  

THERE'S JUST SO MUCH HIDDEN BRILLIANCE LURKING IN ALMOST EVERY SCENE.  I EVEN THINK THE RED CAR THE FIRST VICTIM IS DRIVING HOLDS MORE RELEVANCE THAN THE BASIC EYE PICKS UP.  I BELIEVE THE CAR IS A 1970 MODEL OF THE CHEVY CHEVELLE.  THIS WOULD NORMALLY MEAN NOTHING OUT OF THE ORDINARY, EXCEPT, THE ORIGINAL FILM WAS RELEASED IN THE '70s.  I TRULY FEEL THESE FILM CREATORS PUT EXCESS THOUGHT AND ARTISTRY INTO EVERY FILM CELL RECORDED.  

IF YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH "AMERICAN HORROR STORY", THEN YOU WILL BE PLEASED TO KNOW THAT THE CREATOR OF "AHS", RYAN MURPHY, PRODUCED THIS MOVIE.  HE'S JUST TOO COOL.  HE MAY ALSO BE THE INFLUENCE BEHIND THE GAY SCENE, WHICH I THOUGHT WAS A GREAT WAY TO MODERNIZE THIS UPDATED VERSION OF THE FILM.  I DIG THE EQUALITY!  

I ABSOLUTELY RECOMMEND THIS MOVIE TO HORROR LOVERS, THAT IS IF YOU ADMIRE GORE LIKE I DO.  KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR THE HIDDEN EYEBALL AND SHADOW REFERENCES, AS THEY ARE PRETTY UNIQUE AND FILLED WITH SYMBOLISM.