Claysaba Excellent, Without a doubt!!

MoPoshy Absolutely brilliant

SteinMo What a freaking movie. So many twists and turns. Absolutely intense from start to finish.

Ezmae Chang This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

BA_Harrison Texarkana, 1946: a hooded killer is on the prowl, first targeting young couples on lovers' lanes, but eventually attacking people in their own home. While the townsfolk hide away in fear, police deputy Norman Ramsey (Andrew Prine) and Texas ranger Captain J.D. Morales (Ben Johnson) try to track down the killer.Loosely based on a true story, The Town That Dreaded Sundown takes a pseudo-documentary approach, complete with sombre, matter-of-fact voice-over filling in the details, a technique that only serves to detract from the narrative. Also working against the film is some dreadful comic relief in the form of hapless patrolman A.C. Benson (played by the film's director Charles B. Pierce).If only Pierce had done away with the docudrama narration and focused more on the horror and less on police procedure, this could have been a classic of the slasher genre—the deaths are certainly brutal enough. In the end, however, it's nothing more than a unexceptional drive-in B-movie, the only truly memorable moment being the novel use of a trombone as a murder weapon.

nicko252008 This is one of the better horror thrillers to come out of the 70's. The killer wears a terrifying hooded mask and is Merciless. Loved every minute of it, the Texas ranger, spark plug, the killer EVERYTHING. I really like how the killer was never found, or possibly died in the swamp. It keeps that (it could be anybody) feel at the end. Maybe the killer is walking around right next to you... makes you think a bit. And it's a TRUE story, these events actually did occur. And the town shows the movie in the park where the killings took place. That is pretty cool. The town actually embraces the murders, and realizes this movie is a cult classic. The blu ray release looks stunning, very good transfer. I thought the film was shot in the 90's after watching it, it looked that crisp.

Kaat1220 Andrew Prine turned in a solid performance, but Bud Johnson appeared as if he were reading from a cue card. If you can tell someone is trying to act, they are not doing a great job.Although Dawn Wells was only in the movie for a brief time, she gave a solid and memorable performance as Helen Reed. I must say that while I did enjoy this movie for the horror, there is one actor who stole every single scene, and that is Charles B. Pierce as Spark Plug.A director who can actually act - a rare breed. He was absolutely adorable and hilarious.Spark Plug rules!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

kapelusznik18 ****SPOILERS**** True story of the notorious "Phantom Killer" who stalked the lovers lanes as well as homes of Texarkana Arkensas who ended up murdering five and wounding six, mostly teenagers, people in the late winter and early spring of 1946. Desperate to catch the elusive killer the town's sheriff office hired top Texas Ranger investigator Captain J.D "Lone Wolf" Morales, Ben Johnson, to track the "Phantom Killer" down. The killer dressed in baggy pants and wearing a burlap sack over his head seemed to have trouble breathing, he may have been suffering from asthma, but had no trouble out running the police or sheriff deputies! As well as him surviving getting shot and crawling into the nearby snake and alligator infested swamps or bayous where he was never seen or heard from again!In fact the truth of the matter is that the "Phantom Killer" was never shot or even seen, with his burlap shack off, by anyone and just disappeared, after his last shooting spree on May 3 1946, off the face of the earth. The movie has its share of suspense as well as terror as the hooded killer stalks the night and keeps the people in the town of Texarkana behind locked doors too terrified to wounder out, even to buy groceries, when the sun goes down. Capt. Morales together with Deputy Norman Ramsey, Andrew Prine, finally track the killer down walking , with his burlap sack on, down the road in broad daylight without a care in the world until he spots them and makes a run for it. Having no difficulty outrunning the pair, even after being shot, the "Phantom Killer" slips into the nearby swamps and, without any scuba equipment, goes underwater and makes his getaway!****SPOILERS**** The very unconvincing ending spoiled everything that was positive about the movie in turning the "Phantom Killer" into another, some four years before he made his film debut, Jason of "Friday the 13th" fame. In not being able to come up with a good ending it had to be fictionalized by the script writers to make it work. The film in fact ends some 30 years later in 1976 where we see the premier of the film "The Town that Dreaded Sundown" in the town of Texarkana and guess who's waiting in line to see it? The "Phantom Killer" himself, as we only see his well polished shoes or loafers, as he's limping on his way to buy his ticket at the box-office to see, I would assume, just how accurate the movie is about his exploits back in 1946!