classichorrorblog:

31 Favorite Horror Movies

#30.  The Town That Dreaded Sundown (1976)

Directed by Charles B. Pierce

A Texas Ranger hunts for a hooded serial killer terrorizing the residents of a small town, set in 1946 Arkansas. Loosely based on a true story.

Quotes

• And when the sun went down… there was an eery, ghostly appearance to this town. - Narrator
• I plan on catchin’ him… or killin’ him. - Captain J.D. Morales
• Texarkana today still looks pretty much the same. And if you should ask people on the street what they believe happened to the Phantom Killer, most would say that he is still living here… and is walking free. - Narrator

Trivia

• This movie is a semi-documentary based on the real-life string of mysterious killings that terrorized the people of Texarkana, Texas, in 1946. The murder spree became known as the “Texarkana Moonlight Murders” and ultimately would claim five lives and injure many others. The only description of the killer ever obtained was of a hooded man. To this day no one has been convicted and these murders remain unsolved.
• At the movie theater line in the of the film, a poster for Charles B. Pierce previous film Winterhawk (1975) is visible on the left.
• According to the interview with Andrew Prine on the Region 1 Shout! Factory release, Prine had to write the ending for the movie because the script didn’t have an ending.