The Town That Dreaded Sundown

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The Town That Dreaded Sundown

R

2014

1h 25m

Horror

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

66%

Tomatometer

29 Reviews

40%

Popcornmeter

2,500+ Ratings

A masked maniac terrorizes the same small community where a murderer known as the Phantom Killer struck decades earlier.

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Critics Consensus

It may occasionally mistake more gore for genuine terror, but The Town That Dreaded Sundown is just stylish and clever enough to justify this second stab at the source material.

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Jonathan Romney

Observer (UK)

Apr 19, 2015

3/5

With its small-town atmospherics, a juicy supporting cast of character players, plus Addison Timlin's personable, plucky "final girl", this Town is pulled off with polished, enjoyable brashness ...

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Geoffrey Macnab

Independent (UK)

Apr 16, 2015

3/5

This is an exercise in nostalgia as much as bloodletting. The filmmakers are paying their very own tribute to teen-horror pics of the 1970s.

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Wendy Ide

The Times (UK)

Apr 16, 2015

4/5

Not a straight remake of the 1976 cult horror movie, The Town That Dreaded Sundown is more a self-referential homage that takes the original film's legacy and embellishes it.

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Joe Lipsett

Bloody Disgusting

Feb 22, 2020

...that's my larger overall problem with The Town That Dreaded Sundown: it makes the capital mistake of thinking that graphic violence and visual panache is enough to keep its audience entertained.

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John Bleasdale

CineVue

Apr 4, 2019

2/5

So much obvious thought has gone into making the film visually striking that the script seems to have gone unread. There's no other explanation for the woeful stupidity of some of the characters' actions and the blandness of the dialogue.

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Bill Graham

The Film Stage

Mar 2, 2016

C+

While its tone wildly varies, when it comes to the glut of horror remakes, it's a slight step ahead of the standard batch.

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Robert P

@Superbad Oct 5, 2026

The Town That Dreaded Sundown is a 2.5 star Movie!

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Jay L

@Jay.Livin Sep 5, 2026

Starts off pretty good, it keeps you engaged throughout the movie and the kill scenes are pretty gruesome I haven’t seen a decent horror/slasher movie like this in a while. The reveal at the end was the best part I wasn’t expecting it at all it was executed perfectly. Besides the religious nonsense this is a great movie.

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B P

@Bradster69 Sep 3, 2026

Not Bad, but Not My Favorite

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Jerry J.

@JJnTJ Jun 21, 2026

Great movie. Entertaining, thriller with some good scenes.

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Joaquin U

@Joaquin1 Jun 10, 2026

Mildly entertaining. A slasher with the usual ingredients, good aesthetics, and a few nice sequences. Yet, the script is mediocre and disconnected, the characters bland and dumb, their personal stories even dumber. Watchable, but if you’re sleepy, skip it — you won’t miss anything worth staying up for.

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prawnda s

@RT72497680 Oct 5, 2025

the audience that dreaded ryan murphy.....

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Alfonso Gomez-Rejon

Director

Addison Timlin

Jami

Travis Tope

Nick

Spencer Treat Clark

Corey

Veronica Cartwright

Lillian

Gary Cole

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Synopsis

A masked maniac terrorizes the same small community where a murderer known as the Phantom Killer struck decades earlier.

Director: Alfonso Gomez-Rejon
Producer: Jason Blum, Ryan Murphy
Screenwriter: Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Distributor: Orion Pictures
Production Co: Metro Goldwyn Mayer, Blumhouse Productions
Rating: R (Grisly Images|Brutal Violence|Language|Strong Sexual Content)
Genre: Horror, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 16, 2014, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 6, 2016
Runtime: 1h 25m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital

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