In 1946, the small community of Texarkana, TX was terrorized by a masked assailant who murdered several people over a period of four months. The story became the basis for Charles B. Pierce’s 1976 film The Town That Dreaded Sundown, a narration-heavy crime thriller that follows the Texas Rangers tasked with apprehending the serial killer, who, in real life, was never found. Decades after its release, the B-movie will stalk theaters once again, this time with bigger names behind it.
Glee creator Ryan Murphy has teamed up with Paranormal Activity producer Jason Blum to remake the cult classic. The project already has a director, Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, who will helm the film based off a script by Carrie scribe, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa. Gomez-Rejon previously worked with Murphy on episodes of his gruesome series, American Horror Story.
MGM, who produced the original film, will also produce the remake. The studio divulged details on the low budget project, saying they would like to retain the cinema verite style of the 1976 version. Other details on the film describe it as having “horror-movie tones and elements of a procedural in the vein of David Fincher’s Zodiac.” I watched most of The Town That Dreaded Sundown, and the Zodiac comparison makes sense, as both films employ a less dramatic, real world approach to the process of finding their respective killers. [THR]
The remake is planned to start production sometime in the spring.
Based on Murphy and Blum’s previous work in horror, how do you think the remake will turn out?