Chilling first trailer for horror remake The Town That Dreaded Sundown

As a fan of horror movies, there are two things I hate: unnecessary remakes and unoriginality. Unfortunately, those are the two most common themes in contemporary studio horror as it is safer to make sequels to movies rather than try to come up with a great new idea. The found footage sub-genre has further degraded the quality of films as the super-cheap filming method has provided countless carbon copy horror movies. So, count me as pleasantly surprised when the remake of THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN debuted a trailer that actually looks pretty damn good.

For starters, the movie is a remake of a cult classic from 1976 that is a gem amongst serial killer films. Following a town plagued by a man dubbed The Phantom Killer, THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN was filmed in a documentary style, which had me ready for the found footage angle to make an appearance. Instead, Blumhouse Productions (PARANORMAL ACTIVITY, INSIDIOUS) has teamed with AMERICAN HORROR STORY creator Ryan Murphy to make what looks like a damn good thriller. Emmy winner Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, who directed multiple AMERICAN HORROR STORY episodes, helmed the remake which keeps the same plot as the original.

I don’t want to get my hopes up, but this looks like a low budget affair with some high quality backing, creatively and financially, which could end up giving us a thrilling little movie that harkens back to a bygone era of horror movies. From the opening Orion Films logo to the moody editing, THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN looks like it has all of the hallmarks of the best AMERICAN HORROR STORY episodes but with an R-rated bite.

THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN does not currently have a confirmed release date, but expect it to be wide once it does.