“[The Town That Dreaded Sundown] made me really scared of boots and trumpets for a while. Straddles an odd line between made-for-tv “based on a true story” picture and sleazy drive-in fare, yet it works well as both. I want to have a drink with the narrator.” — Justin LaLiberty, Director/Curator of Cinématographe
THE PROWLER (dir. Joseph Zito, 1981)
“If you think you’re safe… you’re DEAD wrong!” After gruesomely dispatching his ex-girlfriend and her lover upon returning from the war, a jilted veteran resumes the slaughter 35 years later. Shot down the shore in and around Cape May, director Joseph Zito (Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter) turns the seaside haven into a battleground of stalking and bloodshed, as the camo-clad assailant picks off a fresh wave of teenagers with cold, methodical precision. Lensed with eerie control by cinematographer João Fernandes, The Prowler pairs streetlamp-lit Americana with sensational stalking set-pieces and some of the goriest, most mind-blowing practical effects of the slasher era, courtesy of make-up effects master Tom Savini. Quoth the tagline: “It will freeze your blood.”
Format: 16mm
Print Note: The Prowler will be presented on a rare 16mm print with good color. Originally struck for exhibition in Europe, this print features The Prowler‘s original English-language audio track with Danish subtitles at the bottom of the frame. Print courtesy of Dan Santelli.
The Town That Dreaded Sundown (dir. Charles B. Pierce, 1976)
First he chilled your bones with The Legend of Boggy Creek. Now indie film legend Charles B. Pierce turns to true crime. Based on the real-life Texarkana Moonlight Murders, The Town That Dreaded Sundown blurs the line between docudrama and proto-slasher, as a hooded “Phantom” terrorizes a small Southern town with a string of seemingly random attacks on lovers’ lanes and quiet homes. Blending procedural detail with regional texture, Pierce stages the violence with unnerving restraint, punctuated by sudden, brutal shocks, as law enforcement scrambles to contain a threat that remains frustratingly elusive. Anticipating the true-crime rigor of Zodiac and shot on location amid a thick backwoods atmosphere, The Town That Dreaded Sundown fuses quasi-documentary realism with grindhouse terror (and just a touch of down-home comic relief), coalescing into a haunting portrait of paranoia, vulnerability, and a community under siege. You’ll never look at a trombone the same way again.
Format: 16mm
Print Note: We’re proud to present The Town That Dreaded Sundown on a rare 16mm theatrical print in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio. This print is partly faded, but retains some color. Print courtesy of Exhumed Films.
SCHEDULE
Introduction / Trailers: 7:00 PM
The Prowler (1981): 7:15 PM
Intermission (15 minutes): 8:45PM
The Town That Dreaded Sundown (1976): 9:00 PM
End of Show: 10:30 PM
TICKETS
Adults: $20
Senior/Student/Military/Veteran: $18
Members: $16
Designer/Director/Visionary Members: Free
