Warte, bis es dunkel wird

For me, exactly between three and four stars, which is a pleasant surprise. The film is… well, actually… not a remake… neither a reboot… I don’t know, in 1976 there was this film, The Town that Dreaded Sundown, taking place in Texarkana and inspired by the real murders of the “Phantom Killer” during the 1940s. This year’s film takes place in the same town, in the present, and it works both with the original murders and as with original film, it even has the character of the son of the director of the original film, who speaks about the sequel to the original film he is supposed to make. Well. So the creators used the meta approach very popular today, but the film itself doesn’t feel at all like a modern and sterile remake, but actually incredibly retro. If the characters didn’t have mobiles and computers, I would have thought that it takes place in the 1980s and that the film is intentionally styled in the era. The cinematography also deserves praise, it’s amazing. The actors are alright, the atmosphere is good, the feeling is pleasant overall, and the murder scenes are also OK. The final twist is a quite insane, but that’s already usual in whodunits. Overall, a pretty pleasant surprise, we haven’t had such a good slasher-flick without additives for a long time. (19.10.2014)

Wer hätte gedacht, dass der Slasher aus dem Jahr 1976 nach so vielen Jahren einen Nachfolger haben würde? Die Schöpfer der Serie American Horror Story scheinen jedoch seine Fans zu sein, und so haben wir eine Fortsetzung, die sehr einfallsreich an die vorherigen Ereignisse anknüpft. Das Erste, was ins Auge sticht, ist das visuelle Erscheinungsbild. Nicht nur, dass der Film in sympathisch buntem Retro-Stil gedreht ist, gelegentlich stören ein Handy oder ein Notebook, aber die Kamera ist absolut fantastisch. Insbesondere bei Verfolgungsjagden und Mordszenen zaubert sie großartige Bilder. Der Gore ist gut, der Killer macht keine Kompromisse und die Musik ist auch super. Schade ist jedoch der zweite Teil, der sich festfährt und eine Weile braucht, um wieder in Fahrt zu kommen. Ansonsten wären es vier. Aber auf jeden Fall anschauen, allein schon wegen des genannten visuellen Aspekts. Edit: Ich erhöhe auf vier, ich kann ihn einfach nicht aus dem Kopf bekommen. (20.10.2014)

I don't like remakes, but I have to say that "The Town That Dreaded Sundown" quite appealed to me. It is also because the original film is taken as something given and built upon, rather than being completely redone. It is occasionally quite inventive, occasionally terribly boring, and the excessive number of characters is essentially unnecessary and could easily be done without. It would still work with fewer actors, but it wouldn't save the plot. It's not that great, just a nice average horror. (05.05.2015)