The defence The Adrenaline Seeker
“Its refusal to behave is the point.”
The strange choices create the kind of friction that follows you out of the theatre and into the argument.
Back to trending 
The Town that Dreaded Sundown
Thriller · Horror · 2014
A masked maniac terrorizes the same small community where a murderer known as the Phantom Killer struck decades earlier.
Movie details
The Town that Dreaded Sundown
“In 1946, a mysterious hooded killer terrorised Texarkana. In 1976, he was immortalised in the silver screen. Now, the maniac is back…”
2014 Thriller · Horror 1h 25m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
5.8 / 10
Community rating
A masked maniac terrorizes the same small community where a murderer known as the Phantom Killer struck decades earlier.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over The Town that Dreaded Sundown?
For the defence
The Adrenaline Seeker
“If it slows down, you check your phone.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Prestige Tourist
“You like your greatness pre-approved.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
Trick
Horror · 2019
A detective tries to track down a masked killer who reappears every Halloween to wreak bloody havoc.
Candyman
Horror · 2021
A Chicago artist's sanity starts to unravel, unleashing a terrifying wave of violence when he begins to explore the macabre history of the Candyman.
Pooka Lives!
Horror · 2020
A group of thirty-something friends from high school create their own Creepypasta about Pooka for laughs, but are shocked when it becomes so viral on the internet that it actually manifests more murdererous versions of the creature.
Poltergeist II: The Other Side
Horror · 1986
The Freeling family move in with Diane's mother in an effort to escape the trauma and aftermath of Carol Anne's abduction by the Beast. But the Beast is not to be put off so easily and appears in a ghostly apparition as the Reverend Kane, a religious zealot responsible for the deaths of his many followers. His goal is simple - he wants the angelic Carol Anne.
The Strangers: Chapter 2
Horror · 2025
After learning that one of their victims, Maya, is still alive, The Strangers return to finish the job. With nowhere to run and no one to trust, Maya soon finds herself in a brutal fight for survival against psychopaths more than willing to kill anyone who stands in their way.
Compulsion
Thriller · 2024
Two women—Diana, a flamboyant and ruthless thief, and Evie, a seemingly innocent young woman with a troubled past—become embroiled in a series of horrific murders on the island of Malta.
Eradication
Horror · 2022
When an unknown disease wipes out most of the world’s population, a man with unique blood is isolated for study. Fearing for his wife’s safety, he breaks his quarantine – into a world overrun by monstrous Infected and a shadowy agency hunting them down.
Insidious: The Last Key
Horror · 2018
Parapsychologist Elise Rainier and her team travel to Five Keys, NM, to investigate a man’s claim of a haunting. Terror soon strikes when Rainier realizes that the house he lives in was her family’s old home.
Insidious: Chapter 3
Horror · 2015
A twisted new tale of terror begins for a teenage girl and her family, and revealing more mysteries of the otherworldly realm, 'The Further'.
The Jester
Horror · 2023
A malevolent being known as The Jester terrorizes the inhabitants of a small town on Halloween night, including two estranged sisters who must come together to find a way to defeat this evil entity.
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Alfonso Gomez-Rejon
Written by
Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Addison Timlin
Jami
Veronica Cartwright
Lillian
Travis Tope
Nick
Anthony Anderson
Lone Wolf Morales
Joshua Leonard
Deputy Foster
Denis O'Hare
Charles B. Pierce, Jr.
Spencer Treat Clark
Corey
Court is in session
Put The Town that Dreaded Sundown on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Prestige Tourist
“Oddness is not depth.”
A film can break every rule and still leave nothing behind but the memory of how hard it tried to be singular.