VOTING CLOSED – WINNER: THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN
Thanks to everyone who voted!
The slasher film, as a genre, emerged in its final state with the release of Halloween in 1978; but that development came only at the end of a half-decade during which the rules of formula began to coalesce out of bits and pieces of horror and thriller films dating back as far as the late ’20s and early ’30s. This week, the vote will be between three movies that were released during the final years before Halloween finally set the rules in stone.
Drive-In Massacre (1977)
From IMDb: “Two police detectives try to catch a serial killer who is stalking a rural California drive-in theater, randomly killing people with a sword.”
Home for the Holidays (1972, TV)
From IMDb: “An ailing man summons his four daughters home for Christmas and asks them to kill his new wife, who he suspects is poisoning him.”
The Town That Dreaded Sundown (1976)
From IMDb: “A Texas Ranger hunts for a hooded serial killer terrorizing the residents of a small town, set in 1946 Arkansas. Loosely based on a true story.”