The Town That Dreaded Sundown

The Town That Dreaded Sundown (2025) is an upcoming horror novel written by Matthew Holman and Eric Mueller, the authors of Deplorable Instinct. It is a direct remake of the classic horror film of the same name from 1976, directed by Charles B. Pierce. However instead of being in film format, it is being rebooted in a novella styled format. The book essentially follows a masked murderer and rapist named "The Phantom Killer" who commits his crimes during the 1940's in a small city in Arkansas, on unsuspecting teenagers and young adults in the middle of the night. While the novel is a remake, it could also technically be considered a loose novelization of the first film. The length of the book is up in the air, as some leaks say 130 pages, while others leaked from CrackedRack himself say 150 pages. 
= Plot = 
From the Discord leak on 5/18/2024: 
"In this novelized extreme horror remake of the 1976 classic, The Town That Dreaded Sundown (2025) tells the 1940’s-based story of the infamously masked Phantom Killer, a sadistic pistol wielding murderer and rapist who plagues the small town of Texarkana, Arkansas. He is an incredibly dangerous and ruthless killer and has a penchant for striking residents randomly in the middle of the night, usually during moments of vulnerability or intimacy. After a string of his brutal murders start to become noticed by local law enforcement, a nationwide manhunt is launched against him, causing him to have to fight for his life, and kill anyone in his path. A traumatized police officer who had several encounters with the killer obsessively attempts to lead the investigation."
= Announcement & Release = 
The book was announced on Matthew Holman's (CrackedRack's) Discord server on 5/18/2024 with a screencap showcasing all of the books surface level details. Along with this was a discussion about how the original film's copyright was in limbo because of the disbanding of American International Pictures as well as the death of the original director, Charles B. Pierce. There was also talk about the remake being of poor quality, and that the original film deserves better. 
Currently there is no artwork from the book leaked, other than a logo that may or may not even be the real logo. 
= Differences between the film and the novel from what has been shown =
* The Phantom Killer in the novel is significantly more ruthless and inhumane then he is in the film. Not only is he a brutal murderer, but now is a rapist as well. With it being pretty well known how incredibly violent Deplorable Instinct (The author's other work) is, it is expected that the level of horror and violence will be significantly cranked up here. 
* While the film is a campy experience, the novel aims to be an extreme horror experience. 
* The novel clearly aims to be a more realistic portrait of The Phantom Killer's real actions. 
* More fictional liberties are being taken in this work then the film, with there being an actual protagonist seemingly.