Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat (1989)

People are voting emotionally.

hyped garbage

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Bruce (Evil Dead) Campbell and David (Kung Fu) Carradine headline this 1989 109 minute comedy horror which crosses over into the Western genre too. I found this film a nice surprise and entertaining to boot. A town of Vampires headed up by 'the Count' himself (played by Carradine) are looking to co-exist with humans in what feels like a retirement village set in a John Ford-esque Wild West town. Unfortunately Jefferson (John Ireland) has different ideas and feels that his species shouldn't have to co-exist in harmony, why wear factor 1000 sunblock and drink synthetic blood when living humans are a plentiful source of food. As it happens to synthetic supply is in danger and the only way to fix the situation is a living human scientist with the relevant skills so it's through his family's eyes that we tend to follow the action and story. Throw in Bruce Campbell as a bumbling idiotic modern Van Helsing and you have some great ingredients for making a film that it's stuck in the horror genre alone. Laughs a plenty with a cute story and some fun events make this a great if slightly camp way of enjoying 109 minutes, to me this is more entertaining than watching "True Blood" which also features vampires and synthetic blood because it really doesn't take itself too seriously :P 7 out of 10 from me on this.

I remember seeing this film years and years go - during the 1990s - and thinking then what a load of rubbish it was. Nothing much has changed in a recent repeat viewing, because SUNDOWN: THE VAMPIRE IN RETREAT is poor stuff indeed. It's an erstwhile vampire movie with a modern-day western setting and is fairly fresh and quirky in its approach to the material, so it's a shame that all the jokes fall flat.Basically, there's a town of friendly vampires living out in the desert. They survive thanks to some very high-factor suncream. The narrative involves their interactions with a group of newcomers to the village, including a descendant of Van Helsing, played with dumb relish by Bruce Campbell. Before long some real villains assert themselves and a power struggle for supremacy ensues.The plotting is actually a little similar to that of the UNDERWORLD films, with rival vampire factions fighting for power, but the resolutely silly jokes make it all fall flat. It's a shame, because there are some fine old-time actors here, like M. Emmet Walsh and John Ireland, alongside a turn from David Carradine (who seemed to look elderly even then). Some rubbery effects and lots of overacting and broad humour make this a real mess of a film, and a far cry from the delights of proper vampire comedies like John Landis' INNOCENT BLOOD.

This is one of the movies that totally didn't move me. Actually, it didn't have a single aspect in it that interested me. I was hoping for an atmospheric vampire movie, and got a comedy movie that simply isn't funny. Not even Campbell was able to help in that aspect. This guy was amazingly funny in the evil dead 2, but here, he felt totally misplaced. I guess, there is no way that he could actually play clumsy and sappy at all. Even though I like the actor, for this movie he was pretty much the worst cast possible. All other actors did OK. But that just didn't help with an awful script like this one. I can't believe that the original has been a book. The whole movie felt completely like a trash movie. Sense was almost lacking completely.For me, either a movie has to move, that means, transport emotions. Or it has to teach something, that means, transport informations. This movie didn't do either. It didn't even make me smile a single time.

Any film that has David Carradine as Count Dracula and Bruce Campbell as a dorky, rather inept Van Helsing descendant is gonna grab my attention. From what I understand Anthony Hickox's(Waxwork;Hellraiser III)vampire western, Sundown-The Vampire in Retreat, rather lingered in obscurity which is rather surprising since it is such an interesting, colorful, sprawling, ambitious hybrid of genres. And, the film is packed full of terrific names in the cast! For an avid horror and western fan such as myself, Hickox's film was quite a treat and I could just feel the enthusiasm behind the direction although his influences are very visible. The score is rousing and quite orchestral, despite the fact that this film is actually set in modern 1990 with family man, David Harrison(Jim Metzler), wife Sarah(Morgan Brittany)and daughters driving into an American Western town of Purgatory to help assist an old college "pal", Shane(Maxwell Caulfield)adjust a machine which might have the ability to create synthetic blood. This machine was purchased by the mysterious millionaire, Jozek Mardulak(David Carradine), who is the authority over the town which consists completely of vampires who have taken a vow to not harm humans unless absolutely necessary. Interesting enough, Mardulak seeks favor from God for the murderous, blood-sucking deeds from his past with a township also guilty for those innocents who perished thanks to their thirst. But, under Mardulak's nose is his lieutenant, Ethan Jefferson(John Ireland)plotting to overthrow the great leader so that his race can hunt humans again. Shane joins forces with Jefferson and has plans of his own..in a major sub-plot, it is revealed that Shane and David's wife slept together and that daughter Julie could in fact be his. Shane desires to "turn" Sarah and Julie if just for spite because he's an egotistical, arrogant, smug punk who doesn't like playing second fiddle to anybody. The problem for David is that he can not defend his honor properly because Shane has superior powers thanks to his vampiric abilities. And, also, Jefferson plans to kill all the regular citizens of Purgatory if they do not comply with demands for joining the hunt. Shane has developed a wood-tipped bullet which, when fired into the heart, splinters on impact killing the vampire. Having built an army of vampires by hunting human outsiders willing to join him, Jefferson plans an onslaught which threatens all the work Mardulak has contributed to conforming his race. A nerdy descendant of Van Helsing, Robert(Bruce Campbell, operating his shtick without restriction;very cartoony and animated offering quite a nervous and over-his-head, but impossibly brave hero;quite an alternative to his Evil Dead series persona)kidnaps a vampire diner waitress in Purgatory, Sandy(..the yummy beauty Deborah Foreman who steps away from her usual adorable cuteness;quite a sexy and alluring presentation, but she had tapped into this kind of deliciousness in Hickox's previous horror flick, Waxwork)threatening to sprinkle holy water on her if she doesn't take him to Mardulak's home. Lots of stuff going on, that's for sure. There's even time to show a frightened young couple, who witnessed their friend's beheading at the hands of hillbilly vampire, Mort(the great M Emmet Walsh)imprisoned next to him by the sheriff because they know too much with the town wanting to feast from them. The vampires survive off of the artificial blood Shane's machine, produced from David's schematics, and heavy UV cream.This was my first viewing of the film and as much a buff as I am, I shamefully admit to just finding out about this rather recently. I thought the film is quick paced enough to look over it's flaws, although there were times when certain performances were a bit cringe-worthy, particularly Metzler as the heroic father whose dramatic scenes with Brittany(..who is cute, but doesn't exactly blow you away with her performance, either)regarding Shane are overwrought. Caulfield nails his part as the a$$hole of the film, behind the possible destruction of a family and only joining forces with Jefferson as a way to get his "property", Sarah and Julie. Campbell and Foreman have nice chemistry together in their sweet, budding romance. But, Carradine as Dracula, masquerading as Mardulak is money and seeing him opposite old Hollywood veteran Ireland in a gunfight was sheer bliss for me. We definitely see the spaghetti western influence here..I am pretty sure Hickox just dreamed of directing such a scenario. The vampire effects are surprisingly good, but many will probably wince at the bat creations(..there are different effects used such as animated and clay forms of vampires in bat-form). Rarely is their any fanging on screen, which was the greatest drag for this vampire cinema lover. It was a lot of fun seeing M Emmett Walsh steal entire scenes so easily and Buck Flower as a town vampire switching allegiances to Jefferson's clan(..his confrontation with Foreman is a doozy and his fate regarding an open umbrella is priceless). Ireland once again, no matter his age, finding that menace was also a pleasure and he knew how to really bare those fangs so fiendishly.Fabulous use of Moab, Utah locations shot in widescreen and the wonderful sense of irony in the plot being that these vampires, in their attempt to go straight choose such a hot place as their refuge from humankind.