Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat (1990)

Director:

Anthony Hickox

Writers:

John Burgess (story) and
Anthony Hickox (writer)

Release Date:

2 November 1991 (Japan)

Genre:

Comedy | Horror | Western

Tagline:

There's two kinds of folks in Purgatory. Vampires and lunch.

Plot:

Reclusive vampires lounge in a lonely American town. They wear sun cream to protect themselves. A descendant...

Plot Keywords:

Vampire | Van Helsing | Diner | Dracula | Sisters

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

David Carradine	...	Jozek Mardulak / Count Dracula
Morgan Brittany	...	Sarah Harrison
Bruce Campbell	...	Robert Van Helsing
Jim Metzler	...	David Harrison
Maxwell Caulfield	...	Shane
Deborah Foreman	...	Sandy White
M. Emmet Walsh	...	Mort Bisby
John Ireland	...	Ethan Jefferson
Dana Ashbrook	...	Jack
John Hancock	...	Quinton Canada
Marion Eaton	...	Anna Trotsberg
Dabbs Greer	...	Otto Trotsberg
Bert Remsen	...	Milt Bisby
Sunshine Parker	...	Merle Bisby
Helena Carroll	...	Madge

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Australia:M | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Arches National Park, Moab, Utah, USA

Company:

Vestron Pictures

Goofs:

Continuity: In the first bat scene it is mentioned that when in bat form vampires are nude, and this is verified in the following scene where Shane attempts to rape Sarah. However, this is ignored for the remainder of the film, with vampires switching forms while remaining fully clothed regularly.

Quotes:

Mort Bisby: Only got two choices - kill 'em or convert 'em.

Movie Connections:

References Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972)

Soundtrack:

YOU NEED ME

Plenty to get your teeth into...perhaps a little too much

I'm sure I'm not the only horror fan who has had Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat at the top of their 'must see' list for some time, but now that I've finally seen it I have to say that I'm slightly disappointed. Sundown is a vampire film that takes in many of the common genre elements; but somehow manages to do it in such a way that isn't typical. The film also has strong western elements (leading it to be labelled as a 'vampire western') which help to make the whole thing more original (especially as the film predates From Dusk Till Dawn by six years). The film focuses primarily on a town called Purgatory somewhere out in the desert. The town is mostly inhabited by vampires; but these particular vampires are starting to realise that they cannot continue feeding on humans indefinitely; and thus begin wearing sun block and working on a synthesised blood serum to eliminate the need for sucking blood. However, not all the vampires in town are on board with this idea; and things are complicated further with the arrival of a descendant of Van Helsing...

The main reason I saw this film was due to the fact that it stars Bruce Campbell; however, his role is pretty much the most disappointing thing about it. We get the usual Bruce Campbell entertainment; but he's really toned down and his character is basically pointless in the grand scheme of things. This isn't helped by the fact that the plot has far too many threads going on; and while this does serve in keeping the film interesting, it also means that it's far too complicated and there's not enough time for everything to play out properly. However, the film gets points back for the way that the vampire themes are handled. At its base, the story is not too far removed from the classic Dracula story and we get everything thrown in from wooden stakes and holy water, all the way to fangs and the vampires turning into bats. There's plenty of action in the film (although to be honest, I don't really want gun battles with my vampires) and the special effects are at least amusing. The film starts to lose it's way further towards the end; but for all it's problems, this is at least an entertaining watch...although I wouldn't recommend going too far out of your way to find it.