Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat (1989)

Reclusive vampires lounge in a lonely American town. They wear sun cream to protect themselves. A descendant of Van Helsing arrives with hilarious consequences.

Director:

Anthony Hickox

Writers:

John Burgess, Anthony Hickox

Stars:

David Carradine, Morgan Brittany, Bruce Campbell

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
David Carradine	...	Mardulak
Morgan Brittany	...	Sarah
Bruce Campbell	...	Van Helsing
Jim Metzler	...	David
Maxwell Caulfield	...	Shane
Deborah Foreman	...	Sandy
M. Emmet Walsh	...	Mort
John Ireland	...	Jefferson
Dana Ashbrook	...	Jack
John Hancock	...	Quinton Canada
Marion Eaton	...	Anna
Dabbs Greer	...	Otto
Bert Remsen	...	Milt
Sunshine Parker	...	Merle
Helena Carroll	...	Madge

Storyline

Reclusive vampires lounge in a lonely American town. They wear sun cream to protect themselves. A descendant of Van Helsing arrives with hilarious consequences.

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Plot Keywords:

cult film | cult movie cast | laboratory | therapy | urban fantasy | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Comedy | Horror | Western

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the first few minutes of the film there is a poster for the Ken Russell film Vampire which never made it beyond the script.

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Goofs

This movie makes it very clear that vampires do not have reflections, but in the scene when Shane corners Sarah Harrison in the bedroom (about 1:25 into the movie), we can see his legs in the mirror on the far wall.

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Quotes

[after spending a night in jail, she wakes up and discovers she's become a vampire]
Madge: What am I gonna tell my mother?

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Connections

Referenced in Bordello of Blood (1996)

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Soundtracks

You Need Me
Written and performed by Chuck Francour

User Reviews

Once a bloodsucker, always a bloodsucker

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.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 November 1991 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat

Filming Locations:

Arches National Park, Utah, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Vestron Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1