Sundown

If you are a cheesy vampire comedies or a fan of Bruce Campbell, then you most definitely have to watch "Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat", if you haven't seen it already.

Why? Well, simply because it is a hilarious vampire comedy with a rather good story actually. A town of vampires have settled in a small town far out in the desert, keeping themselves off the map and rarely getting people passing through town. The vampires are making synthetic bottled blood to satisfy their taste for human blood. But of course some vampires are not content with this, wanting to sink their fangs into the flesh of the living and drink real, warm blood. But who is the mysterious Count Mardulak who runs the town. And who is the clumsy stranger with glasses who stumble into town?

"Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat" have a rather good list of actors and actresses on the cast list. David Carradine plays Count Mardulak, Bruce Campbell plays Van Helsing, M. Emmet Walsh plays Mort, and John Ireland plays Jefferson. These are but a few of the great people in the movie.

There is a wonderful mix of comedy and traditional vampire flick in this movie to make it all interesting, and the cheesy combination actually works out well enough, making the movie all the more enjoyable. And of course, Bruce Campbell brings along with him his usual lovable way of portraying semi-clumsy hero-like characters.

"Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat" doesn't rely heavily on special effects and CGI, though whatever effects were used worked out well and came of as believable.

I hadn't heard about this little gem before I ran across it on Amazon while searching for Bruce Campbell, and I am glad I added it to my DVD collection because it is sort of a weird mix between "The Evil Dead" and classic Western movies, though thrown in with a good amount of vampire fun.

This was a pleasant surprise - a charming vampire western that respects the genres (Western fans will love the classic John Ford-esque setting and epic soundtrack!) while maintaining both an action plotline and likeable, understandable characters. Bruce Campbell is hilarious as an over-the-top Van Helsing descendant (who goes thru a most unexpected change!), John Ireland is impressive as the rebel vampire leader and David Carradine is strong and dignified as the Count who keeps an ancient secret identity. Lots of human warmth and sympathy (Carradine's townful of Western vampires, drinking a synthetic blood substitute, yearns to be free of human predation and to someday live on equal terms with mankind) distinguishes this from many other modern vampire flicks; the Count's reaction upon feeling forgiven by God is genuinely moving. Even your non-horror-fan friends will like this one.

The Underrated and misunderstood bruce Campbell does it again and with an excellent cast including david carradine. Has a great story a great slapstick script and was executed well. Its campy and low budget but it's a must see for any comedy buffy. Heard this bombed while earth girls are easy boomed but sorry this us a much better movie. So sit back with a big bowl of extra buttered popcorn and enjoy a good laugh!! Oh and a little western horror thrown in.

First off I am little biased about this movie. Anything Bruce Campbell touches is immediately awesome. Second off, Anthony Hickox is one of the most underrated director's of eighties and early nineties horror. Waxwork I and II and Warlock II are great as well as his made-for-television Full Eclipse. I don't understand what happened to him. What's up with all the Dolph Lundgren movies? You are already an established horror director, so why change genres? I'm getting sidetracked. Sundown is for the light-hearted horror fan who enjoys a bit of comedy with their severed heads. And it is funny. Bruce Campbell is great, Maxwell Caulfield is always good, and David Carridine gives a good performance as the vampire leader. Also look for a beardless Buck Flower. The makeup and effects are pretty good. I don't think I've seen better fang effects in a movie. The western elements go great with the vampire theme. It's a nice mix of genres.

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.