Jeanskynebu the audience applauded

Sexyloutak Absolutely the worst movie.

Curt Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

Logan By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Cineanalyst I came upon "Sundown" in my search to see a bunch of Dracula movies since reading Bram Stoker's novel, but this one doesn't have anything to do with the book except for a couple character names, and a love triangle involving a vampire has some thematic similarity to Stoker's subtext of infidelity. For seemingly no real dramatic reason, the revelation of those names, Dracula and Van Helsing, is delayed. Bruce Campbell, of "The Evil Dead" franchise fame, plays the great grandson of Stoker's Dutch doctor, whereas David Carradine, son of John Carradine, who played Dracula in at least four films, plays a Dracula who changes his name to the near-anagram of "Mardulak" because, as he claims, his name became too famous. At least, they didn't use the semordnilap of "Alucard" again, which was used, among elsewhere, in "Son of Dracula" (1943) and "Dracula A.D. 1972," the latter of which one of the human daughters in "Sundown" has a poster of in her room.Departing entirely from Stoker, Mardulak owns a town full of vampires, where they drink synthetic blood and try to avoid killing humans, because the Count wants God to forgive him and his fellow creatures. Another fraction of the town's vamps disagree. Led by a bloodsucker named, appropriately enough, "Jefferson," they start a revolution, which ends up as a western-film-styled shoot-'em-up, but with wooden bullets. In the fashion of Hammer's Dracula series, there's a bunch of other vampiric lore employed, including a makeshift cross. The vampires also venture out in the daylight thanks to some powerful sunscreen lotion and sources of shade, such as hats and umbrellas. Again, none of this was in Stoker's book. His Dracula could be exposed to sunlight; it merely diminished his powers.But, never mind, it's not necessarily a problem that the film doesn't respect the source. That is, if does anything intelligent in its alteration, or at least something fun. My favorite Dracula-related comedies, including "Blood for Dracula" (1974) and "Love at First Bite" (1979), do both, to some extent. "Sundown," on the other hand, is just goofy. Rather than Stoker or any other novel idea, it clearly takes its inspiration from playing around with other movies--bad vampire movies (if the poster of "Dracula A.D. 1972" is any indication) and westerns--and mixes them up. Fortunately, the result is light and seems as though it doesn't take itself seriously. The fake bats are especially absurd. It's fun.(Mirror Note: The human mother character doesn't see a vampire behind her through the mirror due to his lack of a reflection. Van Helsing also uses sources of reflections twice to confirm vampirism.)

Leofwine_draca 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.

callanvass (Credit IMDb) Reclusive vampires lounge in a lonely American town. They wear sun cream to protect themselves. A descendant of Van Helsing arrives with hilarious consequences.I wasn't ever bored with this movie, but I had difficulty getting into it. It does have scenes that are quite amusing and others where I found myself blinking at the screen, because it fell flat. It's that kind of movie. You'll either like it or you won't. I didn't dislike it by any means, but it's not something that was for me. I did think it was audacious for them to make a few of the vampires sympathetic, and refrain themselves from digging in on human blood. Yes. I realize this concept has been done before, but the way they did it in this movie was unique. It never takes itself very seriously, and that I did wind up liking. The desert setting was decent, but they didn't really take full advantage of it either. This movie isn't a gore fest, but it does have a few stand-out moments, including a decapitation, and my personal favorite, an impaling with an umbrella. David Carradine is fun as the Count, but he doesn't have as much screen time as you may think. Considering his stature at this juncture, I was a bit surprised. Bruce Campbell spoofs Van Helsing hilariously. His dimwitted character was the highlight of the film for me. You gotta love Bruce! Jim Meltzer & Morgan Brittany are decent as the hero & heroine. Maxewell Caufield grated my nerves with his hammy performance. He was clearly having a blast, but he was much too OTT for my liking. Deborah Foreman has good chemistry with Bruce Campbell, and played her part well. The rest of the cast are fine for the most partFinal Thoughts: Anthony Hickox tries valiantly to pull off this unorthodox horror/comedy, but can't quite pull it off. The cast is great, and it does have its moments, but it's not for me. Others may feel differently5/10

chaos-rampant Not to be confused with the Henry Hathaway war drama from 1941 that was nominated for three Oscars, Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat is a light-hearted comedy that combines the horror iconography of the vampire with the desert landscapes and open vistas of the western without straying too far in either territory. The plot involves a colony of vampires trying to go straight by using UV lotion and artificial blood and a rival faction that tries to bring vampires back to their predatory roots.The opening scene that sees three bearded old men that would make passable ZZ Top clones sit in a bench outside a seedy gas station in the middle of the desert and involves a decapitation is terrific. The longer it lasts however the more it fizzles out and the end is a bit of a misnomer. There are stop motion animated bats, a western-style shootout near the end and vampires burning and exploding but it's never really violent - certainly nowhere near what FROM DUSK TILL DAWN offers or even Carpenter's VAMPIRES to name two similarly themed movies.The best part of Sundown is Bruce Campbell in the role of the geeky professor and great great great grandson of Van Helsing. David Carradine is obviously here for the paycheck and the rest of the acting is just okay. Not a terrific film but still a fairly enjoyable campy comedy with some action thrown in for good measure.