Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman September 2, 2021

As someone who was born and (largely) raised in Utah, it's only with some sheepishness that I admit that when the "mother of all bombs" hashtag #MOAB was trending a few years ago, my first thought (before doing a bit of internet sleuthing to figure out the "real" meaning) was, "What could possibly be happening in Moab?" For those unacquainted with what was (in my childhood, anyway) pretty much a "blink and you'll miss it" enclave in the eastern part of the state, Moab is a regular destination for tourists wanting to explore the otherworldly environments of some of Utah's notable parks like Arches and Canyonlands. Moab evidently has another claim to fame, as some of the supplements on this disc get into, since it was the location chosen for Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat, a kind of goofy comedy that seems to want to do for blood sucking Count Dracula types what Army of Darkness (and its cinematic siblings) wanted to do for the zombie-like Deadites. The fact that Bruce Campbell was enlisted to co-star in this enterprise only makes the connection all the stronger (and one assumes the marketing mavens behind this film were only too well aware of that possibility), though some may wish that someone of Sam Raimi's peculiar perspectives might have given the film a bit more comedic momentum. There's a lot to like in Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat, but for fans of the entire Evil Dead franchise, the film may frankly come off as a bit of a "wannabe".

The underlying conceit of Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat is disclosed in a text crawl at the opening of the film, where an ancient vampire named Mardulak (David Carradine) has taken a coterie of other vampires to an isolated western town called Purgatory, where he has imposed a "new world order" dictating that human blood is not to be consumed. Instead, Purgatory is home to a high tech artificial blood manufacturing facility, though its product is not exactly pleasing the town's residents. Into this decidedly odd situation come a variety of interlopers, which ultimately gives Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat its more farcical elements, even with a veritable lack of slamming doors and mistaken identities. While the connection to the main story isn't initially detailed, the film then opens with a brief vignette documenting a family moment between two young sisters (one of whom seems to be a fan of horror movies) and their parents, a quartet who later lands in Purgatory (so to speak), with hilarity and occasional stop motion bats ensuing.

The first actual visitor to Purgatory is a so-called "red shirt" (no pun intended, given the fact that Red Shirt Pictures is on hand here with some of the supplements, and with Michael Felsher's moderation of the commentary track). An impatient guy marauding through the desert in a Jeep shows up at a desolate gas station in the middle of nowhere where three not particularly helpful elders, later disclosed to be brothers, are sitting on a bench and deciding which of them is "up next" to deal with a customer. The one chosen, Mort Bisby (M. Emmett Walsh), does not suffer fools gladly and suffice it to say there's one less impatient guy driving a Jeep in Purgatory (or its outskirts) as a result. This opening vignette also rather deftly alludes to the fact that everyone in Purgatory is a vampire, having to go to extreme lengths to survive in a sunlit world (lots of extra strength SPF sunscreen and big straw hats included). There's also some quick exposition which makes it clear that a guy named David Harrison (Jim Metzler) is due to visit, and that he's considered a "savior" of sorts, though why isn't initially detailed. It is in fact the Harrison family, which also includes wife Sarah (Morgan Brittany) and daughters Gwendolyn (Vanessa Pierson) and Juliet (Erin Gourlay), who were introduced in the film's opening moments.

Suffice it to say that the Harrisons, along with two compatriots of the Jeep driving guy (who have witnessed his demise at the hands of Mort), end up in Purgatory, as does a kind of bumbling, stumbling nerd who is a Van Helsing (Bruce Campbell). Add to this a glut of "supporting vampires" played by a great aggregation of character actors like Dabbs Greer and John Ireland, along with younger stars like Maxwell Caulfield and Deborah Foreman, and the film is fairly bursting with fun performance opportunities. Unfortunately, the writing doesn't always support things, and in fact some elements are left largely unexplained.

Still, the film manages to deliver at least a few giggles and while the production design has a bit of a B-movie feel, it's also kind of goofily enjoyable. Richard Stone's boisterous score is also a standout, exploring some western motifs that kind of reminded me (as strange as it may sound, considering this is a "vampire movie") of Bruce Broughton's great score for Silverado.

Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Vestron Video's Collector Series, an imprint of Lionsgate Films, with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. This is one of the nicer looking transfers I've personally reviewed in the Vestron Video line, though there are occasional noticeable fluctuations in clarity and detail levels. At its best, which is more frequent than not, the transfer pops extremely well, with a nicely saturated palette that looks especially robust in the many outside scenes (Moab is a pretty place). Fine detail on close-ups tends to be commendable as well, regardless of lighting conditions. There are understandable variances in some of the stop motion sequences, but kind of surprisingly the grain field looks relatively consistent throughout, despite some of the artifices employed for special effects. There are some intentionally tweaked "POV" shots from vampires' perspectives that are drenched in red and distressed, with fine detail levels understandably faltering a bit as a result.

Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat features a nice sounding DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track. As mentioned above, Richard Strong's score is one of the film's best attributes, and it sounds energetic and full bodied here (it's a little unfortunate that the isolated score option here is only in Dolby Digital 2.0, if you toggle between the tracks you can hear what I personally consider to be a noticeable improvement in the lossless version). Dialogue is also rendered cleanly and clearly throughout, and some of the sound effects, like the flapping of bats' wings, register strongly as well. Optional English and Spanish subtitles are available.

Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary with Director Anthony Hickox and Director of Photography Levie Isaacks is moderated by Michael Felsher.


• Isolated Score Selections and Audio Interviews with Music Historian Randall Larson and Producer Jefferson Richard are presented in Dolby Digital 2.0.


• Wild Weird West (HD; 16:03) is an interview with Anthony Hickox.


• Bloodsuckers from Purgatory (HD; 14:28) is an interview with Tony Gardner.


• Memories of Moab (HD; 12:43) is an interview with Bruce Campbell.


• A Vampire Reformed (HD; 13:08) is an archival interview from 1989 with David Carradine.


• A True Character (HD; 11:02) is an archival interview from 2008 with M. Emmet Walsh.


• Theatrical Trailer (HD; 1:03)


• Still Gallery (HD; 14:58)

A digital copy is included, and this release comes packaged with a slipcover.

Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

With expectations set properly, Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat has certain distinctive pleasures to offer, but it may be a case of "missed it by that much" in terms of how effective the overall film is and how strongly the comedy actually registers. Technical merits are solid and the supplementary package is extremely enjoyable, for those who are considering making a purchase.