Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat is a Goth Western horror comedy film directed by Anthony Hickox and starring David Carradine, Bruce Campbell, Morgan Brittany, and Deborah Foreman. It was written by Hickox and John Burgess.
Count Margulak, the leader of the vampires, has ended their tradition of human bloodletting and has placed his followers on a diet of synthetic, bottled blood. But when a new family moves into the town, the natives start to crave the real thing.
Under the leadership of the ancient Jozek Mardulak, a colony of vampires seeks a peaceful life in the desolate desert town of Purgatory. Key to the transition is repairing the town’s artificial blood factory. Mardulak summons the human designer of the plant, who brings his wife and two young daughters along for what he thinks will be a pleasant desert vacation.
Ethan Jefferson is a vampire who wants to return to hunting and feasting on humans. Soon, the plant manager and his family are caught up in a civil war as Jefferson organizes a revolution. In the midst of the vampire civil war a young descendant of the Van Helsing family arrive intent on destroying all vampires.
Its only public screenings were at film festivals in Seattle and Palm Springs, as well as at Cannes. Released in 1991 on VHS and in 2008 on DVD, it has earned a cult following.
