Saturday, October 19, 2019

200 Items Or Less - Sundown: The Vampire In Retreat (1989)

A few thoughts: A really corny, over-the-top vampire western with enough humor to keep it afloat during the slow parts, and good enough of a cast to make me care about what was happening regardless of who it was happening to. Obviously the main highlights of the cast are bound to be the known actors, like David Carradine, M. Emmett Walsh, and (of course) Bruce Campbell, but this isnt the kind of movie you watch just for one performance or anything like that. There are so many moving parts, and the plot itself is actively engaging. Sure, it's goofy crap from start to finish, but the personal stories of some of these characters actually had me caring about the outcome, and seeing the reformed vampires face off against the killer vampires worked really well for a final act. If I could make a major complaint it would probably be that I wish Campbell had more to do, as his Van Helsing character had several wonderful moments and a solid backstory that might have given the movie a little more depth. But as it is, I enjoy this movie quite a bit and feel it's really underrated and overlooked.