Sundown

An engaging modern-day Vampire Western, about a community of bloodsuckers that has settled down in the remote desert town of Purgatory, where - with the help of a visiting scientist (Metzler) - they are trying to perfect an artificial blood-making machine that will free them from their anti-social appetites. But the rebellious Ireland and his degenerate cohorts hanker for the delicious pleasures of the Old Ways. Despite the tacky bat effects and an over-busy plot, Hickox makes good use of existing vampire lore, while introducing some new twists: sun-block cream (factor 200) and wooden bullets instead of stakes. Carradine is excellent as the vampires' imposing leader, Count Mardulak, and there are good cameos by Campbell (as vampire-hunter Van Helsing's grandson) and Walsh (as an old-timer with a taste for the red stuff). The ending, too, is bold and surprising, which after 70 years of vampire movies is no small achievement.