Anthony Hickox's Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat (1989) isn't just a good movie; it is also a smart one. The idea of vampires who want to re-integrate with the rest of humanity isn't necessarily a new idea, particularly in this day and age when vampires seem to permeate all over the popular media. So instead, Hickox turns his camera on the minutiae of vampires trying to live during the daytime. Sentry vampires in sombreros work at gas stations to monitor anyone who might come too close to their community. A crowd of vampires pantomime eating at a diner when human guests show up. Vats of heavy-duty sunblock are scattered everywhere, just in case. These are the details that make the film work. But what about the plot? Well, it's not too shabby, either. In the quiet desert town of Purgatory, a colony of vampires try to build an artificial-bloodmaking machine that will allow them to re-enter the world of humans. However, when their attempts fail, they call in the plant's designer, a regular human, and his family to Purgatory. It's too bad that they decided to call them just as an evil vampire elder starts a literal revolution. The appearance of one of Van Helsing's descendants doesn't help things, either. It would have been so easy for Hickox to make Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat a cliched vampire film. Thank heavens that he didn't. This is a film that deserves more than a purgatory of its own in old video rental stores.
7/10
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