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The dubious history of horror movies set in Las Vegas

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Your losing streak is about to begin!” Looks like it.

The Las Vegas Serial Killer (1986) Notorious schlock filmmaker Ray Dennis Steckler (The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies) wrote and directed this sequel to his 1979 The Hollywood Strangler Meets the Skid Row Slasher, with a serial killer set loose on Vegas. “Films this bad should be used as punishment, perhaps in prisons,” said DVD Talk critic Scott Weinberg.

Leprechaun 3 (1995) The mischievous and murderous Irish imp played by Warwick Davis traveled to Vegas before he went to space or to the ’hood, always obsessed with tracking down “me gold” and punishing those who stole it. This time, it’s employees of the fictional Lucky Shamrock casino, a perfect killing ground for the green menace.

Vegas Vampires (2003) Blaxploitation legend Fred Williamson directed, co-wrote and starred in this direct-to-video cheapie about Vegas cops on the hunt for a vampire king, which also features appearances from Richard Roundtree, Daniel Baldwin and Tiny Lister, all of whom probably wish they’d stayed home. Cumulative IMDb user rating: 2.4 out of 10.

Resident Evil: Extinction (2007) The third movie in the video game-based series was promoted with images of the Welcome to Las Vegas sign peeking out from underneath a mountain of sand, and a big part of its story finds Milla Jovovich’s Alice fighting zombies in a post-apocalyptic Vegas (which was, of course, actually shot in Mexico).

Hostel: Part III (2011) Produced without involvement from series creator (and Goretorium proprietor) Eli Roth, this direct-to-video sequel moved the dismemberment action from Eastern Europe to Las Vegas and turned from a charged personal statement into a generic slasher movie.

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