FROM DUSK TILL DAWN (1996) *** (out of five stars) A review by Jamey Hughton
Starring-George Clooney, Harvey Kietel, Juliette Lewis, Quentin Tarantino, Cheech Marin, Salma Hayek, Fred Williamson and Tom Savini Director-Robert Rodriguez Rated R Dimension
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What From Dusk Till Dawn is, I'm not so sure. It's two completely different movies sewn together to make a freakish looking final product. One is a gangster story with violent and profane mannerisms, much like earlier work of writer and co-star Quentin Tarantino. The second is a gory bloodbath involving a battle against the un-dead, lots of explosives and severed limbs. Where one story merges into another is hard to say - but the result is an enjoyable time, if you've got the stomach to withstand it.
The story picks up in the desert near the Mexican border, where the Gecko brothers - Seth (George Clooney) and Richie (Tarantino) - have just robbed a bank and killed four rangers in the process. They need to pass the border so they can meet their accomplice at a Mexican rendezvous point, but have trouble maintaining a living hostage in their possession, because Richie is prone to shooting them. Stopped at a motel, they come upon a former preacher named Jacob Fuller (Harvey Kietel), and his two children (Juliette Lewis and Ernest Liu). They even have a motorhome - perfect for a quiet getaway. And so the brothers' take the family of three hostage, until they have safely crossed the Mexican border and reached their destination.
The rendezvous point chosen is a wild, raunchy biker bar called the `Titty Twister', populated by naked women and tight-fisted truckers. This is where things get really bizarre. After Seth and Richie bruise up some of the locals, it becomes apparent that the Titty Twister is infested with ravenous vampires hungry for blood. From here on in, the movie turns into a gory action fest that never lets up. Tarantino and director Robert Rodriguez steal largely from films like Sam Raimi's Evil Dead, but this part of From Dusk Till Dawn is more of a homage than rip-off. And there is no room for the squeamish; heads roll, people are disemboweled, and chunky flesh splatters in all directions. But it also means that the main characters must also depend on each other, so they can make it until dawn alive.
>From Dusk Till Dawn is a fun movie. The entire second half is done with tongue-in-cheek, making it more ridiculous than scary. Part of the enjoyment comes in the casting; for instance, hunky TV star George Clooney is admittedly an odd choice to play the hero figure in something like this. But in a pleasant surprise, Clooney is admirably game as he mangles the hapless vampire race with amusing enthusiasm. Kietel, in the midst of such a ridiculous plot alteration, still manages to deliver a fairly good performance. And then there are other survivors in the bar, who amazingly have the ability to slaughter vampires as if they do it for a living. In a neat bit of casting, one such character is played by famous makeup guru Tom Savini, who calls himself (for no apparent reason) `sex machine'. Salma Hayek plays a voluptuous Mexican dancer named Satinico Pandemonium. But alas, she is a vampire too.
As expected in a Tarantino film, the exchanges of dialogue are spewed out in sharp and witty bursts of startling profanity between characters. But all that is weighed down when the silly monster plot abruptly takes over. And practically everything seems so appropriate in the third act of this movie. For instance, hordes of vampires can't get through a small wooden door (or even attempt to) as the main characters anti up with weapons found in crates that truckers had brought through. Then, as the good guys launch an assault using crossbows and super soakers filled with holy water (that was clever), the un-dead seem to keel over a bit too easy. Plus, all myths and legends associated with vampire movies (garlic, crosses, etc.) conveniently work like a charm. But what's the use of this criticism? The movie checked it's brain at the door, but was fun anyhow.
If you're a fan of Quentin Tarantino films, you should enjoy From Dusk Till Dawn. At least the first half.
(C) 1999, Jamey Hughton
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