From Dusk Till Don't Bother

For my old horror movie this week I chose one that is a little newer; From Dusk Till Dawn. The 1996 vampire movie was written by and stars Quentin Tarantino, who is best know for directing the classic Pulp Fiction. Directed by Robert Rodriguez, who brought us the Spy Kids franchise and the Grindhouse movies, From Dusk Till Dawn has a pretty impressive cast including George Clooney (during his E.R. days) and a young Salma Hayek.

The film follows outlaw brothers Seth and Richard Gecko (Clooney and Tarantino) after Richard breaks Seth out of prison and the pair takes a hostage and go on a killing spree across Texas. Desperate to cross the Mexican border, the brothers think a hostage is the answer. Unfortunately while Seth’s away Richard decides to play, and the Gecko’s wind up at a cheap motel with a dead hostage. Lucky enough for the brothers, the motel had one other room occupied. Jacob (Harvey Keitel), a preacher who has lost his faith after his wife’s death, on a cross country road trip in a R.V. with his two teenage children Kate (Juliette Lewis) and Scott, stopped at the motel with hopes of sleeping in a real bed. Too bad they never got the chance as the Gecko’s hijack the family and the R.V. and make their way across the border. In Mexico the brothers plan is to meet up with a contact at a biker bar named “The Titty Twister.” The five travelers head into the bar to wait for the contact, not realizing that the bar is more than just a place to get drunk and rowdy. After the sun goes down the doors are locked, and the staff turn into their supernatural selfs to feed. After that it's a struggle to survive.

Photo courtesy of imdb.com

Although director Robert Rodriguez has made a few children’s movies, most of his work is more on the guns blazing and gore side. From Dusk Till Dawn fit right into his normal genre. The movie is pretty vulgar and definitely full of gory moments, which were a kind of turn off for me. Normally I don’t have a problem with that type of thing, but for me From Dusk Till Dawn was a little over-the-top. It also was not a jump in your seat horror movie, full of suspense. Actually, I don’t know if I can say there was any suspense at all.  It was more quick, bloody violence. 

However, the movie did have a few things going for it. Mixed in with the vampire attacks and violence was a little humor. I found myself chuckling a few times. The movie also had a few good unexpected moments. Once everyone is trapped in the bar it's a free for all, and there is no telling what is going to happen. Also, it was almost refreshing to see Clooney in a “bad guy” role. Although, in a way, he is a protagonist since he’s not a vampire, his character is still a thief, kidnapper and murderer. And, for any Cheech & Chong fans, Cheech Martin appears in the movie several times as different characters.

In the end, From Dusk Till Dawn isn’t one of my favorite movies. It was just too over-the-top gory for me. There were some strong points, but in my grade book I’d give the film a C+/B-. Unless you’re a Rodriguez/Tarantino fan or like overly gory/violent films, I’d recommend skipping this one.