From Dusk Til Dawn (1996)

From Dusk Till Dawn

1996

Starring: George Clooney, Harvey Keitel, Quentin Tarantino, Juliette Lewis, Cheech Marin, Ernest Liu

Directed By: Robert Rodriguez

Add one half action thriller and one half horror film, then blend together with excellent dialogue and you get From Dusk Till Dawn. What happened here is good friends Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino decided to make a vampire lovers wet dream and succeeded.

Two brothers, Seth (George Clooney) and Richard (Tarantino) Gecko, go on the run from robbing banks and end up in a small Texas town. They're on their way to Mexico to live the good life, but they've got one small problem: They can't cross the border because they're wanted men and the law is looking for them. So they do what any two men in their situation would do... they hijack and kidnap a family (Harvey Keitel, Juliette Lewis, & Ernest Liu) and their motor home to get across the border. The family happens to be somewhat disfunctional and down on their luck, which seems to get worse as the minutes clock by.

After barely crossing the border, the Geckos take the family to The Titty Twister, a Mexican strip club, where they're to wait until dawn on their contact which will show them to the good life. They keep the family with them to ensure that everything goes according to plan. What they don't know is that once the light goes down outside, the vampires who run the club come out to feed on the patrons.

In what is one of the best dialogue driven horror films ever, Robert Rodriguez sets up the first half of the film with a great action/thriller set up. Then, once all is calm and it looks as if the Gecko's are scott-free, all Hell breaks loose within the Titty Twister and everyone is scrambling to stay alive. The second half of this film keeps you on the edge of your seat as you see each great character come to terms with the supernatural beasts they're dealing with while trying to stay alive.

Here the acting is top-notch. George Clooney and Harvey Keitel carry this film with great support from their co-stars. The film even boasts three different roles from Cheech Marin, which are each different and hilarious in their own rights. With cameos from Tom Savini and Mexican regular, Danny Trejo, From Dusk Till Dawn's characters are all unique and well acted.

The direction from Robert Rodriguez is on par with his previous and future films, and he even ran most of the cameras here, which shows that he's probably one of the most diverse directors alive today. With excellent camera shots, perfect locations, and a top notch script (co-written by Tarantino), From Dusk Till Dawn goes beyond what a vampire action flick should be.

The special fx and makeup are excellent and KNB FX should recieve special commondation here. Not only is the vampire makeup great, the gore fx are off the charts. The editing and lighting are great and really enhance the mood. Overall, the production cost considerably less than most films nowadays cost, and you can't tell it one single bit.

I can honestly say that I've seen this movie over 150 times and I own 2 copies on DVD, 1 copy on VHS, and 1 copy (signed by Tom Savini) on Laserdisc. Needless to say, I love this movie and think very highly of it and the story surrounding it. If you ever pick up the 2 disc special edition DVD, check out the movie made about this movie called Full Tilt Boogie. It's basically a documentary on the making of From Dusk Till Dawn and gives you insight on virtually every aspect of how this movie was made.

In closing, this movie is absolutely brilliant. With very quotable dialogue and memorable lines, great scares and action, and superb character development, From Dusk Till Dawn is a film that will leave you satisfied but wanting more.

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