Roger Ebert started his review by saying, ““From Dusk
Till Dawn” resembles one of those mythological creatures stitched together out
of two different species, like a bull with a man’s torso. In this case, we get
half of a hostage movie, and half of a vampire gore-fest. The transition is
instantaneous. For about an hour, we’ve been following the story of two mad-dog
killers and their victims, and then suddenly a stripper in a Mexican bar turns
into a vampire, and off we go.”
Genre-hopping like that is the skill of the movie’s
writer, Quentin Tarantino, whose work sometimes looks like switching channels.
The director, Robert Rodriguez, can only be said to throw himself into the same
mindset. This is one of those movies you might like or hate, but you won’t be
able to deny its crazy passion.
Actually, a lot of people will hate half of the movie
and like the other half. Those who loved Tarantino’s dialog parts in “Pulp
Fiction,” will like the first half, especially the great pre-title scene with Michael
Parks as a Texas Ranger who creates everything out of a little dialogue. Ebert
said, “Those who liked the shoot-outs in Rodriguez’s “El Mariachi” and
“Desperado” will like the second half, which is non-stop mayhem in a scuzzy
bikers’ and truckers’ strip joint, with lots of vampires, exploding eyeballs,
cascading guts, and a weapon made out of a powered wooden stake (I guess you
could call it a Pneumatic Vampire Drill).”
Ebert admitted to liking the first half more. After
the title part, we get to know the main characters, Seth and Richard Gekko,
played by George Clooney and Tarantino. They’ve robbed a bank and left so many
dead and wounded (all alerted by a TV news reporter’s digital mayhem readout). Richard
has helped Seth break out of prison, and now they’re driving down to the Mexican
border with the bank money, and Richard, who is a crazy loon, is shooting everyone
he sees, including innocent bystanders.
Staying in a motel on the side of the road, they take
hostages: a former Baptist minister (Harvey Keitel) and his children (Juliette
Lewis and Ernest Liu). Ebert said, “The minister has left the church after the
death of his wife, leaving an opening for another of Tarantino’s passages of
theological dialog.” Now the minister and his kids are driving south in a
mobile home the Gekkos hope to hide in while crossing the border.
The minister is persuaded to cooperate with the criminals.
His son thinks he knows better: “Dad – I watch the reality shows!” Ebert said, “The
charm of the dialog in these scenes has a lot of competition from the
state-of-the-art mayhem, which leaves blood and brains spattered everywhere.
Rodriguez doesn’t make it very real, though, wisely handling the death of a
harmless bank teller in flashes too quick to be seen, since more detail would
sink the macabre mix of violence and humor.”
In Mexico, the mobile home drives up to the shabby
club with a strange décor (this goes next to Jack Rabbit Slim’s in the
Tarantino Mall). The doorman is played by Cheech Marin, who also plays two other
roles, appearing too often he doesn’t need the vampire story to qualify as
undead. The kidnappers and their victims go inside to wait a rendezvous for the
money, and that’s when the vampire story begins.
Ebert said, “All I can really say about the last 30
minutes of the film is, if you liked “Dawn of the Dead” (1979), you’ll like
this. The plot is forgotten as Rodriguez goes for violence and special effects,
including people who morph into hideous creatures in the middle of the barroom
brawl. There’s also an outbreak of vampirism among the leading characters, in
scenes owing something to “Assault on Precinct 13” and “Night of the Living
Dead.””
Ebert continued, ““From Dusk Till Dawn” is a skillful
meat-and-potatoes action extravaganza with some added neat touches.” George
Clooney makes his film debut after “E.R.” and he shows admirable restraint in
going along with the insanity without looking overwhelmed by it. The good
things in the movie – especially some of the dialog – are so much better than
the rest that you wish Rodriguez and Tarantino had tried to win over this material,
instead of simply delivering it. This is a professionals work, but these guys
can do better.
I think everyone knows about the famous Salma Hayek
dance scene in the bar. That is the highlight of the film, and I think everyone
will like this film. I saw this on Paramount+, but currently you can watch this
on Pluto TV. Check it out because this is a good action film that centers
around vampires, which a lot of people are into. You should see this because
you will get into it, as Clooney and Tarantino are just great in this role,
especially when Keitel and Lewis show up in the film. Marin is also funny in
all three of his roles. See it and enjoy.
Surprisingly, this film got two sequels, which were
released directly to video. We will look at the first sequel next week in “Halloween
Month 2026.”
