HALLOWEEN HORROR DAYS ~ DAY 4: FROM DUSK TILL DAWN (1996)

The great vampire boom of recent years in pop culture can probably be traced back to the latter half of the 1990's. Obviously they've been making vampire films since the 1920's but I'd say it was the 90's where really sunk their fangs in. BLADE, TALES FROM THE CRYPT: BORDELLO OF BLOOD, and John Carpenter's VAMPIRES all came out within a few years of each other and more followed quickly after. It was around 2001 that I really started to notice vampire films taking off because instead of having to wait for a vampire movie to come out suddenly we had to choose which vampire movie to go see! So if you hate vampires just blame the 90's.

Robert Rodriguez's FROM DUSK TILL DAWN is one of my favorite vampire films and I don't think I'm the only one who feels this way. This movie spawned two sequels and a tv series which is currently in its second season. What I like about Rodriguez's films is that he puts the film first. He sets out to make a particular kind of film and he doesn't let anything stand in his way. Other directors will hold back, try to make the movie palatable to a wide audience. Some even let their own pretensions take hold of a project. But Rodriguez doesn't. He has a particular type of movie in mind and that's exactly what he makes.

The baddest bunch of vampire killers ever

John Carpenter was the first director I ever followed. He has since become my favorite director and his films have become much of my inspiration. Robert Rodriguez likes Carpenter films too. I can see Carpenter's influence in Rodriguez's horror films along with many others. One of the central characters is wearing a shirt that says PRECINCT 13 on it, another reference to Carpenter. The movies Rodriguez makes are films that were inspired by movies he loved growing up. Everything from the characters, the plots, the music, and the cinematography, all of it plays a role in crafting a certain kind of movie. At least that's what I see.

THE PLOT

Two fugitives, Seth & Richie Gecko, are on the run to Mexico. The Texas Rangers, State Police, and the FBI are hot on their trail. Seth, a professional thief, wants nothing more than to escape to Mexico, kick back, and enjoy life with a ton of money. His brother, Richie, is a deranged sexual deviant and psychopath who can't stop raping and killing. The two of them run into Jacob, a preacher whose lost his faith, and his son Scott and daughter Kate. The two brothers take Jacob and his children hostage and escape across the border.

They drive out to a bar called the Titty Twister way out in the middle of nowhere to wait out the night and meet with Seth's partner at dawn. They walk into the most kick ass bar in history. Beautiful women dance atop the tables. The drinks flow like water. And everyone in the bar is just as rough, tough, and badass as the Gecko Brothers. Just when they thought they had seen every gorgeous woman the Titty Twister had to offer, a woman beyond compare steps out onto the stage, a woman named Santanico Pandemonium. Then a fight breaks out. The doors lock. And all the employees of the bar transform into vampires. A night of pleasure becomes a fight for survival.

THE GOOD

(spoilers)

Salma Hayek as Santanico Pandemonium

This movie is like two films in one. The first half hour is a starkly serious crime film. The Gecko Brothers scare you with their cold blooded ruthlessness. Richie, played by Quentin Tarantino, is particularly frightening and unnerving. I usually find Tarantino's acting rather pretentious and self-gratifying but here you truly believe he's a psychopath. This first half is grounded in reality and evoking a true crime sort of feel. You fear for Jacob (Harvey Keitel) and his family. Whenever the camera is on Quentin and his character is alone with a woman you can't help but feel nervous.

Fred Williamson as Frost

Then the movie throws reality out the window. Suddenly there are vampires everywhere and people dying in crazy fantastic ways. The Titty Twister really is the raddest place on earth and filled with some of the greatest badasses you've ever seen. Fred Williamson and Tom Savini are two of the coolest characters I've ever seen. When Quentin's character dies you breathe a sigh of relief. But when Fred Williamson and Tom Savini die you scream, "No!" John Saxon (Enter the Dragon, A Nightmare on Elm Street) makes an appearance and we are introduced to Texas Ranger Earl McGraw (played by Michael Parks). It's kind of like Robert Rodriguez assembled a few of his movie heroes. There's even a scene where Tom Savini and Greg Nicotero, two of the greatest gore effects artists of horror, face off. And Salma Hayek, oh my God, Salma Hayek... so beautiful it isn't legal.

Tom Savini as Sex Machine

And then there are the vampires. You can see inspirations from other vampire films present in the vampire designs. FRIGHT NIGHT, Bram Stoker's DRACULA, and even BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER influences can be spotted along with many others. Then there's the giant rat monster thing (R.U.S.?) that makes your skin crawl. All of this visual goodness the movie gives you wrapped up in a wicked fight sequence in which our heroes use everything possible in the bar to kill the vampires with. And then when you think they've used everything up our heroes find the back room filled with all sorts of new vampire killing weapons. They even use a whip to kill vampires, a direct reference to the video game series CASTLEVANIA (a personal favorite of mine).

I just have to say again that the vampire killing team of George Clooney, Harvey Keitel, Tom Savini, and Fred Williamson is probably the coolest group of heroes in any horror film!

THE BAD

The vampires are pretty much cannon fodder. Even the hero vampires like Salma Hayek, Danny Trejo, and Cheech Marin are killed off rapidly and quickly forgotten. In fact the only vampire that seems hard to kill is Tom Savini. For someone who likes vampires this movie goes through them like a hot knife through butter. It does this to keep the action up at a high pace but it also diminishes the power of the vampires. As someone who is a fan of monsters these things might as well be considered glorified zombies.

If I had to say what the weakest part of the movie is it would be the vampires. But you know what, this movie is hero focused... or rather anti-hero focused. The vampires are just here to add to the fun and make Clooney, Keitel, Savini, and Williamson look badass. And in that respect they succeed wonderfully.

THE VERDICT

From Dusk Till Dawn is like two films rolled into one, one steeped in reality and the other neck deep in fantasy. The first half is gripping and a little disturbing. The second half is pure fun. All the actors give fun and memorable performances. George Clooney and Harvey Keitel's performances are easily my favorites in their entire careers. And Salma Hayek, Tom Savini, and Fred Williamson are like gifts given to us by Rodriguez while he says, "You're Welcome." As vampire films go it's fun. As an action flick Robert Rodriguez assembles one of the best teams I've ever seen.

Overall Ranking: 7 out of 10

Nude-O-Meter: 4 out of 10