From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money

It goes the genre-blending of the original one better: it melds the heist movie, the vampire movie, and the good-ole-boy movie. The co-writer Duane Whitaker, who has made a number of witty and flavorfully scripted independent movies, is probably responsible for the Texas atmosphere, and the idiosyncracy of the gang of redneck layabouts who make up the cast. Despite the stripped-down special effects, you might feel grateful to the movie for being the first B picture in eons to feature actual characters. Robert Patrick is superb as the hero--who, in the fashion of the first film, seems convincingly about to be revealed as a hotheaded sociopath, then veers in a very different direction. Muse Watson as the safecracker C.W. and Bo Svenson, now ripened in late middle aged, is marvellous as the skeptical sheriff--he could play doubles with L.Q. Jones. The movie isn't much, but it has actors, characters and dialogue--three things that are by now extinct on the direct-to-video shelf.

After hearing countless people tell me how crappy this movie is, and after reading tons of reviews that make it sound totally unbearable, I decided to watch it myself. You know what? They are all wrong. Most of the movie is at LEAST average direct-to-video work. Of course it isn't as good as the original, but this movie was just as gory, more action-packed, and had some very funny moments (they watched Mexican porno for a VERY long time in that motel room). I was not disappointed watching this movie, because I didn't take it seriously. I suggest you relax and give it a try, you'll laugh at how funny they tried to make this a good movie.

This is much worse than I ever expected it to be. Scott Spiegel, whose work I have enjoyed up till recently, has penned such flicks as Clint Eastwood's THE ROOKIE, and Sam Raimi's EVIL DEAD II: DEAD BY DAWN. He is also the man responsible for giving Quentin Tarantino (my idol) his start in the business. Unfortunately, he cannot cut it in the director's chair.

The effects, especially the incredibly noticeable fake bats, are ludicrous. The cinematography, which I suppose was considered creative or perhaps experimental when the film was being shot, was abominable (POV shots do not work with someone who is doing pushups, or even household appliances, i.e. a rotating window fan, no matter what people tell you). The artistic shots of the film (a cattle skull with snake/spider crawling over it) are disappointing, and I suppose trying to immitate those of Tobe Hooper's TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (recurring shots of a full moon).

Moreover, the advertisements for a "teaser-role" for cult horror icon Bruce Campbell, were little more than completely false. When I heard this, I figured that Spiegel would be giving B.C. a significant cameo, after they worked together on EVIL DEAD 2. Of course, this is not true. Bruce Campbell does little more than simply walk into frame, say a few words (very few) and die. There has not been a greater example of false advertising since Bruce Lee was billed as starring in the absolute fake GAME OF DEATH.

The plot, if any, is an extremely weak one. The only good work by any actor is that of Robert Patrick, who as usual, never ceases to impress.

Overall, the film was a disgrace to the name of the original. I do not mean to put down Scott Spiegel's previous works at all, nor do I mean to insult his ability to write a good screenplay. This film unfortunately does just not live up to his potential, and definitely does not exhibit his flair for screenwriting.

This movie was horrible. I couldn't believe how bad it was. I was expecting a great sequel to a great movie. But, I didn't get that. All I got was a terrible sequel with terrible acting, and terrible directing. Now don't get me wrong, I loved From Dusk till Dawn. In fact it's my favorite movie. But this can't even be compared to the first. It shouldn't even be associated with the first. Granted it didn't have the superb directing of Tarantino and Rodriguez, or the acting of Clooney, Tarantino, and Kietel. Bruce Campbell and Tiffani-Amber Thiessen were the only thing that made me keep watching. But they appeared for what, a whole five minutes. In fact I can't believe that Tarantino or Rodriguez had anything to do with this movie. Scott Spiegel, who is that?. Sorry Scott, your movie was TERRIBLE.

The special effects really do suck and the actors aren't first string, however fans of cheesy horror movies shouldn't be discouraged from checking this flick out. This is genuinely stylish with some ambitious camera work and some nice art direction touches. I think the director and the cinematographer might have been having a contest to see who could come up with the wierdest pov shot while they were shooting the picture. Also there are a few moments that are funny and border upon being clever. The porno film massacre scene had me chuckling when the donut guy got blown away. I also liked the opening Bruce Cambell(Hail to the King!) and Tiffany-Amber Thiessen elevator scene. The important thing with this movie is to forget about the first one. The first one was a kinetic, over the top, vamp slaughter-fest that was fun but hardly horror. This movie is not great, but still has the elements of a real low-budget horror movie aspiring to be something better.