From Dusk Till Dawn

Although I am not AS lovestruck with this film as many other reviewers are, I did find it an entertaining albeit conscience-churning experience. From Dusk Till Dawn really is two films in one. The first part tells the story of the Gecko boys(Not Geico) played by George Clooney and Quentin Tarentino. They are escapees from the law and have killed over a dozen people brutally already by the time the film opens. For me, this tale of how they kill a gas station guy and finally abduct a preacher and his two children for their RV is the most chilling part of the film. Clooney plays a guy with little moral conscience well. Tarentino does a good job too and you can see his wit throughout the script. I found both men very despicable, so I guess the acting was good. The film falls into parody/farce, however, once the the whole gang(the two Geckos and the preacher and his daughter and son)reach a strip club/bar out in the middle of nowhere in Mexico. What happens here, to the uninformed viewer, will be totally unexpected. Does it work? To a degree, however, the film really loses momentum and credibility it might have had. The acting in general is all acceptable. Harvey Keitel once again shows us why he is such a good actor. Juliette Lewis is also very good in her role as his daughter. Nice to see guys like Tom Savini and Fred Williamson too. Oh, and Salma Hayek IS the highlight of the film.

I loved this film for many reasons. For one, the switch from a crime thriller to a horror thriller was seamless. I for one had not heard much about this film before I watched it, and I assumed the TV Times were mistaken in called this a gory horror thriller. To me, it was a simple crime thriller, the norm which is expected from Tarantino's pen. However, the switch was such a shock and so fast, that I didn't now what happened I was amazed at this revelation, since there was no word of any horror topics beforehand in the script. It was completely out of the blue, and resulted in a pleasant surprise.

And the thing that's interesting is that BOTH halves to this film, both the crime section and horror section are enjoyable. The first half has less action, but tension does mount between Keitel and Clooney, while Tarantino is in the back, paying special attention to Keitel's daughter. A great premise with an equally great script in the first half. The second section is also great because of the horrific violence and as I heard mentioned before, the unique ways on how to kill vampires.

The script is witty and full of dark humour, "I have 6 little friends and they all run faster than you.", and the intro is certainly one of the best I have seen in months. The characters are well established, with Clooney as the 'gentleman' (well, not really) crook, Tarantino as his psychotic brother (who, strangely, I found difficult not to warm to) and Keitel is the preacher who has lost his faith, the hostage who will help out later when the satanic hordes unleash themselves.

A special mention must go to Salma Hayek for that special dance. ;) While this film was never made out of blockbuster material, it is still very understated, taking a unique and perhaps surreal viewing on the horror genre, all the while using horror stereotypes. As far as graphic violence is concerned, it is on par with the likes of Evil Dead (well, perhaps not THAT bad).

For once, this is a film which doesn't give the viewer all the answers beforehand. You are in the same boat as the characters and you don't know what's in store for them. If you hadn't seen this before, without any knowledge of the movie, you'd be in for a huge surprise as I was.

An 8/10 for it's script (thanks to Tarantino) and the actors who, while not trying too hard, make this an enjoyable horror flick with a difference.

George Clooney should have stuck will this kind of role. He did fine in Out of Sight and Ocean's Eleven, but he really dominated this movie with a fury that we may never see again. Almost every line he delivers is memorable and that is not all Tarantino's doing. The rest of the cast is dominated by cool cameos and veteran cult and mainstream names. The exception being Ernest Liu who does a good job of holding his own. No Tarantino film would be complete without a good soundtrack. This one, as with Desperado, features songs by Tito and Tarantula. Although I have only heard four songs by them, I consider them one of my favorites. I will never forget what my parents told me after they watched this without me. "You sure can pick 'em," my mother blurted with distain. Do not make my mistake, watch it with your parents to see them squirm.

From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)

Review: How bout this? George Clooney in a different role? Yep. For once he tries something different.

From Dusk Till Dawn is something else. This is about two criminal brothers(Clooney and Tarantino)wind up taking a family hostage to make it across the Mexican border to a meeting point, a bar called the "Titty Twister". That's where the Gecko brothers are to meet another group of crooks.....at dawn. This bar is open from dusk till dawn....and is filled with vampires.

This movie starts off as something else at first. More like a gritty crime movie, then becomes a total spatter-fest. This isn't at all bad, just takes a total turn. The vampires here are a bunch of ugly as hell monsters. Think of the Evil Dead movies only the undead zombies and skeletons are vampires instead and that's the score with the very small supply of vampire slayers to take them on.

Like I say, if you are a fan of the Evil Dead movies, then this is the treat for you. It does not have the amount of silly humor like them, but has the gore nailed just right. The makeup effects are dead-on as well. This just happens to be more gritty than the Evil Dead.

The Last Word: I like it. Good for your October needs. Did I forget Salma Hayek and Cheech Marin? They are here as well. Good bloody fun.

I have to say that this is actually a good movie although it does lose it's way towards the end. The final 15 minutes I thought were a little crappy. I prefer more realism in my vampires but having said that, I cannot fault Tarantino, his is perfect in the role as the twisted Richard Gecko, and although I don't usually like George Clooney he was surprisingly cool as Seth. There are some funny moments that you have to have a slightly twisted humour to appreciate (which I do!) and as long as you don't take it too seriously, it is an entertaining movie. If you like overacting, lots and lots of blood and Tarantino movies then go see.