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"Vampire Movies
Bite & Suck..." |
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Directed by Robert
Rodriguez - Written by
Quentin Tarantino,
Robert Kurtzman
Starring George Clooney,
Quentin Tarantino,
Harvey Keitel, Juliette
Lewis
Distributed by Dimension -
1996 - 108mins - Rated R |
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Jacob Hall's
Review
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C |
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Vampires. No Interviews. |
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"From
Dusk to Dawn" was directed by Robert Rodriguez, who is slowly becoming
the master of low-budget mainstream filmmaking. Last year's "Once Upon
a Time in Mexico" was a real treat, and his "Spy Kids" was a wildly
inventive family film. He made "From Dusk to Dawn" with good friend
Quentin Tarantino on a very small budget and with a great cast. Sadly,
it's actually two films, and one is much better than the other.
"From Dusk to Dawn" first follows two criminals, the Gecko Brothers,
as they run from the cops across Texas in an attempt to get to Mexico.
They take a family hostage and are willing to do anything to get to
safety. This first half is actually quite good. The script is by
Tarantino, one of the best screenwriters in film history. The creative
dialogue flows, and the brothers (played by George Clooney and
Tarantino) have excellent chemistry. The Rodriguez we all love can
also be seen here. There are some very stylish and shocking scenes,
and a sense of dread floating throughout the film. The only really bad
thing about the first half is the family. Harvey Keitel plays the
father, but as good as he is, his character is flat. His children are
simply awful actors. I can live with that.
Once they get into Mexico, the film takes a sudden bad turn. The group
stops at a bar/strip club only to realize that it is run
by...VAMPIRES! The creative crime thriller suddenly becomes a vampire
movie where the criminals, family, and other humans must defend
themselves from the vampires.
As I said above, Rodriguez works on a very low budget. He made his
first film "El Mariachi" by being a scientific test subject at the
University of Texas at San Antonio. Here, his low budget kills his film
in the second half. The vampire effects are so very corny and cheap
looking, that it inspires groans. The fantastic dialogue also
disappears, leaving us in a swarm of clichés and dumb jokes.
The final shot is really cool, partially helping the film. It also
features one of the best cameos in film history: the Big Kahuna
Burger, first introduced in Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction." |
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© Written by Jacob Hall -
Email
Me! |
TC Candler's Comment
I had so
much fun with both ends of this schizophrenic
film. This is "Pulp" movie-making at its
best... A perfect example of a drive-in movie!!!
Richard Propes' Comment
n/a
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