"From Dusk Till Dawn"

U.S. Release Date: 1/19/96
Running Length: 1:48
MPAA Classification: R

Cast: George Clooney, Harvey Keitel, Quentin Tarantino, Juliette Lewis, Ernest Lieu, Salma Hayek, Fred Williamson, Cheech Marin
Director: Robert Rodriguez
Screenplay: Quentin Tarantino
Cinematography: Guillermo Navarro

Many people have heard stories about vampires – they have definitely made a name for themselves through out the years. From Dusk Till Dawn is about vampires of the 21^st century.

Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino come together again to create a hip and strangely comedic horror story about two robbers who make their way across the Mexico border to find themselves at an all-night bar filled with the blood-sucking creatures.

The film starts when Seth Gecko (George Clooney) and his brother Richie (Tarantino) have robbed a bank and need to get across the Mexico border. The only problem they face is crossing the border without being caught. The two manage to hijack a mobile home which belongs to an ex-preacher Jacob Fuller (Harvey Keitel) with his two kids (Juliette Lewis and Ernest Liu) along for the ride. The brothers make sure to flash their guns and force Fuller to take them into Mexico. When they arrive in Mexico they stop at a bar to relax and they are able to do anything but that. When dusk comes, they realize that the place is infested with half-naked dancing vampires – and then some.

I thought the acting was fine, and for Clooney’s first big-screen he was able to do justice when running his stone-faced lines which only added to the dark humor of the film.

This film is more about the dialogue than the plot. It is filled with straight-faced humor and one-liners that will either want people wanting more, or will leave people wondering what just happened. The writing isn’t much compared to Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction, but then again – in my mind – Pulp Fiction is a classic.

However, if you’re into the dark humor that is usually produced by these two men, and you aren’t afraid of in-your-face films, you may find From Dusk Till Dawn to be quite entertaining. More so, if you enjoy the work of Rodriguez and Tarantino, this film will not disappoint.

I definitely think that Rodriguez and Tarantino pushed what we know as a “standard” R-rated film. From Dusk Till Dawn is pretty damn relentless and right in your face – which we should be fairly used to when viewing a film by these outlandish artists. If you are not into excessive gore and nudity, you may want to look elsewhere.

Personal Rating: 3.5 out of 5

More information can be found at IMDb.com