FROM DUSK TILL DAWN REVIEW!!! (VAMPIRE THROWBACK)

Initial release date: January 19, 1996

Studios: Miramax/Dimension Films/A Band Apart/Los Hooligans Production

Tagline: A terrifying evil has been unleashed. And five strangers are our only hope to stop it.

Plot: On the run from a bank robbery that left several police officers dead, Seth Gecko and his paranoid, loose-cannon brother, Richie, hightail it to the Mexican border. Kidnapping preacher Jacob Fuller and his kids, the criminals sneak across the border in the family's RV and hole up in a bar. Unfortunately, the bar also happens to be home base for a gang of vampires, and the brothers and their hostages have to fight their way out.

Cast

George Clooney - Seth Gecko

Quentin Tarantino - Richie Gecko

Harvey Keitel - Jacob Fuller

Juliette Lewis - Kate Fuller

Ernest Liu - Scott Fuller

Salma Hayek - Santanico Pandemonium

Cheech Marin - Border Guard/Carlos/Bar Announcer

Tom Savini - Sex Machine

Danny Trejo - Razor Charlie

Fred Williamson - Frost

Michael Parks - Texas Ranger Earl McGraw

Writer: Quentin Tarantino

Director: Robert Rodriguez

Rated R for strong violence and gore, language and nudity (108 minutes)

From Dusk Till Dawn is another one of those movies that involves vampires that gained quite a following over the years after its initial theatrical release. I remember watching this movie numerous times and honestly this movie can still be really entertaining even after many viewings.

This 1996 movie does have a bit of everything - action, some silly fun, vampires, Salma Hayek lol - a really good combination. The movie can be loads of fun and the vampire action is visually awesome.

Since the vampire sequences don't really begin until the halfwat point of the movie, it almost seems like it's two movies in one. The first half follows the two brothers who are robbers that are on the run. And, once they take a few people hostage, they successfully cross the border to a bar. Shortly after is where the vampire twist comes out of nowhere and is awesome!

Cheech Marin also can be very entertaining in the THREE parts he has in this movie! From Dusk Till Dawn can be a little predictable during a couple parts if you haven't seen this before, but it's still loads of fun!! I haven't seen the direct to DVD sequels that followed but may check them out down the road if they're still available on streaming.

From Dusk Till Dawn and its two sequels are available on HBO Max.

Here are some fun little tidbits for From Dusk Till Dawn:

• Salma Hayek has a real fear of snakes and had always refused to be near them. Naturally, when she read the script, she knew her phobia would prevent her from taking the part. Rodriguez conned her into thinking that Madonna was ready to nab the part instead so Hayek spent two months with therapists to overcome her fear.

• Green blood was used for the vampires to get the movie past the censors.

• Tarantino wrote the screenplay after winning the Oscar for Pulp Fiction.

• This was also Tarantino's first paid writing gig. He wrote the script for 1500 bucks.

• Universal Pictures originally considered Tarantino's screenplay for From Dusk Till Dawn as the follow up to Demon Knight and the second in a proposed Tales from the Crypt film trilogy, but ultimately produced another vampire flick instead, Bordello of Blood.

• From Dusk Till Dawn grossed $25.8 million in the US and $33.5 million internationally, for a worldwide gross of $59 million.

• After enjoying financial success at the box office, From Dusk Till Dawn has since become a cult classic, and spawned a media franchise of sequel films, a video game and other media adaptations.

• From Dusk Till Dawn was followed by two direct to DVD installments, a 1999 sequel From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money, and a 2000 prequel From Dusk Till Dawn 3: The Hangman's Daughter. They were both poorly received by critics and audiences.

https://youtu.be/6RF0hYk7tc8