Review of From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) by Anthony M — 15 Mar 2011

This movie is the most disappointing thing I've laid eyes on. That's not to say it's altogether bad; in fact, it starts out brilliant. One can't help but think, "shit, this will be one of Tarantino's best scripts." Not only that, he also gives the best performance he's ever given, alongside George Clooney as one of the ruthless Gecko brothers. Quentin had given himself minor roles in both Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, in which he basically acted like Quentin. We know him, we love him, but those characters were basically there to push the story along. Richie Gecko, on the other hand, scares the shit out of you. Harvey Keitel, who plays a southern pastor, pulls it off brilliantly. It's strange to see the man who played the pimp in Taxi Driver and the Wolf in Pulp Fiction give such a stunning performance as a conservative family man. George Clooney also does great, as the one man holding this piece of chaos together. One might say he plays the "professional" of the bunch.

There were some great moments in this film, but once they get to Mexico, it lays every ounce of hope to waste, by suddenly turning into a 40 min-long gorefest that offers no possible hint of innovation. Rodriguez is indulgent, focusing way too much upon the CGI vampire effects. There's no romantic associations with these vampires, they're just gross-looking monsters, boring and artificial. At first, you'll be okay with it if you trust Tarantino in the first place, but a scholar's joke soon wares into a movie that seems like it was built specifically for 12-year-old boys, which is kind of ironic, considering that the first half of film is so frighteningly real.

Long story short, this movie kills you inside. It would've been much, much better had they given Cheech Marin two or three more roles; turning into a Zombie gorebore into an all-out stoner flick. The score is boring, the script is disappointing, the direction is pretentious. Fuck this movie.