From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)

Written by John Chard on October 30, 2020

Outrageous!

It was probably the most fun I had at the cinema back in 1996. I absolutely love "From Dusk Till Dawn", very much one of those films that you either buy into or you don't. There's no surprise element with the film, you get everything that director Robert Rodriguez and writer Quentin Tarantino said you would get - a hard buttocked road movie that turns into a raging "B" horror movie gore fest.

The plot, for what's it's worth, sees two criminal brothers, Seth (George Clooney) & Richie Gecko (Tarantino) on the lam after Richie breaks Seth out of prison. They are heading for the haven of Mexico with wads of cash garnered from a robbery. After overcoming a couple of fatal (for others) hiccups, the brothers, in need of a vehicle, kidnap faithless minister Jacob (Harvey Keitel), his daughter Kate (Juliette Lewis) and adopted son Scott (Ernest Liu). From here they must make it to a rendezvous point in Mexico - a bar called "The Titty Twister", where they will exchange cash with a friend of Seth's and start their new lives as Mexican civilians. Trouble is, is that "The Titty Twister" isn't no ordinary bar, it's a vampire stronghold and the Geko's - and their newly acquired captives, are on the menu. Can they make it till dawn and let the daylight be their saviour?.

Swearing, blood, limbs severed, nudity, violence, sexual references, guns, more violence, more blood, other weapons, lots of teeth, bats, a snake, more violence. On it goes really, yet as Rodriguez and Tarantino start thrusting a blunt blade into your stomach, you really should be feeling them also caressing the funny bones in both your arms. For it's a key point that "From Dusk Till Dawn" is a damn funny film as well, something that bizarrely many critics have failed to understand. Honestly you can go to various sites and read people saying the characters are shallow, or the plot is preposterous!! Dear me, it staggers the mind. Hey don't like the film by all means, but failure to understand its genre leanings and homage persuasion is as funny as Cheech Marin is in the movie (one of many awesome "B" cult movie actors in the pic). It's bonkers and silly as hell, but once a fan of "From Dusk Till Dawn", you are a fan for life. Well as long as you don't venture out to "The Titty Twister" yourself of course..

Welcome To Slavery. 9/10