Chad

SterlingBen

I watched the commentary for this one by Tarantino and Rodriguez and it was a delight, highly recommendable.

Undeadcow

I wish for more action horror movies like this. The crisis of faith subplot is my enemy because it develops too quickly. The Aztec cutaway at the end is one of the best ending scenes ever adding a lot of depth to the story. Part 2 is a worthwhile film as well.

Undeadcow

I wish for more action horror movies like this. The crisis of faith subplot is my enemy because it develops too quickly and diverts into cheap preachiness. The Aztec cutaway at the end is one of the best ending scenes ever adding a lot of depth to the story. Now a days it is rare a film otherthan torture porn be this gory. Part 2 is a worthwhile film as well.

Undeadcow

I always assumed Seth was just going to some machismo Mexican border town filled with violence and general depravity (sort of an everyday Titty Twister biker land without supernatural vampires) so didn't want to expose a young girl to that. In my interpretation I figured some sort of bittersweet "out of the frying pan into the fire" social commentary about chaos in Mexico (similar to having a strip club built over the old tradition/culture Aztec temple). I hope that doesn't come across as racist and I will admit I know little about the culture in Mexico short of mass media. In the Marachi trilogy by Rodriguez there seemed to be a lot of meditation on socioeconomics in Mexico that could be interpreted to reflect similar themes (Machete too, but that was perhaps sarcasm). It was a nice touch have Cheech play both the border security and mafia-type cover-up/hide-out guy.

Trevor

I swear I watch this one every October; didn't realize it had never been a subset film before.

Love the opening scene especially.

Gobear

And the "Pussy! Pussy! Pussy!" barker who is also a vampire.

shellebelle

This is the second time I've seen this. Didn't care for it the first time around. Totally loved it the second time around. I think it will need to be an every year watch for me now.

rbrown498

From Dusk Till Dawn is an enjoyable, if incredibly schizophrenic, crime caper/vampire movie. George Clooney, in his first starring movie role, and the film's writer, Quentin Tarantino, star as the Gecko brothers, who are in the middle of leaving a wide swath of murder and destruction on their way to Mexico. On the way, they kidnap a family and hold them hostage to use them and their RV as a way of crossing the Mexican border. Once there, they stop at a biker bar which turns out to be the base of operations for a mess of vampires. It's pretty obvious that none of this was to be taken seriously, but everything that happens before they get to the bar is uncomfortably violent. Once the vampires appear, the tone of the film lightens considerably, even as the bloodshed goes up to eleven. There are no weak links in the cast, with lots of surprise cameos for drive-in movie lovers. Salma Hayek's erotic dance instantly cemented her sex goddess status, makeup effects deity Tom Savini gives a memorable performance (for all the right reasons) as a biker named Sex Machine, and Cheech Marin plays three roles. Tarantino's foot fetish is in full bloom as well. From Dusk Till Dawn is trashy fun for those who can get through the mean-spirited first 45 minutes.

DEEveeDEE3

Plus 1. It was so much fun this time. I think I just fast forward to the salma hayek dance back then and didn't care for the story. BTW, looking good in HD, Salma of course. Maybe I was expecting vampires to come out early and kill all over the place.
Anyway, I paid much attention to the story and it was interesting. Cheech made me laugh a few times. This movie rocked. Clooney never had another bad ass role after? Nice pick guys

jmsmath

I watched this for the first time tonight and absolutely loved it! The opening scene at World of Liquor is classic. Such a fun movie, but I was beginning to wonder where the horror came in as it's over an hour into the movie before the vampires show up. But, once they do, it's non-stop action until the end. I pretty much love everything Tarantino does and wonder why I waited so long to finally watch this one. I will be revisiting it in the near future.

Thanks for the selection, shadokitty, because without it, I probably would have selected something else tonight.

Bladz

This was my second time watching this, my first being when it came out in theaters. I liked it back then but loved it this time around. After a second viewing, I can say this is now my favorite vampire movie. I like the fact that it's actually 2 movies in one, starting as a crime film along the lines of pulp fiction, and ending as an action packed vampire movie.

GoldenWheels

Hadn't watched it in years...had no ideas for last night so I checked what the day's film was and said what the hell.

So glad I did. Had pretty much forgotten how much fun this movie is.

Not sure many movies could have such differing halves and still work like this one does. Like many already said, half heist, half horror....and the two never really even meet.

Fist of Doom

Been a while since I watched it, but I was disappointed in this. I would have preferred a crime movie that focused on the Gecko brothers.

The opening scene is fantastic. That and the hotel scene do a great job of showing Clooney's sociopath and Tarantino's psychopath as true menaces. I really liked the interplay between the two.

The rest of the movie is run-of-the-mill B-horror stuff - fun enough, but a real dropoff from the first part of the film (though Salma's dance was a definite highlight).

What I really didn't like was Harvey Keitel and the kids. Keitel seemed like he was reading off cue cards, and I just didn't care about any of those characters.

shadokitty

Wasn't able to watch this this year as I find it hard to find the time to watch it with kids around, but I have always liked this movie. That was why I picked this movie.

Trevor

I love it up through Salma's dance, then I only like it the rest of the way. Still fun, but not quite as good as it could have been.

I really like Clooney's films, perhaps I'll do a marathon of his stuff for the Action/Adventure Challenge.

Spiderbite

I hadn't watched this movie in a while so I figured I would give it a go once more. For me, this is like reviewing two different movies. The first 45 minutes are fantastic and the last hour is a lame slapstick comedy with vampires.

The first time I saw this movie when it originally came out and I simply hated it. I hated everything after the first 45 minutes and thought the movie was simply ruined. I have seen it a few more times since then and now that I know what is coming, it doesn't bother me as much now, other than to come away feeling disappointed every time I watch it. The first 45 minutes has excellent pacing, fully realized characters, and really gets you into the movie. But from the "pussy, pussy, pussy" speech...it is all downhill. It is a fun ride downhill, but disappointing nevertheless.

The only acting weakness of the early characters is the Asian son. Who was he related to in order to get cast for his part? The whole last hour bugs me because everything is played for lame laughs. The action is slapstick, the "funny" parts come across as silly instead of genuinely funny, and there is no rhyme or reason to how the vampires die or how quickly one becomes one. I know...it is a dumb vampire movie and the slapsticky craziness is what the filmmakers were going for (I have listened to the commentary and have watched the long documentary). But it still doesn't help the movie from feeling stupid. Vampires melt, blow-up, do nothing, etc. only when the story needs them to. Same for turning of people into vampires. One may take 2 minutes while another takes 30 minutes. It's all based on what the story needs at that moment. I know..."it a story about vampires. Get over it!"

Anyway...I do like the final shot and it lends itself to maybe a chance at some interesting sequels. Oh...what you say? There are two sequels that came out and suck worse than the last hour of the original? What a surprise!

I digress. Anyway...this movie does have some awesome practical effects and minimal CG. And the minimal use of the CG helps it when it is used. Yeah, it's outdated but I thought still looked pretty good when it was used. And whatever man got to fuck Salma Hayek in her prime was one lucky mother fucker. Geez...what a freaking body. And Clooney is such a believable and fun bad-ass that it's a shame he hasn't had a similar role since. I could probably talk for hours about this movie but it is only due to frustration more than actually liking it.

My rating: 1st 45 minutes - ****1/2 out of *****. last hour - **1/2 out of *****. For an average of ***1/2 out of *****

ps. - speaking of the sequels, since I had heard good things about FDTD III: The Hangman's Daughter, I watched it right after this. I watched part II years ago and noticed I rated it one star on Netflix, so I really didn't want to tackle it again. I remember it being completely awful. Anyway...part III tries to ape the first movie's pattern. Serious first half with a rowdy vampire second half. The writing and the characters aren't half as interesting as the first movie so it falls completely flat in its goal. My rating for part III - ** out of *****.