From Dusk Till Dawn Pairs the Seemingly Unlikely Tarantino and Clooney.

Read the review from the initially skeptical Zombie Master Lee.

Review by The Zombie Master Lee Roberts
2006

Release: 1996
Written by: Robert Kurtzman & Quentin Tarantino
Directed by: Robert Rodriguez

Starring:
Harvey Keitel as Jacob Fuller
George Clooney as Seth Gecko
Quentin Tarantino as Richard Gecko
Juliette Lewis as Kate Fuller

I was torn when From Dusk Till Dawn first came out. I was scared, maybe even terrified at what I would see. Would George Clooney (not a fan) succeed in ruining a Quentin Tarantino (genius) screenplay? It was a daunting task but one that I was sure Clooney could accomplish without much effort. I finally succumbed to the horror fan inside of me and the relief at what I saw was almost audible.

From Dusk Till Dawn begins with a conversation between a gas station clerk and a police officer. They are shooting the bull when the officer asks if he has heard anything about the altercation up north; seems there was a bank robbery in Abilene where some law enforcement officers and some civilians were killed.

When the officer goes to the little boys’ room, we soon discover that the bank robbers, Seth (George Clooney) and Richard Gecko (Quentin Tarantino), are in the gas station with hostages. After a little extra persuasion, the clerk is commanded to get rid of the officer when he comes out of the bathroom. Being little impatient and seeing things that are questionable, Richard Gecko shoots the officer and things go from bad to worse.

The clerk freaks out, gets his gun and shoots Richard. Seth then begins to unload his gun in the direction of the clerk, and Seth tells Richard to shoot up the bottles of liquor behind the counter while he soaks a roll of toilet tissue with lighter fluid. Seth lights the roll, throws it behind the counter where the clerk is, sets the alcohol and the clerk on fire, shoots the burning clerk and burns the station down.

Exhausted yet? The opening credits haven’t even rolled.

Seth and Richard need to get over the Mexico border, but everyone is looking for them. They check into a hole in the wall motel to try to make the contacts necessary to get further out of the country.

Here we meet Jacob Fuller (Harvey Keitel) and family trying to get away for a while in an RV. Tired of sleeping in the RV they decide to stop at a motel to sleep in a real bed for the night. The Geckos take advantage of the situation and commandeer both the RV and the Fuller family with a promise to let them go as soon as they make the planned contact in Mexico.

Once in Mexico the Geckos and the Fullers go to a club out in the middle of nowhere called “The Titty Twister”, where the Geckos contact is supposed to meet them at dawn. Unknown to them, the club is a haven for vampires.

From here on out From Dusk Till Dawn becomes a great horror film with a classic Tarantino twist. Director Robert Rodriguez has also done a very good job at transferring a Tarantino script to the screen. From Dusk Till Dawn moves along on a steady and purposeful pace to build up the characters just enough for the viewer to have an understanding of why they are where they are and then puts them in a life or death situation where the viewer discovers the inner workings of the characters, what makes them tick, where they get there different personality traits.

There is some awesome gore as well. As a matter of fact, the decision to make the vampire blood green was made to allow From Dusk Till Dawn to make it through the rating process a little easier.

Take me home!

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