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Trust Weighted
Pretty Bad
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15Trust Points
HollowSally's Review
Summary - Really Great 4.5
Almost the perfect mix between what one would expect from a B-horror movie and the generic crime thriller. Don’t let this underrated Robert Rodriquez shocker trick you, the first half hour or so of the film surround two robbers/killers in all their tyranny getting ready to lay their hands on major cash and a certain level of “sanctuary” in mexico. They try to take a campervan and end up with a family of three as their hostages. A cosy trip over the border and towards El Ray, brings them to a bar with the sophisticated title “titty twister” to make the big exchange…seems like a certain structure we’ve all seen in one way or another before? Well, once the doors of the club close, they don’t open again until dawn and the ravenous vampire staff, get their feed. Overall, a great turn in the film, giving it punch carried by an all star cast.
Acting - Great 4.0
Although George Clooney (Seth) seems to take the helm in this gory vampire movie, the performances of the overall cast make this movie what it is. It seems that the two brutal brothers wouldn’t be able to carry the plot on their own without the introduction and sustaining innocence represented by the hostage family, and the various characters they team up with once the fight begins.
Male Stars - Really Great 4.5
As mentioned above, George Clooney is the main man providing an intense dominant male figure for the movie and sustains that character throughout. We see a consistency in his brutality and refusal to show much emotion however it is a different story when it comes to his brother Richard. Quentin Tarantino is the other half of the duo and although Seth isn't carving a stairway to heaven with his actions, Richard is the more psychotic of the two. His thoughts lie on robbery and violence but furthermore to murder and rape which Seth wishes and tries to prevent. Together, Clooney and Tarantino take on this film with a natural flair for convincing duo delinquency.Female Stars - Very Good 3.5
Dusk till Dawn doesn't really shine a light on a main female character. Juliette Lewis (Kate Fuller) is the daughter of the hostage family, she is the main female character to the point that she has the most lines, however, one doesn't really see her as pivotal to the story. In fairness, she highlights the film with extrememly innocence with a pastor for a father as the icing on the cake and she provides some comic relief too which is always appreciated especially in an overall witty film.Female Costars - Great 4.0
The only female co-star mentionable is Salma Hayek. Her lusty performance as "Santanico Pandemonium", the most coveted and sought after exotic dancer in the bar, makes her a convincing vampire from cliche standard. Nearly every vampire story and film sees the female as the most beautiful creatures, and extremely sexual beings. And Hayek reinforces this idea wholly. Although the movie isn't exactly old, made in 1996, we see the difference in what was deemed sexual aswell with her perfectly curvy body being the center of attention which is nice to see popping up as a change to recent body images in film. Her performance to "After Dark" by Tito and the Tarantulas, is spot on.Male Costars - Great 4.0
Male co-stars are definitely not at a loss in this film. The gang of misfits here include Harvey Keitel, Tom Savini, Cheech Marin and Danny Trejo. Marin and Trejo usually popping up in films like these that are based around mexico or southern america(E.g. Desperado). Each of the male co-stars give a great performance, two as vampires and two as vampire fighters. But Harvey Keitel as the most prominant being the pastor father of the hostage family gives it his all convincing us of the fact that he was once a preacher and even more so how he has lost his faith. Not the first time we've seen him co-star with Tarantino and one can see why!Film - Great 4.0
Production quality was very good. The overall film looked great. Some aspects seems quite phoned in for lack of better words – when it came to the vampires being killed, sometimes they just oozed onto the ground like something you could create in your backyard however in the context of the overall film, there is a slight ‘b-horror’ take on it which allows for this sort of thing.
Direction - Really Great 4.5
Robert Rodriguez had just gotten Desperado under his belt when this film was made and he proves himself as a great director yet again. Although it is an entirely different scenario to that of the man with his guitar case full of guns, one can see his affect on the turn of events portrayed in the film.Dialogue - Really Great 4.5
Clever and witty - two of the best words to say about a script when concerning the dialogue. Not to get ahead of ourselves, the entire script isn't like this, but more than enough to deem this film with that punch when everything else is already up to scratch and the dialogue is the last thing to give it a boost. And it certainly does here.Music - Really Great 4.5
Fantastic music. Mostly mexican and spanish styles with spanish guitar providing that flawless atmosphere for any scene of a film. Similar to Desperado once again, and just as good.Visuals - Great 4.0
The most important visuals in this film are of course, the vampires. The immense effort can be seen and they do look great, and some more gory than others. And the overall bar "titty twister", the establishing shots from the outside are great.Edge - Sordid 3.5
Violence is definitely the plus in this film, it is highlighted more than anything. And this even concerns before they reach the vampire nest! Sex isn’t really an issue, some nudity is involved and definitely sexual referencing is dominant. However it adds to this film rather than taking away from it but if you aren’t a usual fan of such movies you may think otherwise!
Sex Erotic 3.5
Violence Brutal 3.5
Rudeness Profane 3.5
Reality - Supernatural 3.3
Definitely not imitating real life, rather the idea of surreality that exists in stories and literature which always spoke about these creatures that survive by drinking human blood. The film provides this ‘fake’ world where if vampires did exist, how a group of people may handle it. As they always say, it’s one thing to show something happening away in space or in made up lands, but a far more terrifying other, to see it potentially happening in your own world.