From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)
Average Rating: 6/10
Reviews Counted: 44
Fresh: 28 | Rotten: 16
A pulpy crime drama/vampire film hybrid, From Dusk Till Dawn is an uneven but often deliriously enjoyable B-movie.
Average Rating: 5.1/10
Critic Reviews: 11
Fresh: 6 | Rotten: 5
A pulpy crime drama/vampire film hybrid, From Dusk Till Dawn is an uneven but often deliriously enjoyable B-movie.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.5/5
User Ratings: 269,688
Movie Info
In this action-horror flick from director Robert Rodriguez and screenwriter Quentin Tarantino, Tarantino stars with George Clooney as a pair of bad-to-the-bone brothers named Seth and Richie Gecko. After a string of robberies that left a river of blood in the Geckos' wake, the sadistic siblings head to Mexico to live the good life. To get over the border, they kidnap Jacob Fuller, a widowed preacher played by Harvey Keitel, and his two children, Kate (Juliette Lewis) and Scott (Ernest Liu). Once
Jan 19, 1996 Wide
Jun 16, 1998
Dimension Films
Watch It Now
Cast
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George Clooney
Seth Gecko -
Harvey Keitel
Jacob Fuller -
Quentin Tarantino
Richard Gecko -
Juliette Lewis
Kate Fuller -
Cheech Marin
Border Guard, Carlos... -
Fred Williamson
Frost -
Maria Diaz
Bar Dancer -
Aimee Graham
Blonde Hostage -
John Hawkes
Pete Bottoms -
Brenda Hillhouse
Hostage Gloria -
Heidi McNeal
Blonde Hostage -
Mike Moroff
Manny -
Kelly Preston
Newscaster Kelly Hou... -
Danny Trejo
Razor Charlie -
Marc Lawrence I
Old Timer -
Michael Parks
Texas Ranger Earl Mc... -
Tom Savini
Sex Machine -
John Saxon
FBI Agent Stanley Ch... -
Tito Larriva
Titty Twister Guitar... -
Veena Bidasha
Bar Dancer -
Salma Hayek
Santanico Pandemoniu... -
Ernest Liu
Scott Fuller -
Chad Dowdell
Man at Bar (uncredit... -
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All Critics (44) | Top Critics (11) | Fresh (28) | Rotten (16) | DVD (18)
Imagine two movies plucked from opposite sides of the video store.
A deliriously trashy, exuberantly vulgar, lavishly appointed exploitation picture, this weird combo of road-kill movie and martial-arts vampire gorefest is made to order for the stimulation of teenage boys.
On a mindless exploitation level this is pretty good, but on other levels it seems to make promises that it fails to deliver on.
A tired, humorless pastiche of various exploitation genres that is not the least bit imaginative in its campy deconstruction of conventions.
Rodriguez has a lot of fun dreaming up cool ways to kill people (he's making this his life's work), but he also gets something resembling a performance from Tarantino and transforms Clooney into a full-fledged movie star.
Top CriticMr. Rodriguez demonstrates his talents more clearly than ever -- he's visually inventive, quick-witted and a fabulous editor -- while still hampering himself with sophomoric material.
Based on an early Tarantino script, Rodriguez' movie is an incoherent B-pic, in which the sensibilities of the two filmmakers clash.
It is a shame to see so much good talent giving such low-yield results.
Energetic low-budget vampire nonsense from Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino.
If you're going to like it, you already know it.
Nihilistic and initally unpleasant ... Once the vampires appear (unfortunately about 60 minutes too late), the movie becomes uproarious entertaiment with the most intense humans vs. vampires showdown since 1985's Fright Night.
Like a Cheesecake Blizzard: It's a pulpy mess loaded with empty calories, but it's so divine that once you start, you can't help but shovel it into your mouth until the last drop, brain freeze and diet be damned.
These guys were going for a B-movie feel, lots of blood, lots of guts, lots of tits and ass, and lots of fun, and for the most part, they achieved their goals.
This is a B-movie, albeit a largish budget B-movie, but with an undeniable B-movie spirit.
Ask yourself "am I the kind of person who finds topless vampire strippers a source of constant amusement?" Only those who answer an enthusiastic "YES!" need apply.
I can think of worse things to sit through than an orgy of bullets, exploding corpses, and stripper vampires.
This film is 'exploitation' in more than one sense of the word.
A weird double-bill in itself: Part one's a crime drama, part two vampire splatter flick. It's an awkward pairing, but there's fun to be had.
You got to admire how Rodriguez balances elements of action, comedy, horror, thriller, road movie and Western in the same film!
Audience Reviews for From Dusk Till Dawn
Super Reviewer
This action horror comedy starts off following the Gecko Brothers- violent criminal siblings on the run in Texas. On their way to freedom across the border, they kidnap a former preacher and his kids, taking them to a wild Mexican biker bar called The Titty Twister as they wait for the criminal connection.
Once they get to the bar though, that's when things really get nuts, with the film taking a sudden left turn, becoming a trashy drive-in exploitation film when it's revealed that the staff, and several patrons of the bar are, in fact, vicious vampires. As the blood starts to fly, this motley crew find themselves forced to band together if they want to survive the night.
Due to the radical shift in tone and content, this film seems to really polarize audiences. Yes, it is jarring, but personally I really like it. I think it's a fun, wild movie, and you shouldn't take it too seriously. Probably the best part of the film is the killer dance sequence by Salma Hayek that bridges the two halves together. Sure, the shift may not appeal to you, but I can't think of anyone who dislikes this snazzy set piece.
George Clooney and Quentin Tarantino are great as Seth and Richard Gecko, and this is easily Quentin's best performance as an actor. They have a lot of chemistry together, and they are joined by a terrific Harvey Keitel as the preacher. The preacher's kids are played by Ernest Liu and Juliette Lewis, and they too are pretty decent. There's also appearances by genre actors like John Saxon, Tom Savini, and Fred Williamson, and that's fine by me. And, being a Rodriguez film, there's of course appearances by Cheech Marin and Danny Trejo.
The effects are gloriously inventive and cheesy, and are ridiculously over the top and zany by design. The violence in the first half is brief, yet far more disturbing, while the stuff in the second half is plentiful, long lasting, and doesn't hold back. It's balls to the wall, and in the best kind of way.
The film is kind of a messy affair, but if you're seeking a movie that's all about pure, visceral, fun in a demented way, then you should definitely give this one a watch.
Super Reviewer
Movies Like From Dusk Till Dawn
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- Seth Gecko: I may be a bastard, but I'm not a fucking bastard.
-
- Carlos: So, what, were they psychos, or...
- Seth Gecko: Did they look like psychos? Is that what they looked like? They were vampires. Psychos do not explode when sunlight hits them, I don't give a fuck how crazy they are!
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- Seth Gecko: OK vampire killers, lets kill some fucking vampires!
-
- Richard Gecko: That's what I call a show!
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- Kate Fuller: Richie, would you me a favor and eat my pussy for me? Please?
- Richard Gecko: Uhhh, sure...
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- Kate Fuller: Are you okay?
- Seth Gecko: Peachy, Kate. The world's my oyster, except for the fact that I just rammed a wooden stake in my brother's heart because he turned into a vampire, even though I don't believe in vampires. Aside from that unfortunate business, everything's hunky-dory.
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