For the movies, the single most important
individual of the '90s is Quentin Tarantino.
A few years ago, nobody had heard of
him. But the success of the two features
Reservoir Dogs and Pulp
Fiction have been not only an
overwhelming influence on young directors,
but their box office punch has given
Tarantino himself extensive personal
influence. This is good news for film fans,
since Tarantino is such a huge fan himself,
and has the talent and ability necessary to
put what people want to see up on the
screen.
One way he's doing this is by working
on his own film projects. A second is with his
deal to distribute foreign films that he likes -
genre films that don't get released in
America since all the urban grindhouses
were closed down by home video. And the
third way is by working with other young
filmmakers with a similar viewpoint.
Robert Rodriguez is one such individual.
His 1992 feature El Mariachi,
initially aimed at only a Mexican video
release, showed such energy and creativity
that it was picked up for distribution by
Columbia. In 1995, he teamed with
Tarantino for a sequel, Desperado,
then quickly moved on to the semi-anthology
Four Rooms.
From Dusk Till Dawn, the latest
product of the Rodriguez/Tarantino
partnership, is their most outstanding
collaboration yet. Based on a 1990 script by
Tarantino, the scenario once again dives
headlong into a rich stew of the pulp
elements both artists love so much: offbeat
characters, fast action, snappy dialogue,
unusual film techniques, and a bit of the old
ultraviolence. All this is held together by a
mesmerizing appreciation for a well told
story.
Tarantino's love for great stories is the
key to his success, most apparent in his
biggest hit, Pulp Fiction. The whole
thing unreels like a string of stories told by a
neighborhood bartender, right down to the
way he'd back up to cover parts of the story
he'd missed. I predict someday Tarantino
will make a movie consisting entirely of
Harvey Keitel sitting in a diner telling
stories.
This new picture is really two films in
one. The first half introduces Seth (George
Clooney) and Ricky (Quentin T. himself, in
his best performance to date) Gecko, a pair of
crooked brothers on their way to Mexico
after a violent bank hold-up (later, we see a
grinning newscaster tallying the body
count). At the Dew Drop Inn motel, they
cross paths with a former minister (the
aforementioned QT regular Keitel) and his
two kids (Juliette Lewis and Ernest Liu),
who are taking a vacation in their RV home.
The brothers hijack the RV, using the family
to get them across the border into Mexico.
They head for a wild roadhouse called the
Titty Twister, for a rendezvous with the
people who'll insure their cover.
Tarantino's previous scripts are readily
available, but this is the first one I've
actually wanted to read. There are so many
dangling details that it would be interesting
to see how much was cut out to save running
time (as it is, it takes a good hour to get to
Mexico). Why is Keitel's son Chinese
(adopted? We never get a look at the picture
of his late wife when Clooney looks through
his wallet)? It's implied that Clooney is a
relatively honorable criminal, drawn into
greater bloodshed due to his alliegiance to
his psycho brother, but we never get a clear
enough answer to develop an unquestioned
sympathy for his character. There are a
bunch more unanswered questions in the
second half, but the little details are just
part of the fun of a Tarantino picture.
If they'd stayed with the first movie, the
action-packed confrontation that fills out the
rest of the picture would've taken place
between the two bank robbers, their
associates, the kidnapped family, and
various groups of lawmen. Instead,
Tarantino decided to give his audience
something totally unexpected (well,
unexpected to anyone not clued in by the ads
beforehand). As it turns out, the Titty
Twister is much more sinister than it
seems.
Ever since they made their film debuts,
I've wondered whether the magic wrought by
Rodriguez or Tarantino would work for a
horror film. Perceived conservative interests
have thrown horror movies into a decided
slump for the last decade. The only horrors
released theatrically have rarely gone
beyond the safe & same old thing, with
only those disguised as mystery thrillers
serving up any kind of true scare material.
Since Rodriguez and Tarantino are horror
fans, too, they've been wise enough to steer
clear of the obvious clichés. Since
adding the supernatural will bring their
story into the realm of the fantastic anyway,
why not take it over the top. Way
over the top.
We begin the second movie when our
little group sets foot inside the Titty Twister,
as disreputable an establishment as ever
presented on film. The boys sit down to drink
shots and bond a bit with their captives, and
take in the topless entertainment. The show
comes to a climax with the performance of
the aptly named Satanico Pandemonium
(played by the radiantly sexy Salma Hayek).
There have been no frightened villagers
nervously crossing themselves to tip us off,
no thunderstorms or swirling mist. Just like
the characters in the movie, when the trap is
sprung, we're already neck deep in
nosferatu.
What follows is the most outrageously
relentless nightmare gorefest since Peter
Jackson's Dead-Alive (aka:
Braindead). Clooney, Keitel, and
company are quickly joined by various
surviving patrons in a energetic high-pitched
battle against an army of undead creatures.
So much blood, goo, and splatter is thrown
around the screen, one wonders at the R
rating (apparently, you can mutilate
blatantly supernatural characters to your
heart's content and still not get tagged with
an X - bravo to the MPAA for their insight).
It's a gore-met's dream come true, as well as
a loving tribute to George Romero, Sam
Raimi, and all those others who've come
before.
The supporting cast reflects the horror
show tribute, with veterans like Tom Savini
(an actor better known as the
groundbreaking make-up f/x genius behind
Dawn of the Dead, Friday the 13th,
Maniac, and dozens of others), Fred
Williamson (New York Ripper, Express to
Terror), and John Saxon (A
Nightmare on Elm Street, Planet of
Blood) showing up to join the fun.
Cheech Marin, who performed admirably in
Desperado, is rewarded with three
roles here. The versatile Lewis is
surprisingly accurate portraying a normal
teenager again, after the extremes reached
for in most of her recent parts. Keitel is once
again rock solid, but the greatest impression
is made by Clooney, who demonstrates
ample big-screen presence. If this role
doesn't make him a bonafide movie star, his
next one will.
Rodriguez, who photographed and
edited the film as well as directed, keeps
everything moving at high speed. There
seems to be no end to his visual bag of tricks,
with some crazy new bit coming at you every
minute. He was so keenly resourceful with
the ultra-cheap El Mariachi, it makes
for great fun to see him playing with a bigger
bag of tricks. There are so many cool
surprises that I don't want to give any away.
And, while so many horror flix are content to
end with some tired gag, the final shot of
From Dusk Till Dawn is not only
clever and impressive, but brings many
elements of the picture into finer focus as
well.
I'm not sure whether From Dusk Till
Dawn holds up as a movie that hangs
together under exacting critical scrutiny -
there are too many threads of it flapping
wildly in the breeze in all directions. But it's
extremely refreshing when a film like this
one comes along that wants to give an
audience all the thrills, laughs, and
surprises that it can stand. Isn't that why
people buy tickets?
From Dusk Till Dawn is featured at .
Visit Miramax, then come back to IDN.
Written by Brian Thomas
From Dusk Till Dawn
For the movies, the single most important
individual of the '90s is Quentin Tarantino.
If they'd stayed with the first movie, the
action-packed confrontation that fills out the
rest of the picture would've taken place
between the two bank robbers, their
associates, the kidnapped family, and
various groups of lawmen. Instead,
Tarantino decided to give his audience
something totally unexpected (well,
unexpected to anyone not clued in by the ads
beforehand). As it turns out, the Titty
Twister is much more sinister than it
seems.