From Dusk Till Dawn: Film Trilogy (1996-99)

From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)

Dir. Robert Rodriguez

Two criminals on the run take a few hostages and head for Mexico. Seth Gecko (George Clooney) is smooth and calm under pressure. His brother Richie (Quentin Tarantino) is a trigger-happy prick who needs protecting from his own impulses.

It's a movie of two uneven halves. For a while it's an edgy crime flick with some Tarantino-penned dialogue. It doesn't go anywhere particularly interesting, but there's at least the feeling that it might.

The latter part of the film, however, has no such aspirations. Instead, it goes all out to please fans of a very different genre.

I'll say no more, to avoid further spoilers, but the direction it takes will either float your goat or it won't. My goat was thoroughly sunk, but credit to the creators for trying something so outrageously divergent.

From Dusk Till Dawn 2:
Texas Blood Money (1999)

Dir. Scott Spiegel

A direct-to-video sequel with no Clooney or QT. Instead, it stars Robert Patrick as criminal Buck. He and his lowlife cohorts plan to rob a Mexican bank, but they run into some bats along the way; not your regular garden-variety kind of bats - they're the Titty Twister kind.

In one scene the gang criticise a film on TV for its low quality and lack of memorable characters, when they themselves are that very thing in the movie they're starring in. I took it as a knowing, self-referential nod to its own failings, but it may have been just dumb luck.

Elsewhere, references to better films and frequent use of odd perspectives made me think more than once that FDTD2 was probably more fun to make than it was for me to watch.

From Dusk Till Dawn 3:
The Hangman's Daughter (1999)

Dir. P. J. Pesce

A direct-to-video prequel that takes the bloodsucking action back to a wild (Mexican) west setting. Various peoples from different walks of life, including an outlaw gang, a newly married couple, and an author with a fondness for the bottle all find themselves at a saloon in the ass-hole of nowhere, a place of many vices that opens it doors from... yup... dusk till dawn.

Someone was far too enthusiastic with the orange lighting effects, but overall it's a fun, if overlong, genre-mashing romp. I'm probably in a minority with regards what I type next, but I enjoyed it more than the first film. What that means is I only had to stop myself once from turning it off, whereas it was four times with the first one.

I love that the IMDB cast and crew listing has entries for 'Snake Girl' and 'Wedding Dress Whore' - looks good on a CV!