FROM DUSK TILL DAWN

"FROM DUSK TILL DAWN"
(1996) (George Clooney, Quentin Tarantino) (R)

Alcohol/ Drugs	Blood/Gore	Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude	Frightening/ Tense Scenes	Guns/ Weapons
Heavy	Extreme	Extreme	Heavy	Extreme

Imitative Behavior	Jump Scenes	Music (Scary/Tense)	Music (Inappropriate)	Profanity
Minor	*Minor	Heavy	None	Extreme

Sex/ Nudity	Smoking	Tense Family Scenes	Topics To Talk About	Violence
Heavy	Mild	Moderate	Mild	Extreme

QUICK TAKE:: Two convicts kidnap a family and take them to bar in Mexico which turns out to be filled with vampires.

PLOT:: Convicts Seth Gecko (GEORGE CLOONEY) and his brother Ritchie (QUENTIN TARANTINO) are two robbing and murdering thugs on their way to Mexico to deliver a large amount of cash. The problem is after killing so many people, the cops and Feds are hot on their heals and the Gecko brothers need a way across the border. Luckily for them they encounter (and kidnap) the Fuller family. Disgruntled father and former preacher Jacob (HARVEY KEITEL) and his kids Kate (JULIETTE LEWIS) and Jacob (ERNEST LIU) are heading to Mexico to get away from it all after the death of mother Fuller. Arriving at their Mexican destination, a biker bar in the middle of nowhere, they settle in and wait for their contact to arrive. Unfortunately the bar is also a vampire hangout and soon the Geckos and Fullers are fighting for their lives with the help of other interesting characters such as "Sex Machine" (TOM SAVINI) and Frost (FRED WILLIAMSON).

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?: If they're fans of vampire, or other such horror films, yes. Also the names of Clooney (TV's "E.R.") and Tarantino (the director of "Reservoir Dogs" and "Pulp Fiction") may draw some.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R: For strong violence and gore, language and nudity.

CAST AS ROLE MODELS:: GEORGE CLOONEY and QUENTIN TARANTINO are both bad role models as they rob, kidnap and kill without any remorse for their actions.

CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE

OUR TAKE: 6 out of 10: Beyond all of the carnage, profanity and violence, this film is always interesting to watch due to Tarantino's script and the direction from Rodriguez ("Desperado," "El Mariachi"). While some may immediately be turned off by all of the objectionable material this film contains, some adults will enjoy its "hells a poppin" attitude and energy. Clooney gives a decent performance as the anti-hero and the end of the movie (battling the vampires) is an exercise in "101 Ways to Kill Vampires." Accepting that this film is geared for adults, and rating it with that in mind, we give this one a 6 out of 10.

OUR WORD TO PARENTS:: This movie fills more categories with the extreme and heavy ratings than nearly any film we've rated so far. It's a very rough film and parents should be cautious as to whether their kids are mature enough to sit through this one. Carefully read through the category listings before making up your mind.

ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE: A sheriff drinks a beer in a roadside store and says that he's going "to get tanked tonight."
Both Seth and Richie drink liquor while driving in their car.
At a Mexican bar, many biker types are drinking beer. The Fuller family and the Gecko brothers go inside and Seth gets a bottle of whiskey and everybody drinks (at Seth's insistence) including Scott and Kate who are underage.

BLOOD/ GORE: There is an unbelievable amount of blood and gore throughout the movie. From people being shot (with blood splattering), to Richie being shot through the hand (where we see through the bloody hole) and then stabbed in the hand, to all of the vampires killing and dismembering people and being killed, this is nothing but a tremendous blood fest. For details see "Violence."
During the big bar room vampire sequence there's much carnage. Necks are bitten, throats are slit, arms are pulled off and heads roll across the floor. Vampires dissolve into gooey messes and others are impaled on table legs or with wooden stakes.

DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE: Both Seth and Richie have extremely bad and disrespectful attitudes as they rob, kidnap, (Richie rapes one woman) and kill many people without showing any signs of remorse.
A sheriff, referring to a mentally handicapped restaurant worker, says "Isn't there a law against retards serving food?"

FRIGHTENING/TENSE SCENES: Many scenes listed in "Violence" are also tense.
As Seth, Ritchie and Kate are hiding in the motorhome's bathroom, the border patrol police come on board and search the vehicle. It's a drawn out scene where the audience worries what will happen if the border patrol comes across the two killers.
During a bar room fight many people suddenly become scary looking vampires and attack many other people. (For adults it's probably not too scary, for kids it's the stuff of nightmares). Eventually nearly everyone becomes vampires and the number of non-vampires dwindles down to a handful.
Then when the humans think they've just about killed all of the vampires, they hear bats outside the bar trying to get in. Vampire bats. They eventually get in and all turn into vampires and come after the remaining humans.
Seth yanks off one vampire's head with a whip and a new hideous creature emerges from the vampire's neck.

GUNS/WEAPONS: Handguns: Used frequently to threaten, harm or kill many people. For details see "Violence."
Misc. Weapons: Used to kill the vampires (stakes, holy water, shotguns, etc...). For details see "Violence."

IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR: Phrases: "Drain my lizard," "Bitch," and "Shut up."

JUMP SCENES: If the thought of people suddenly turning into vampires makes you jump, then this film has several such scenes. Otherwise, there are none in the traditional sense of a scene making you jump from your seat.

MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE): Many scenes are accompanied by heavy, tense music and then later on by both tense and scary music.

MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE): None.

PROFANITY: 96 "f" words (1 used sexually, 3 with the prefix "mother."), 36 slang terms for female genitals (the "p" word), 31 "s" words, 11 "ass" words, 9 hells, 5 SOB's, 4 damns, 3 slang terms for male genitals ("d*ck," "p*cker," and "c*cksucker"), and 8 uses of "God damn," 2 uses of "Jesus Christ," and 1 use of "Oh my God" as exclamations.
The Mexican bar they go to is called the "T*tty Twister" and its sign (with the name and a neon woman with neon breasts) is seen several times.

SEX/NUDITY: Richie daydreams that Kate asks him, "Would you do me a favor and eat my p*ssy?" and later tells her if she wants him to do that he will (she has no idea what he's talking about).
Inside a Mexican bar are many topless dancers and many butt cheeks are seen as well. One of the dancers comes up to Ritchie and pours beer down her leg, onto her foot and into Ritchie's mouth.
One character's name is "Sex Machine."
The Mexican bar they go to is called the "T*tty Twister" and its sign (with the name and a neon woman with neon breasts) is seen several times.

SMOKING: Frost is often seen smoking a cigar.

TENSE FAMILY SCENES: There is talk between Jacob and his kids about their mother dying, and later Seth makes Jacob give the details (she died in a car wreck after suffering for six hours).
Jacob worries about his family's safety throughout most of the movie and then Kate must deal with not having any family left by the movie's end.
Seth must kill Ritchie once he's turned into a vampire and does so by driving a stake through his heart.
Jacob makes his kids promise to kill him once he turns into a vampire.

TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT: Kate asks her dad (the former minister), "Don't you believe in God anymore?" He tells her "not enough to be a minister" and that yes, he believes in Him, but doesn't love Him (due to the death of his wife).

VIOLENCE: We see a TV report near the beginning stating that Seth and Richie have killed sixteen people so far.
In a roadside store a sheriff comes in, oblivious to the fact that Seth and Richie are there, holding guns to two women. The sheriff goes to the bathroom and the guys threaten the clerk and the woman with guns pointed at their heads. The sheriff returns and is shot execution style. The clerk is then shot and wounded, but gets his own gun and shoots Richie through the hand. There is a tremendous amount of gunfire and the two women escape. Seth then pours lighter fluid on a roll of toilet paper while Richie shoots and breaks the liquor bottles above the clerk. Seth lights the roll and throws it over the counter which ignites and sets the clerk on fire. He rises up, covered in flames and shoots his gun. They return gunfire until he falls to the floor dead. They then leave the store as the flames grow and the building finally explodes behind them.
Seth and Richie take a woman hostage to a motel room. There they threaten her with death if she asks any questions or if she tries to escape and Seth holds a gun to her head. He then goes to retrieve some of their money and when he returns he finds the woman dead and very bloody (and implies that Richie has raped her as well).
Seth and Richie break into Jacob's motel room. Seth punches Jacob while Ritchie puts his gun into Scott's mouth. Kate then comes in and they aim their guns on her and then take the whole family hostage (telling them to get into the motorhome or "I'll execute the three of you right now.")
Seth punches and knocks out Ritchie to keep him quiet while they sit at the border patrol station.
Outside a Mexican bar, Seth breaks the hand of the bar's barker and then Ritchie kicks him in the gut several times. Inside the bar there are several fistfights occurring.
The barker returns with a group of men and all mayhem breaks out. Seth shoots several people and Ritchie is stabbed in the hand again. The barker is shot full of bullets and then all of a sudden one of the exotic dancers turns into a vampire. She jumps onto Ritchie and bites the heck out of his neck creating quite a bloody mess. Seth shoots her dead (or so he thinks), and then all of a sudden all of the "dead" guys turn into vampires. A big, bloody and violent fight ensues where many people and many vampires are killed.
Seth kills Ritchie (who's turned into a vampire) by driving a stake into his heart.
Seth punches Jacob for being a "faithless preacher" when they really need him to bless water to use on the vampires.
Frost tells a story about being the only survivor in a Vietnam skirmish and having all of the dead bodies piled on top of him. He then states that later that night he went and killed all of the enemy soldiers one by one.
Jacob, having been bitten and waiting to turn into a vampire, holds a gun to his head threatening to kill himself (as a human) if his kids don't kill him later (as a vampire).
There's a big final fight sequence where the humans (armed with holy water, a cross bow with wooden arrows, and a large power driven stake) fight the vamps and kill off all of them.

Reviewed August 15, 1996

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