Cult status?

Rating: Null/10 (26 June 2003)

I mean, why not? All the conventional elements of a "cult" film are squarely in place. It's campy and goofy, after all, and chock full of "guilty pleasure" value. Plus, it was nothing more than a nominal hit, its domestic gross barely outstripping its budget.
But "From Dusk Till Dawn" is, in my estimation, more deserving of earnest appreciation. It's not simply a cheeky mess that takes on an ethereal kind of following. No, I contend it's pretty sharp filmmaking in all facets.
The dialogue is incisive and memorable. Clooney gives a tour de force performance. The supporting players -- Cheech Marin and Juliette Lewis, specifically -- hit the mark. And from start to finish, you get ample doses of the talents that Quentin Tarantino expounded upon and the ones that Robert Rodriguez apparently forgot.
This isn't conventional horror schlock. It's bloody and dryly comedic at times, for certain, but "From Dusk Till Dawn" brings so much more to the table than what the genre usually provides. The hybridization of two very distinct directorial styles, and the woeful marketing of the flick, left a lot of the viewers feeling disappointed; however, there's an element of unfettered genius in this film that was lamentably ignored upon its release.