Fun till the break of dawn.

Rating: 8/10 (19 August 2009)

On their way out of Texas, leaving a deadly-crime spree in their wake, two brothers (George Clooney and Quentin Tarantino) scoop up an unsuspecting family (led by Harvey Keitel) and make their way across the border into Mexico. Home-free and troubles be damned, they party it up at a local strip joint that is open from dusk till dawn. In the morning, they will receive a generous pay-day, but in the meantime, must fend off a gang of deadly and sometimes seductive vampires.
"From Dusk Till Dawn" is a film about vampires, but you tend to forget about that in the first hour, as Tarantino's script focuses sharply on its characters. You'll feel like you're at the table with them as they share shots of whiskey, and when the excrement hits the fan, you're thrown off-balance by the complete 180 the film pulls. Now, depending on your expectations, the third act both ups the ante and makes the film, or it totally shatters the well-developed plot. If you love gore galore (hint: Robert Kurtzman, who provided special effects for the film, also conjured up the original story), this is your film. If anyone knows how to shoot a "shoot 'em up" flick, it's Robert Rodriguez, and he effortlessly transitions from character moments to over-the-top blood and guts and guns (check out Tom Savini's legendary gear) at the turn of a dime. Truly professional film-making is what we have here.
Despite the fact that the film switches it up on you just as you settle in, the end results are so much fun that it's forgivable. If you can't enjoy vampires being jack-hammered with a giant wooden-stake, then this certainly isn't the movie for you. The film is whip-smart, at times hilarious and at others, sincere. It's also got a solid cast worth noting. George Clooney plays against type, and likewise, Tarantino is less annoying than he is in his other acting roles. Harvey Keitel more or less steals the show at times, as the most professional and likable of the bunch, but you'll get a kick, no doubt, in seeing Cheech Marin playing three, count 'em, three roles in the film. "From Dusk Till Dawn" is essentially a brilliant mash-up of Tarantino's unique story-telling and characters and Robert Rodriguez's signature action and effects sequences, most certainly foreshadowing the duo's epic collaboration, "Grindhouse," a decade later. Those expecting anything but a good time will be sorely left in the cold.