Like GRINDHOUSE, this movie is half Tarantino, half Rodriguez

Rating: 8/10 (13 April 2008)

This film is a bit peculiar because it mixes two very different kinds of plot and movies' genres, and that's just because of that it works so well. In the "first half" we watch a crime story with two outlaw brothers, SETH GECKO (played by George Clooney) and RICHARD GECKO (Quentin Tarantino) running away from authorities, after robber a bank and kill a few people. They kidnap a family, composed by a Pastor who lost his faith, JACOB FULLER (Harvey Keitel), his daughter KATE (Juliette Lewis) and his son SCOTT (Ernest Liu), and cross the border into Mexico. Arriving there they all go to a motorcyclist's bar, in the middle of nowhere, which claims it self to be "open from dusk till dawn". The "second half" begins! After a great show by "SANTANICO PANDEMONIUM (Salma Hayek)", a bloody and gory fight starts between these mentioned characters (and some new and funny ones which only appear in the bar, like the "SEX MACHINE") and some vampires (which are the owners of the bar and the stripper girls). A very different kind of plot and "movie" begins! From a crime and kidnapping story it passes to a gory vampire slasher!
The main idea is quite original and funny, and we can feel Tarantino's touch on it. The screenplay is from him, in spite of the original story not be. I think it's another classic of the 90's, not because it's an excellent movie, but because its main idea worked very well and was quite refreshing. I also appreciated its humor and the great acting from the main actors. Tarantino included! The soundtrack is also fine, especially when they arrive at the bar. On the other hand, we can also notice Robert Rodriguez's directing through the many action scenes, done in his personal styleÂ…
In fact, I would say it was the first experience where Tarantino and Rodriguez joined their personal styles to create a film. We can watch such idea more developed and matured in their recent GRINDHOUSE, but I think it was the very beginning. Because like GRINDHOUSE I think this film is separated in two very different parts: the first one with Tarantino's cinematographic style; and the second one with Rodriguez's!