A gory, over-the-top mess

Rating: Null/10 (1 November 2003)

From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) George Clooney, Harvey Keitel, Quentin Tarantino, Juliette Lewis, Ernest Lieu, Salma Hayek, Fred Williamson, Cheech Marin, Danny Trejo, Tom Savini, Michael Parks, Brenda Hillhouse, John Saxon, Marc Lawrence, Kelly Preston, D: Robert Rodriguez. Cold-blooded, kill-happy brothers (Clooney, Tarantino) take ex-preacher Keitel's family (and their mobile home) as hostages en route to collect their stolen loot at their rendezvous point-a strip bar in Mexico, unbeknownst to them, run by vampires! Hyperactive, hedonistic gunplay-gorefest, scripted by Rodriquez and Tarantino, allows for Clooney and Tarantino to `be cool' and impress with wise-guy attitude, but they're entertaining themselves more than the audience. Limitless blood and gore gets poured on, which could last for three movies, but it all depends on your gross-out intake. Marin gets away with playing three roles. Followed by two direct-to-video sequels. Running Time: 108 minutes and rated R for strong violence and gore, language, and nudity. **