From Dark To Dumb...

Rating: 5/10 (27 October 2014)

EL MARIACHI was one of those first-time efforts one can't help but admire, and it showed a world of promise. By the time we get to FROM DUSK TILL DAWN, it's hit and miss with the director- and FROM DUSK TILL DAWN is the very epitome of "hit and miss." The first half is tense and dramatic and, watching it, I thought at the time of its release that I was seeing one of the truly GREAT vampire movies... but, following the hottest tabletop dance in the history of motion pictures, the movie abruptly fell apart. It suddenly became a comedy of over-the-top gore fx that had seemingly nothing whatsoever to do with anything that had come before. Switching gears is always an iffy proposition in a movie, but THIS big a switch was downright shocking- partly because it's a one hundred and eighty degree turn, and partly because the switch makes absolutely no sense in any way. What COULD'VE been a Great movie ends up being a barely tolerable one.