A solute to the drive-in horror films of the 70's.

Rating: 7/10 (20 December 2003)

From Dusk Till Dawn (1996/Robert Rodriguez) {written by Quentin Tarantino} *** out of ****
The opening is pure Tarantino. A Texas Ranger pulls into a gas station and makes everyday chit-chat with the cashier. And then, before you know it, people are getting shot, the gas station is exploding, and the opening credits start. Even though the opening is excellent, the second half of the movie is not as good as the first half.
"From Dusk Till Dawn" is written by Quentin Tarantino and directed by his good friend Robert Rodriguez. Both of their famous trademarks are made in the movie. The story is of two criminal brothers (George Clooney and Quentin Tarantino) who drive across Texas taking hostages (Harvey Keitel and Juliette Lewis) and hope to make it across the border to a rendezvous at a bar. But what they find is a bar where the customers come straight from Hell.
Like I said early, the first half of the movie is excellent. It begins as the coolest movie I have ever seen. What more could you ask for? You've got George Clooney, one of the coolest actors today, in a film done by two of the coolest guys in Hollywood (and one of them is even in the movie!). And Salma Hayek is the sexiest woman on the planet! After seeing her dance, I completely forgot why they were even at the bar. But then....it happened: The Vampires. The second half of the film takes a turn for the worse when it goes wacko and all the customers in the bar turn to Vampires, and the brothers and the hostages are forced to work together to fight against them.
This is truely a great film, not in the fashion of Citizen Kane, but just for the entertainment and coolness factor. This is one of the rare movies that you never want to end. If it wasn't for the poor second half, I would give it a higher rating, but in the end, the film defines cool.

-30-