Not quite there, but damn close!

Rating: 6/10 (21 May 2002)

Robert Rodriquez proved that he could work with bigger budgets when he remade his debut film El Mariachi as Desperado. Now he has even more money, but he lets From Dusk to Dawn get buried under the special effects. Based on an early script by Quentin Tarantino, it gets off to a nastily amusing start. Two murdering brothers, Seth (George Clooney) and Richard (Tarantino) Gecko, yes, as in the lizard, are trying to get across the Mexican border after several bloody encounters. They hijack Jacob (Harvey Keitel), a lapsed minister, and his kids, who are on a camping trip in their RV. Once south of the border, the group heads for the rowdy rendezvous point, a remote, all-night bar called the Titty Twister. Here, DUSK gets wierd. The bikers and strippers who hang out at the Titty Twister turn out to be bloodthirsty vampires and the Kurtzman, Nicotero & Berger EFX Group takes over. The body parts start to fly, and the blood spurts skyward like a Texas gusher. The splatter grows repetitive and monotonous, lacking the gruesome wit of Sam Raimi's demented classic, Evil Dead 2. After all, how many melting heads can you watch? Keitel is terrific in a subdued portrayal, while support is provided by Cheech Marin (in three roles!).