Fun horror film

Rating: 8/10 (1 October 2017)

From Dusk Till Dawn is a film that I have thoroughly fallen in love with after a few watches. Originally skeptical on my first watch, deciding to give it another chance from a different viewpoint has left me appreciating the film for what it is: a fun action horror romp that shouldn't be taken too seriously.
Initially dismayed that the two halves of the film (the first half with the criminal brothers fleeing to Mexico with the kidnapped family, and the second fighting vampires within the bar) felt like they were duck-taped together, upon re-watches I find that it works surprisingly well, and by the end of the film the sudden twist is actually pretty funny. The script works well, as within the first half you feel the danger that the criminal brothers Seth and Richie Gecko (played by George Clooney and Quentin Tarantino respectively) poses to preacher Jacob Fuller (Harvey Keitel) and his family and the second half their fight against the vampires turns the film into a fun horror movie with some strong practical effects and quite cheesy parts that makes the second half all the more fun since it feels like the films wants you to have fun along with it.
All of the characters work pretty well and the actors, particularly George Clooney and Harvey Keitel, do bring in good performances. The weakest actor would probably be Quentin Tarantino, but his performance does allow you to believe that he is his character and doesn't bring down the film. The side characters, played by Tom Savini and Fred Williamson are a delight to watch, and when talking about characters, Salma Hayek has to be mentioned for her character Santanico Pandemonium, probably the most iconic part of the film, so much so that when Netflix had created a TV show based on the film, Santanico is often on all the posters and promotional materiel.
While part of me still laments the fact that the two parts of the film are not their own entities, I still enjoy the movie the film for what it is and have a damn fun time watching it.