Clever and off-beat but by no means a masterpiece

Rating: 6/10 (3 August 2005)

After going on a murderous killing spree, Two brothers, Seth and Richard, hide out with a family of hostages in a remote, seedy bar in Mexico. Unfortunately, the bar they picked happens to be run by blood-thirsty vampires, and if they want to escape, they will have to work with they're hostages to live through the night. I remember hearing a lot of hype about this film back when it first came out in 96', and even though I am a avid horror fan, I just got around to seeing the movie now. I honestly don't know what to think of this filmthe first half is a Quentin Tarantino-style crime romp, with his usual trademark sense of off-beat humor. Then the second half of the film: Blood, gore, monsters, blood, gore, monsters, more blood, gore, monstersI think you get the picture.
It's certainly enjoyable and funny in that the characters, Tarantino's especially, are funny and likable, and the script, penned by Tarantino himself, is witty, clever and often imaginative. The actors all do a great job too; I loved Harvey Keitel's dead-pan delivery and Mr. Clooney is his usual sly self.
Then, of course we have what the film was designed forthe gore and monsters. The boys at KNB effects deserve a pat on the back for they're contribution here. The creature effects were great and the gore was over-the-top but convincing and plentiful as hell. Unfortunately, this film was made during the digital boom so some pretty lame "morphing" effects were employed for the scenes where vampires melt after being killed, but this is only a small complaint.
If you like gore or off-beat horror films, you'll probably enjoy this film, just remember to turn your brain off before watching it. On the whole it was pretty entertaining.
6.5/10.