From Dusk Till Dawn
Tags: comedy, murder, cult, violence, horror, psychedelic, humor, action, plot twist, entertaining

Plot synopsis:
Texas sheriff Edgar McGraw pulls up to an isolated liquor store in Texas called Benny's World of Liquor. Once inside he speaks with the shopkeeper. He then goes to use the restroom. As soon as he is inside the bathroom, The Gecko Brothers, Seth (George Clooney) and Richie (Quentin Tarantino), two desperado-type crimminals appear with two hostages and gun pointed at the shopkeeper apparently in the store the whole time. Seth threatens the shopkeeper and tells him to be cool. The sheriff returns shortly after and goes to pay. While talking to the shopkeeper, Richie kills the sheriff with a point blank shot to the head. Seth and Richie argue because Richie claims the shopkeeper mouthed "help us". As the shopkeeper yells to defend himself, Richie shoots him in the shoulder. Seth and Richie argue and Seth decides to leave. As they are leaving the shopkeeper jumps up and shoots Richie in his hand. They all start shooting. The hostages escape and the fight is ended when Seth throws a lit toilet paper roll dosed with light fluid at the shopkeeper who was covered in alcohol killing him. They leave as the liquor store explodes.The brothers then check into a motel with their one remaining hostage and they discuss their plan to flee to Mexico and meet Seth's contact, Carlos (Cheech Marin) for sanctuary.A news story is shown about the Grecko brothers and they atrocities. Seth returns to the motel to discover that Richie had raped and murdered the hostage. Seth scolds the insane Richie, for now they need new hostages to escape into Mexico.The brothers then run into Pastor Jake Fuller (Harvey Keitel), his two kids his teenage daughter Kate (Juliette Lewis) and adopted teenage son Scott (Ernest Liu). They kidnap the family and hijack their R.V. forcing them to drive to Mexico. The group is stopped at the border and the R.V. is searched by a custom's agent (Cheech Marin) but the brothers are hiding in the bathroom with Kate. They eventually make it through and on into Mexico.Soon after they enter Mexico, they arrive at an eccentric bar called The Titty Twister in the middle of a vast desert. Seth gets into a fight with the head bouncer (Cheech Marin) outside the club who refuses to let them in, and they all go inside. Once inside, they have a few drinks and enjoy the girls dancing on the tables. Soon Santanico Pandemonium (Salma Hayek) performs. Towards the end of her act, the bouncer returns and tells the bartender and the other what happened. When they confront the group, the crazy Richie pulls out a gun and one of the bartenders stabs his already shot hand to the table and another gunfight ensues.The brothers come out on top again and Seth goes to look at Richies badly wounded hand as Santanico sees the puddle of blood on the table. She then transforms into a hideous beast-like vampire and attacks Richie, biting him on the neck. Seth shoots Santanico off of Richie, but Richie dies soon after. Not long after the bouncer and the bartenders rise from the dead in the same beast-like vampire state and them and all the dancers... who are also vampires, lock the door and begin brutally feeding on the bar patrons. Seth, the family and a couple of bar patrons fight back manage to kill almost all the vampires.Seth goes to find his brother's body as the remaining bar patrons realizes the vampire band is still there. As the group goes to attack, they disappear. Seth says his final farewells to Richie but before he can finish, Richie turns into a vampire as well and attacks Seth who manages to get away. They share a moment looking at each other and Seth then decides he must kill Richie and he does.Seth begins to drink heavily as the remaining group starts to hear a swarm of bats surrounding the bar. The group then realizes that the killed bar patrons are turning into vampires as well and must fight them off. While staking the remaining vampires, one of the surviving bar patrons named Sex Machine (Tom Savini) bites his arm but hides it from the others.The survivors regroup and plan on what to do next. It is not long before Sex Machine begins to transform. He then sneaks up and attacks the other surviving bar patron, Frost (Fred Williamson) biting him in the neck. Sex Machine then moves onto Jake, biting him in the arm. Frost, still in human form, confronts Sex Machine and they begin to fight ending when Frost throws Sex Machine through a window, opening the way for the swam of vampire bats to come in and Frost also transforms. Seth and the kids then run and hide in a back room of the bar.Jake bandages his arm and makes a cross out of a bat and a shotgun and makes his way back to the remaining group. They then prepare to make a last stand against the remaining vampires. Before they go into battle, Jacob forces his children to swear they will kill him when he turns into a vampire and the reluctantly do.During the battle, Seth confronts Sex Machine for the final time and is almost killed but he is saved at the last minutes but Kate. The vampire Frost then confronts Jake and Jake kills him with his cross shotgun. Right after he kills Frost, he then too turns into a vampire and attacks his son Scott, biting him in the neck. Scott then kills his father with holy water, and is swarmed by vampires who tear him apart. He then begs his sister Kate to kill him and eventually she shoots him which results in small blast killing the vampires around him.Now only Seth and Kate remain to fight off the vampires. They are completely outnumbered and it seems all is lost when rays of sunlight start to come through cracks hurting the vampires. They then hear Carlos banging on the door and eventually he breaks through as Seth and Kate run out. The vampires begin exploding and the bar itself explodes as they are running away.Outside, Seth and Carlos negotiate a deal for the money and Carlos gives Seth a sports car. Seth tells Kate to go home and he drives off, following Carlos to El Rey. Then the camera shot zooms out to reveal that the bar is actually the top portion of a very large ancient Aztec ziggurat.

Review: The second section is also great because of the horrific violence and as I heard mentioned before, the unique ways on how to kill vampires.The script is witty and full of dark humour, "I have 6 little friends and they all run faster than you.", and the intro is certainly one of the best I have seen in months.
The characters are well established, with Clooney as the 'gentleman' (well, not really) crook, Tarantino as his psychotic brother (who, strangely, I found difficult not to warm to) and Keitel is the preacher who has lost his faith, the hostage who will help out later when the satanic hordes unleash themselves.A special mention must go to Salma Hayek for that special dance.
If you hadn't seen this before, without any knowledge of the movie, you'd be in for a huge surprise as I was.An 8/10 for it's script (thanks to Tarantino) and the actors who, while not trying too hard, make this an enjoyable horror flick with a difference..
I prefer more realism in my vampires but having said that, I cannot fault Tarantino, his is perfect in the role as the twisted Richard Gecko, and although I don't usually like George Clooney he was surprisingly cool as Seth.
Their friendship lead them to make movies together starting with "Four Rooms", but together with make-up masters Kurtzman, Nicotero and Berger the two young directors crafted one of the most original movies of the 90s: "From Dusk Till Dawn".The plot starts with the escape of two criminal brothers, Seth (George Clooney) and Richard Gecko (Tarantino himself) and their effort to reach Mexico kidnapping the family of a faith-less preacher named Jacob Fuller (Harvey Keitel) who was traveling with his daughter Kate (Juliette Lewis) and his son Scott (Ernest Liu).
This lack of pretensions makes it even more enjoyable as it never tries to be something else than pure entertainment.The movie is interestingly divided in two, the first half dedicated to establishing the relationships between the characters, particularly the complicated clash of the Geckos and the Fullers, in a typical Tarantino style crime/drama fashion; on the other hand, the second half is an action packed thrill ride on the style of 70s action movies that clearly shows John Carpenter's influence over Rodriguez.
While it is definitely a tribute to their influences, the Rodriguez/Tarantino team create a solid movie that stands on its own as a very original take on horror movies.The acting is very effective, with George Clooney carrying the film as the cool-headed older brother who has to take care of his psychotic younger brother.
While the violence is never intended to be realistic, the poor CGI at times make it look more cartoon-like than what it was supposed to be, but it is not a real damaging flaw and the film is still highly enjoyable.Rodriguez has always done films to have fun, and this is what has set him apart from other filmmakers (Tarantino included).
Robert Rodriguez's From Dusk till Dawn combines vicious violence, Cheech Marin vampires, and some funny humor from the cast into one big collective film.
More than a basic horror movie, it has Rodriquez as a fine director and Quentin Tarantino as a good screenwriter who bring to the screen basic shoot em up fun.
There is nothing wrong with the acting, the music really good and the special effects are gross (but great).The first half of the story revolves around the Gecko brothers, Seth (George Clooney) and Richie (Quentin Tarantino).
This is about two criminal brothers(Clooney and Tarantino)wind up taking a family hostage to make it across the Mexican border to a meeting point, a bar called the "Titty Twister".
This bar is open from dusk till dawn....and is filled with vampires.This movie starts off as something else at first.
It just didn't fit with the rest of the movie.I'm not gonna lie, the different ways of how they killed the vampires were pretty cool and creative, but I felt like the first half of the movie was made by Tarantino and the second half was made by Rodriguez.This movie had a lot of potential if it stuck with the first plot.
Well, I can tell u  one thing this movie is pure fun:the dialogues are great, the acting is terrific(especially Quentin Tarantino) and the special effects are nice.You probably asking WHY THIS MOVIE HAVE 6.6 RATING??
, I think that the reason for this is Quentin Tarantino, when people heard QT IS involved in the production of the movie they thought it has similarity to Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, actually, it's very different from those films, and that is something that can show us the greatness of QUENTIN TARANTINO.In the bottom line,I liked this movie and I  recommend it..
There's no surprise element with the film, you get everything that director Robert Rodriguez and writer Quentin Tarantino said you would get; a hard buttocked road movie that turns into a raging B horror movie gore fest.The plot, for what's it's worth, sees two criminal brothers, Seth {George Clooney} & Richie Gecko {Tarantino} on the lam after Richie breaks Seth out of prison.
"From Dusk Till Dawn" is a great crossover between A- and B-movies, that only a genius like Quentin Tarantino could have made possible: there are great character actors (Harvey Keitel, Juliette Lewis) next to Hollywood superstars like George Clooney, Salma Hayek or Tarantino himself.
Everything about this movie -which is actually two bad stories stuck together to make one turkey- has an adolescent feel to it with its stylised and sadistic violence, gratuitous nudity, cliché ridden vampires, f-laden dialogue, gunplay, biker bars, girls on the toilet etc.Clooney and Tarantino play a couple of murderous brothers.
After a bank heist in Abilene with several casualties, the bank robber Seth Gecko (George Clooney) and his psychopath and rapist brother Richard Gecko (Quentin Tarantino) continue their crime spree in a convenience store in the middle of the desert while heading to Mexico with a hostage.
It falls short in most other respects.For one thing, its structure makes it almost two separate movies: before the Gecko brothers arrive at the Mexican bar, it's another Tarantino crime-spree road picture a la "Natural Born Killers"; afterwards, it's "Vamp" meets "Dawn of the Dead."  Quentin Tarantino, who stars, opposite George Clooney, as the more unstable of the two criminal brothers, also scripted; evidently, he knows how to write action movies, but less about how to write vampire movies.
the undead, even going so far as to cast Tom Savini as one of the bikers!), FDTD features squirt guns full of holy water a la "The Lost Boys"; has a character carve a cross into the tip of a bullet, which echoes both "Curse of the Undead" (a vampire Western of the late '50s!) and "Taxi Driver"; mentions Peter Cushing by name; and product-places a character wearing a "Precinct 13" T-shirt.At one point the question arises as to whether anyone has actually read anything about vampires, or whether they're relying solely on movie knowledge: a fair question, and one that could be asked of Tarantino himself.
FROM DUSK TILL DAWN (1996) *** Harvey Keitel, George Clooney, Quentin Tarantino, Juliette Lewis, Ernest Liu, Cheech Marin, Fred Williamson, Salma Hayek, Michael Parks, Kelly Preston, John Saxon.
Hybrid talents of crime thriller Tarantino and kitchen sink violence of Rodriguez combine in this high octane cocktail about crime spree siblings Clooney and Tarantino (who also did the screenplay) high-tailing it to Mexico with an unwitting family (Keitel, Lewis and Liu) as their hostages/getaway for a rendezvous in hell: a truck-stop strip joint full of vampires!
I will bet that you have never seen a movie like this,it starts out like any other ordinary thriller or action movie and you dont expect a thing of what is going to happen.But the suddenly the whole story turns,and all most all the people becomes vampires,and the movie becomes a big gore fest with some really explicit violence.
It has been made 3 movies in this series and this is the best one,with the third one on a close second.Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino is really two masterminds who have made some of the coolest movies in a long time.And they do not disapoint with this ground breaking movie.If you like this one then be sure to check out the third one,which is very similar.And maybe the second one although it is not that great.
I vaguely remembered something about vampires being in the movie, but as the film began, I thought my memory must've been wrong, because this was a movie about two bankrobbers/murderers named the Gecko brothers, Clooney (Excellent as an anti-hero character) and Tarantino (not as excellent).The first half hour is quite good, thanks to Tarantino's great script and solid acting by Clooney and his hostage Keitel, a preacher with two children who has lost his faith due to the death of his wife.
After they cross the border into Mexico to avoid the police and FBI, they go to a not so family-friendly bar to meet their accomplice in the robberies.Then the entire movie falls apart.It turns out that all of the people that work in the bar are secretly vampires, and an ultra-gory biting and stabbing scene follows, complete with decapitating and removing beating hearts.Now don't get me wrong, there are some well choreographed vampire fight scenes in this movie that can be attributed to director Rodriguez, but the transition between the Gecko Brothers escaping to the vampire hunting is so choppy that it feels like two completely different movies just crammed together.
Unfortunately these are the main things the film has going for it.The first half of the film is quite good and plays like a Tarantino-esque crime thriller, until they reach the club where it turns into a gory vampire b-movie.
Tarantino however can't act, he's a good director and should do more of that rather than turning in performances like this.The film is a messy action movie, it lacks structure, tension or any emotional core - whenever the actors get turned to vampires you don't really care.
Although I do like Tarantino's style and sometimes Robert Rodriguez, I cannot credit From Dusk Till Dawn with anything.
If you have never seen From Dusk Till Dawn, I think the experience will be more enjoyable for you if you follow these simple instructions: Put the DVD/Blu-Ray into the player and press "Play" Yow will start watching a movie about two fugitive robbers, one of them a paranoid, sex-obsessed psycho, who cross paths with the family of a preacher who has lost his faith after the tragic death of his wife.Enjoy the tense and riveting thriller, which boasts some great dialogue, brilliant direction, and good performances from a cast that oozes charisma; even Tarantino does a decent job.
(The only weak point is the Chinese lad who plays Harvey Keitel's son, and who seems incapable to convey any emotion whatsoever, but it's just a minor drawback.) When the characters arrive at the Titty Twister, you might notice the film starting to become a little corny, but don't worry, just hold on for a minute, the best scene of the movie is coming up.Marvel and drool at the phenomenal physique of Salma Hayek, whose body is so perfect in this movie she seem almost superhuman.
Maybe Tarantino jumps on Juliette Lewis and forces Harvey Keitel to finally confront the brothers and bring them to justice (with the help of Satanico, who ironically turns out to be a devout Christian); maybe when Carlos arrives he turns out to be an undercover Mexican Federal working with the FBI and the brothers continue their escape taking the family (and Satanico) with them deeper into Mexico and becoming more and more desperate along the way; maybe "Carlos" double-crosses them and they are all forced to hole themselves up in the bar and fight together for their lives against the Mexican mob...but WHATEVER you come up with, I guarantee you this: it will be better than the absurd silliness that Tarantino and Rodriguez cooked up, ruining what could have otherwise been a very good film.
(Not a bad idea.) And I can't really call it a "defining" personality trait because everyone gets it at the same time in this movie."From Dusk Till Dawn" just plain does not work.
Tarantino and Rodriguez are very talented filmmakers, and they've proved that time and time again, but they have given both their resumes a black eye with this mutated hybrid of "Reservoir Dogs" and "Assault on Precinct 13." If you value the works of either person, avoid this movie like the vampires it portrays..
The CGI effects are already ludicrous, the vampire makeups are silly (rubberized demons - what is this, a BBC production?), and the violence is neither exciting nor scary - it's merely gross.Check the trivia section and note that Quentin Tarantino - that fiercely original screenwriter and director - ripped off all of the film's best lines from older movies.
From Dusk Till Dawn annoyed me in a variety of ways, particularly because the first half was so great and the latter totally destroyed the film.
A modest success at the time of its release, the movie has since gone on to gain a cult following.The story revolves around a pair of criminals (George Clooney & Quentin Tarantino) who seek refuge in Mexico following a big score.
Of the supporting actors, Fred Williamson & Tom Savini stand out in particular while Salma Hayek, Danny Trejo, Cheech Marin, Michael Parks & John Hawkes all made the most of their limited screen time.Tarantino's script is rife with his trademark dialogue and Rodriguez directed the movie with panache.
Since I am a gangster movie buff who can't get enough of the Tarantino classics Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, I was all set for some more of the great dialogue and keenly directed diction of these two films when I tuned in for FDTD.
Screenwriter Quentin Tarantino and director Robert Rodriguez had apparently attained the kind of stature within the right kind of circles that gave them free reign going into the production of `From Dusk Till Dawn,' and the results are something akin to what happens when you turn a couple of undisciplined youngsters loose in a toy store and then refuse to hold them accountable for the mess they make.
And, unfortunately, none of the above are to be found anywhere in this `B-' schlock Rodriguez and Co. have fostered upon an unsuspecting public.The degradations begin when the morally bankrupt Gecko brothers, Seth (George Clooney) and Richie (Tarantino), go on a spree of murder and robbery on their way to Mexico, where they're to meet up with a colleague who will provide them with a safe haven-- for a price, of course.
Thought it is extremely Silly, Gory and so far into the red zone that it is at times just shy of black, the film not only delivers the goods, but it delivers them which a descent sense of black humour, a sensational make up effects job, and a cast of characters that you actually end up kind of liking more than one usually does with these movies (well some of them arn't so likable).
The second half, after they cross the border into Mexico - as others here have pointed out - becomes the Evil Dead segment of the film, where everything turns into some over-the-top, bizarre, gross-out vampire blood-'n-guts movie with bad special effects and cheesy scenes.
It seems as though Tarantino was tired of making good movies and needed to turn out a terrible combination of crime and vampires.
At the Mexican rendezvous, a bar named The Titty Twister, things go from bad to worse as night falls, and blood-sucking vampires from Hell infest the seedy bar."From Dusk Till Dawn" is a wonderful mix of action, comedy and horror.
But the movie has a heap of other great talents on the cast list, including Harvey Keitel, Juliette Lewis, Salma Hayek, Danny Trejo, Tom Savini, Cheech Marin and Fred Williamson.This 1996 movie is a definite must watch movie, whether you like vampires or not, and it spawned two less impressive sequels and an awful TV series.
Harvey Keitel couldn't find work for years, George Clooney started out on the Facts of Life and Juliette Lewis keeps surprising us all with the kinds of movie roles shes chooses.
Harvey Keitel, George Clooney, Quentin Tarantino, Juliette Lewis, Salma Hayek, Cheech Marin, Tom Savini, Fred Williamson, Kelly Preston, Ernest Liu. Gory, humorous thriller with the biggest second half 360 since MULHOLLAND DRIVE.
I absolutely love this film, every time it comes on T.V. It never tires me, it's always a joy to watch.This is a Vampire movie with an attitude, and humorous dialogue.
George Clooney, Quentin Tarantino, Harvey Keitel and Juliet Lewis team up with Tom Savini and others to fight evil vampires Cheech Marin and Selma Hayek, among others.
From Dusk Til Dawn is definitely a movie of two halfsIt starts off well enough, with the hellish Gecko brothers (Cooney and Tarantino) shooting and hijacking their way across Texas, picking up the hapless Harvey Keitel and family en route.
"From Dusk Till Dawn" has a great cast consisting of some of Rodriguez's usual like Danny Trejo and Cheech Marin, but the main stars are Quentin Tarantino, George Clooney, Juliette Lewis, and Harvey Keitel.
In "Grindhouse", both Tarantino and Rodriguez directed a different homage film that combined to make one movie.
He has some hilarious moments and great acting.This movie is about two brothers (clooney and Tarantino)who are robbers.
They make the family drive to a bar in Mexico where some unlikely events happen.This movie is filled with great actors, clooney ,Tarantino, keitel and more.
From Dusk Till Dawn is the original 'Grindhouse' Tarantino/ Rodriguez featurette, a film that feels like one person has created one half before the second guy just takes over and finishes things off in their own style.