‘Dusk’ Offers Offbeat Humor, Plenty Of Gore
Quentin Tarantino is totally nuts. Not that we didn’t already know that, but with the release of his newest big-screen vehicle, “From Dusk Till Dawn,” this bears repeating. He has an ability to envision and create movie scenes untouched by anyone else in the business.
Director Robert Rodriguez doesn’t hurt this film, either. After his “room’s” critical acclaim in “Four Rooms,” many moviegoers were anxious to see what he could do given the chance to direct a full-length comedy. While this isn’t exactly comedy, the bizarre humor (and bizarre it is) in this film is utilized beautifully.
In his first starring role on the big screen, George Clooney is magnificent. From his TV drama background he brings skills to his role that a typical horror-suspense star couldn’t achieve. While one could argue that waving a gun around and acting important doesn’t require a ton of skill, Clooney still impresses.
Clooney and Tarantino play the criminal Gecko brothers - Clooney the pro bank robber, Seth; Tarantino the rapist, Richard - who have recently escaped from prison. Making their run for the Mexican border, they rob a bank, blow up a liquor store and kill a lot of people.
After Richard rapes and murders their first hostage, a bank teller from the robbery, the Geckos are forced to look for new ones. Who do they find but widower dad Harvey Keitel and his kids, one of which - Juliette Lewis - Tarantino develops quite a desire for.
By way of the abducted family’s motor home, the Geckos successfully cross the border to make their rendezvous with an “agent” who will set them up in Mexico in exchange for a percent of their loot.
The rendezvous point, however, is quite an interesting one. The meeting place is a topless bar offering services to truckers and bikers varying from the somewhat illegal to the very illegal. We soon find out, however, that all the dancers and employees of the bar are vampires.
Yes, vampires. And vampires of Tarantino’s imagination, no less. At various points in the film, these creatures test the outer limits of movie gruesomeness. As the legend goes, vampires can only be killed by driving stakes through their hearts, creating in this case an amount of fake blood unparalleled in any other films.
Clooney and Tarantino are the modern-day Blues Brothers. Aside from the lack of harmonics - the only music in this film accompanies strippers - the similarities are innumerable.
The supporting cast is quite good. Tarantino has to act his you-know-what-off to keep up with Clooney, but manages nonetheless. Keitel and Lewis are also believable in their roles as hostages. Stealing some of the show, however, is “Sex Machine,” one of the last survivors of the vampires.
“From Dusk Till Dawn” can only be described as a “fun” movie. There’s no deep plot and it doesn’t pretend to have one, but it manages to keep a coherent storyline to connect all the jokes and murders.
The more sick, twisted and bizarre your sense of humor, the more you’ll enjoy the movie. And don’t forget to bring along your barf bag, just in case. However, one undeniable fact of this movie is that, in 15 years, Jake and Elwood have come one heck of a long way.
Grade: A