From Dusk Till Dawn
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| From Dusk Till Dawn | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Directed by | Robert Rodriguez |
| Produced by | Robert Rodriguez Quentin Tarantino Lawrence Bender |
| Written by | Story: Robert Kurtzman Screenplay: Quentin Tarantino |
| Starring | George Clooney Harvey Keitel Quentin Tarantino Juliette Lewis Cheech Marin Fred Williamson Tom Savini Salma Hayek |
| Music by | Graeme Revell |
| Distributed by | Miramax |
| Release date(s) | January 19, 1996 |
| Running time | 108 min. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $19,000,000 |
| Followed by | From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
From Dusk Till Dawn is a 1996 action / horror film directed by Robert Rodriguez, and written by Quentin Tarantino. The movie stars George Clooney, Harvey Keitel, Quentin Tarantino, Juliette Lewis, and Cheech Marin.
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[edit] Plot
The movie opens with the fugitive Gecko brothers Seth (George Clooney) and Richie (Quentin Tarantino) fleeing the F.B.I. and Texas police after Richie has broken Seth out of prison in a bloody shootout. Seth Gecko is a cold, tough anti-hero, while his younger brother Richie is a homicidal serial rapist who hears voices.
The film begins in a liquor store where Seth and Richie hold two girls hostage while attempting to get Pete Bottoms, the clerk, to get rid of Earl McGraw, an officer who has entered the store. Just as McGraw is about to leave, he is shot in the head by Richie, thinking that Pete has mouthed "help us." This leads to an argument between Seth and Richie (during which the hostages escape), and Richie shoots Pete in the arm. Enraged, Pete manages to pull out a gun he had hidden in a safe. Though he manages to shoot Richie in the hand, he fails to reload quickly enough and is set on fire by the two brothers.
The Geckos arrive at a motel, along with Gloria Hill, a hostage they had in the trunk of their car. Seth warns Hill not to talk or try to escape, then leaves to go get food, while Richie watches a news report about him and his brother.
The film then cuts to the Fuller family: Jacob (Harvey Keitel), the father and a former pastor who has experienced a crisis of faith, and his two children Scott (Ernest Liu) and Kate (Juliette Lewis). The Fullers are traveling to Mexico in their motor home.
Meanwhile, Seth returns and discovers that Richie has raped and killed Hill. This enrages Seth, but then he calms down and promises his brother that they will get to Mexico tomorrow.
The Fullers arrive at the motel, only to be kidnapped by the Geckos, who force the Fullers to drive them to the Mexican Border. They manage to fool the border agent (Cheech Marin, in a triple role) and arrive at the "Titty Twister," a bar in the middle of a desolate wasteland, where the Geckos have agreed to be picked up by Carlos (Cheech Marin again), their contact, at dawn.
At the "Titty Twister," the Geckos run into a few conflicts. First they encounter Chet Pussy, a bouncer (Cheech Marin again) whom Seth and Richie pummel to gain entrance. Then Razor Charlie (Danny Trejo), the owner and main bartender, refuses to serve them, stating that he only serves bikers and truck drivers. Though Jacob manages to prove that he is a truck driver, Seth nevertheless gets angry when Big Emillio, a bouncer, puts his hand on him.
Exotic dancer Santanico Pandemonium (Salma Hayek), the main attraction at the "Titty Twister," appears. After her show is over, Chet the bouncer, having recovered from his beating, enters the bar with a group of people looking to fight the Geckos. This leads to a fight, and Seth takes out his gun and starts shooting people. But as their backs are turned, Santanico morphs into a horrible creature, jumps on Richie's back and sinks her fangs into his neck, killing him. It soon becomes evident that everyone who works at the "Titty Twister" is a vampire.
In the ensuing chaos, nearly every biker and trucker in the bar is killed. Only, Seth, Jacob, Kate, and Scott survive, along with a biker named Sex Machine (Tom Savini), and Frost (Fred Williamson), a Vietnam War veteran. They manage to kill all of the vampires in the room (including Santanico Pandemonium, Razor Charlie, Big Emillio, Chet Pussy, and a vampire called "Mouth Bitch"), but their problems are not yet over. A host of vampires attempt to enter the bar, which is then barricaded. Also, the slain clients - including Richie - are starting to rise again as vampires and must be destroyed. During the struggle, one of the vampires bites Sex Machine in the arm.
The survivors try to decide what to do next. Some of them suggest staying until dawn. When Kate says in ever-growing panic that she cannot stand all of this, Frost disagrees, recalling a traumatic event that occurred to him in Vietnam. While he is telling this story, Sex Machine begins to develop vampire traits and when Frost finishes his story, Sex Machine bites him (non-fatally) on the neck. He also manages to bite Jacob in the arm and throws him against a wall, before being thrown through a door by Frost, causing all of the vampires to enter. In the process, Frost also turns into a vampire instantly. Seth, Kate, and Scott quickly escape to a back room.
Meanwhile, Jacob manages to combine a baseball bat and a shotgun in the form of a cross and escapes into the back room where Seth, Scott, and Kate are hiding. They fashion weapons from items found in the storeroom, and prepare to fight the vampires. Jacob makes his children swear that they will kill him when he inevitably changes into a vampire.
The four then make their assault on the undead. Seth and Kate manage to kill Sex Machine (after he turns into a demon dog), and Jacob attacks Frost. However, just after Frost is vanquished, the other vampires stop attacking Jacob, since Jacob has turned into a vampire himself. He bites Scott, who is then forced to kill him. Scott is then attacked by several vampires and Kate is forced to shoot him. The shot not only blows him up, but also the vampires around him.
Seth and Kate quickly get surrounded by the vampires, but then streams of sunlight shine through holes in the walls, showing that it is now dawn. Seth and Kate quickly shoot holes into the walls through which sunlight pours in, holding the remaining vampires at bay. Just then, Carlos attempts to enter the building. On Seth's call his bodyguards blast open the door, and the sunlight streaming in in a broad beam (and a disco ball on the ceiling reflecting it into every corner of the bar) blows up all of the remaining vampires.
Seth and Kate flee the building as the vampires go up in flames. Seth berates Carlos for choosing the "Titty Twister" as their rendez-vous and demands that now he will pay Carlos only 15% (rather than 30% as per their prior agreement). The two agree on 20%, only to have Carlos raise it to 25% at the last second. Seth leaves with Carlos. Though he is tempted to take Kate with him, he decides he is not evil enough to take her to a town of vicious criminals, where he will surely meet a bad end, stating his famous line, "I may be a bastard, but I'm not a fucking bastard." He allows her to continue her journey without him, though she appears somewhat at a loss to continue her family's vacation after the events of the night.
As they leave, the camera pans back to reveal that the "Titty Twister" was actually built on the remains of an ancient Aztec Temple, presumably the home of vampires for centuries.
[edit] Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| George Clooney | Seth Gecko |
| Harvey Keitel | Jacob Fuller |
| Quentin Tarantino | Richie Gecko |
| Juliette Lewis | Kate Fuller |
| Ernest Liu | Scott Fuller |
| Salma Hayek | Santanico Pandemonium |
| Cheech Marin | Border Guard / Chet Pussy / Carlos |
| Danny Trejo | Razor Charlie |
| Tom Savini | Sex Machine |
| Fred Williamson | Frost |
| Michael Parks | Texas Ranger Earl McGraw |
[edit] Deaths
- Earl McGraw: Shot in the head by Richie.
- Pete Bottoms: Shot in the arm by Richie, then is set on fire by the two brothers.
- Gloria Hill: Raped and killed by Richie (off-screen).
- Richie Gecko: Bitten by Santanico Pandemonium, later turned into a vampire and impaled in the heart by Seth.
- Chet Pussy: Melts after Kate makes him swallow her cross.
- Santanico Pandemonium: Impaled by a chandelier that was shot down by Seth.
- Razor Charlie: Impaled by a pool cue.
- Big Emilio: Heart ripped out by Frost, which is then impaled on a pencil.
- Sex Machine: Bit in the arm, thrown through a window of the bar (allowing the vampires to enter), decapitated by Seth, turns into a demon dog, and is finally killed by an arrow.
- Frost: Gets bit by Sex Machine, becomes a vampire, is impaled by a shotgun, and dies when Jacob is about to become a vampire.
- Jacob Fuller: Is bitten by Sex Machine, becomes a vampire, is killed when Scott hits him with a water balloon and shoots him in the head.
- Scott Fuller: Jacob bites him, gets shot by Kate as vampires begin to rip him apart.
[edit] Vampires
Main Vampires.
- Santanico Pandemonium: Vampire queen and main attraction at the Titty Twister. She sparks off the vamps' feeding frenzy when she kills Richie Gecko in a spur-of-the-moment surge of bloodlust, triggered by his bleeding hand. She kills two characters in the movie, most notably Richard Gecko. The other is featured in the Deleted Scenes section of the Laserdisc and DVD where Santanico (human form) sits on the lap of a dazed and wounded biker (played by Greg Nicotero of KNB Effects). Holding his gaze for a moment a second mouth (resembling a monstrous snake) erupts out of her mouth and bites his head off. She is killed when she is impaled by a chandelier which is shot down by Seth. She is played by Salma Hayek.
- Razor Charlie: Apparent owner of the Titty Twister. Gruff, surly and untrusting, Razor Charlie is the main bar-tender and he is the announcer for the main show put on for the victims lured for the resident Vampire staff and dancers to devour at a certain point in the evening. Charlie is the one who wounds Richie's already-wounded hand which intitially is what causes the said 'feeding frenzy' mentioned before. He makes no notable kills but during his screen-time he rips a man's arm off and attacks Sex Machine twice- ultimately being staked by him the second time round. He is played by Danny Trejo.
- Big Emilio: Bouncer of the Titty Twister. Big Emilio is as the name goes- he's a big guy. Seth immediately hates him due to a confrontation soon after first entering the Titty Twister due to his first encounter with where he puts his hand on Seth's shoulder as a threat. When Santanico is killed he makes a beeline for Seth, killing all the bikers and truckers stupid enough to attempt to stop him. He is killed by both Frost and Sex Machine. Frost rips his heart out and Sex Machine puts a pencil through it, finishing him off.
Minor Vampires
- Mouth Bitch: A resident vamp featured in the "Mexican Standoff" scene. The "Mouth Bitch" originally had a much larger role when the frenzy starts. A gaping, blood-splattered hole is present in her stomach during the standoff but is never explained. The scene which show the origin of the hole had been cut but can be viewed in the deleted scenes of the Laserdisc and DVD. This vampire sits on a biker's lap, which previously held a beautiful waitress. In the scenes the biker (played by Gino Crognale, makeup effects) looks away from the girl surveying the chaos surrounding them in shocked silence. A moment later, a horrifying realisation dawns on him and he slowly turns round to see a hideous gremlin-like vampire in place of the waitress. She toys with him by sticking her tongue into his screaming mouth as her form of "kissing". They are later encountered by Seth. Mouth Bitch takes notice of him and taunts him by standing up to face him with the biker in tow. Performing a strange sort of 'dance', Mouth Bitch pushes her victim down towards her belly and it rips open to reveal a large mouth which bites the man's head off. She then begins to pursue a momentarily-stunned Seth with intent of having as her next victim. This vampire was a design of Robert Rodriguez's and was constantly referred to numerous times in the behind-the-scenes footage on the DVD. The creature's method of feeding was created as a homage to John Carpenter's The Thing.
- The Rat Man: The demonic rat monster Sex Machine's body transforms into almost instantaneously after Seth "kills" him. Seth steals Sex Machine's bullwhip during a confrontation during the final onslaught of vampires and decapitates him with it. Dismissing him as another dead vamp, Seth continues fighting for his life, meanwhile a strange metamorphasis takes place in Sex Machine's still body. His limbs stretch out to an almost skeletal extent, his body splits apart and is revealed to have been given an animal-like quality with an arching spine and finally a monstrous head emerges out from the severed neck. The final form is like a demon rodent of sorts, hence its name, the "Rat Man". Seth tackles the rodent with his motorized stake but the Rat Man knocks him over and pulls him underneath its body pinning him. Seth fends off its snaping jaws but is fighting a losing battle. At that point, Kate takes aim at the Rat Man. Getting Seth's attention, he pushes the rodent's head upward and Kate shoots it in the head with crossbow. Gaining an upperhand, Seth plants his feet on the Rat Man's chest and kicks into a nearby fire where it is incinerated.
- The "Wild Bunch": This nickname was given to a quartet of female vampires who have a standoff with Seth and co. (Jacob, Frost and Sex Machine) when all other 'original' resident vampires in the Titty Twister were supposedly killed. The name was most likely a reference to the Western of the same name.
Two of the vampires made an appearance in the final cut of the movie when the initial feeding frenzy begins. One, who can be recognised as the dancer who declared "Dinner is served!" moments after Santanico Pandemonium kill Ritche while the other used a paperfan to slice open a man's neck whom she had previously been seducing. The other two were the "Mouth Bitch" with the now-exposed 'mouth' from a previous scene and another large human-like vampire who tortured a victim in another Deleted Scene by popping a large pimple on her victim's face.
In a scene credited as the "Mexican Standoff" the vampires and humans face each other and ready themselves for action while Scott and Kate seek refuge behind the bar. Seth cocks his gun, Sex Machine brandishes his whip, Frost wields the pencil used to stake Big Emilio and Jacob readies a sharpened stake. The vamps respond with a growl and start walking towards them- fangs bared. The men follow suit and both parties clash resulting in four staked vampires and a moment's piece of mind... before the next onslaught.
[edit] Labor issues during production
From Dusk Till Dawn employed a non-union production crew, which is unusual for a production with a budget above $10 million dollars. Rodriguez, Tarantino and producer Lawrence Bender defended this choice because it made for a more team-like atmosphere on the set instead of people having to stick to their certified jobs. Yet the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts targeted the production for strike action seeking to shut down filming, feeling that the film was a large enough production to warrant a unionized crew. Police were employed on set during some shooting days although no strike or rioting ever took place. This issue is covered in the making-of documentary Full Tilt Boogie featured on the film's DVD.
[edit] Trivia
- Rodriguez originally commissioned one of his favourite painters, Frank Frazetta, to create the one-sheet poster for the film. Although the poster ultimately wasn't used, Rodriguez struck up a friendship with Frazetta and the two planned on working together. This almost came to fruition in early 2004 when Rodriguez was originally hired to direct John Carter of Mars and he brought on Frazetta as the film's production designer. When Rodriguez was forced to leave the film, Frazetta left as well.
- The influence of the poster can be seen on the cover the "Dusk Till Dawn" behind-the-scenes documentary, Full Tilt Boogie. Copies of are sold on Frazetta's website.
- Seth's line "Okay ramblers, let's get rambling." is the same line referencing that of what Joe Cabot says in Quentin Tarantino's film, Reservoir Dogs. Two actors from that film, Quentin Tarantino and Harvey Keitel are also in this movie.
- Michael Parks's character Texas Ranger Earl McGraw later appeared in the first volume of Tarantino's Kill Bill, as well as both segments of Grind House.
- Cheech Marin played multiple roles in the movie - the Border Patrol guard, Chet Pussy at the Titty Twister, and Carlos.
- The film has many references to the John Carpenter film Assault on Precinct 13, Sam Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch, and Sam Raimi's Evil Dead series.
- The Gecko Brothers is an allusion to the Frogg brothers, Edgar and Alan Frogg, the siblings from The Lost Boys.
- The edited-for-television version of the film featured some of the highest-quality computer rendering and compositing work seen to date. Nude women were clothed and the bar magically became the "Kitty Twister" in all shots of the name, and all sayings of the original name have been dubbed.
- Quentin Tarantino had been asked by Rodriguez to co-direct, but declined to focus more on acting.
- John Travolta, Tim Roth, Steve Buscemi, Christopher Walken and Michael Madsen were all offered the role of Seth Gecko. All five declined due to scheduling conflicts; Buscemi was filming five movies, Walken four, and the rest were filming three.
- After declining the lead role of Seth Gecko, Steve Buscemi and Tim Roth were both asked to portray Pete Bottoms, the liquor store clerk. Despite the small size of this role, both declined due to scheduling conflicts. Roth was filming three movies and Buscemi was filming five, including Fargo and Escape From L.A..
- The Gecko brothers are trying to get to El Ray, Mexico, a reference to Jim Thompson's novel The Getaway where it is a fictional town filled with doomed criminals who have nowhere left to run.
- The burgers Seth Gecko buys and brings to the motel are from Big Kahuna Burger, a reference to Pulp Fiction.
- Behind the bar in the Titty Twister is an neon sign that says "Chango Beer". The Chango Beer brand was mentioned by Cheech's character in Desperado ("All I got is piss warm Chango"). In a deleted scene a bottle can be seen with Chango seen clearly before Sex Machine (Tom Savini) breaks it with a whip. The beer also appears again in the Sin City film adaptation during the "That Yellow Bastard" segment when Hartigan follows a clue to Kate's Bar. The name Chango turns up as well in The Faculty (also directed by Rodriguez) as the name of the football team that is the opposition in the football game against the Harrington Hornetts (the name is announced as "The Bruns County Changos" over a P.A. announcement during one of the sequences that occuring during the school day).
- The "Ezekiel" speech Samuel L. Jackson gives in Pulp Fiction was originally in the script for From Dusk Till Dawn in the scene where Jacob fights back the army of vampires by using a shotgun and a bat as a cross.
- The rock band Tool replayed the Salma Hayek strip scene during the duration of the recording of 10,000 Days.
- The "crotch gun" that Sex Machine wears can be seen in Rodriguez's film Desperado.
[edit] Sequel and prequel
The film was followed by two direct-to-video follow-ups, a sequel, From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money and a prequel, From Dusk Till Dawn 3: The Hangman's Daughter. Danny Trejo is the only actor to appear in all three, although Michael Parks appears in The Hangman's Daughter. Rodriguez, Tarantino and Lawrence Bender served as producers on all three movies.
[edit] External links
- From Dusk Till Dawn at the Internet Movie Database
- From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money at the Internet Movie Database
- From Dusk Till Dawn 3: The Hangman's Daughter at the Internet Movie Database
- The Script
- Revelations - Official Clive Barker Resource read a snippet of Clive's introduction to the From Dusk Til Dawn screenplay...
| The films of Quentin Tarantino |
|---|
| Directed: My Best Friend's Birthday • Reservoir Dogs • Pulp Fiction • Four Rooms • Jackie Brown • Kill Bill • Grindhouse • Inglorious Bastards • The Vega Brothers Written: True Romance • Natural Born Killers • From Dusk Till Dawn |
