FROM DUSK TILL DAWN Review On "Violent Maniac's Cage"

FROM DUSK TILL DAWN

(1996, USA)

DIRECTED BY: Robert Rodriguez.

Rarely does a major motion film release provide a gut-load of action packed mayhem and gore. Reminiscant of the Dead Trilogy (the title is in the exact same format as the title for Dawn Of The Dead), Evil Dead, Dead Alive and Assault On Precinct 13. FDTD is a real breath of fresh
air for gore fans and it even has a top notch cast.

The movie starts out with a convinent store clerk talking to a ranger about some hilarious bullshit like retards being allowed to serve food to the public. Really the clerk is stalling because a couple of wanted bank robbers Seth & Richie Geko played by George Clooney and Quentin Tarrantino are holding a couple of girls hostage. Eventually the brothers waste the ranger because the clerk was giving him alleged handsigns and the store clerk whom is set on fire and still keeps going.

The brothers then take refuge in a motel where Richie kills a bank teller who they had for a hostage. They get a hold of Harvey Keitel and his family Scott (Ernest Liu) and Kate (Juiliette Lewis) to use them for their RV to make it pass the mexican border. After the plan works they go to a biker and truckers bar called the Tittie Twister where they wait until dawn for the people the brothers will make a deal with and seek sanctuary in a community called El Ray.

When the crooks and family arrive at the Tittie Twister everything seems fine until the inhabitants start to feed on all of the humans. It turns out they are a bunch of vampires. Richie (Tarantino) gets killed and the remaining survivors in the gore soaked place must fight to stay alive. Those remaining are Tom Savini who plays a biker called Sex Machine, Fred Williamson of Shaft fame and the family along with Seth (Clooney). After the first battle Sex Machine is biten and is dealt with but not before he gets Williamson and then the place is swarming with bats. Kate, Seth and Scott retreat to a back room while Keitel hides under the bar bench before getting into the back room.

The crew prepare for a final battle with the ghouls so they stock up in holy weapons and proceed to the final battle with Keitel already biten so Scott and Kate must deal with him. The final battle ensues with Scott being chomped to piecies by the demons and Kate killing her father Jacob (Keitel) who turns into one. Clooney and herself barely make it out alive until the daylight comes and they start shooting holes in the place burning all of the vampires up. Clooneys arrival crew help them out before everything goes boom. It all ends off with Clooney going his way and Kate going hers.

At the very end we see a gigantic palace beneath the bar and many piled up vechicles behind it proving the place was a haven for the bloodsuckers. The whole thing in the bar starts at dusk and ends at dawn. John Saxon has a very brief appearance as an FBI agent on TV and Salma Hayek has a small role as a knockout dancer/vampire. Lots of goofy moments to go along with the violence so this is not a movie to take seriously by any means. The first half is like a Tarantino/Rodriguez picture while the second half is like a whole new film.

Cheech Marin plays three different roles including a door man for the Tittie Twister endlessly talking about pussy. Memorable gore scenes include a pencil being pushed into a beating heart, vampires impaled on four legs of a table, Juliette Lewis attempting to stab one in the heart, Sex Machine with what I call a cock gun (think about it) along with a general orgy of flying limbs and gore. Lets not forget the band of zombies playing a human torso who explode after the hilarious moment when everything is dead and Tom Savini's character says "now lets kill that fucking band!".

A great film which horror fans will appreciate and others will insult like fans of Clint Eastwood's westerns and Jackie Chan movies. All the characters work well with Ernest Liu as an exception. Intensly satisfying action gore masterpiece. Don't forget to spot the tribute
scene to Bad Taste (shotgun through the guts).

Rating: 5 Skulls

Review by: Richard J. Taylor

Email: rtaylor@roadrunner.nf.net

This site is created and maintained by Violent Maniac < CMAYO@THEZONE.NET >