''From Dusk till Dawn'' is a 1996 American action horror film directed by

Robert Rodriguez Robert Anthony Rodriguez ( ; born June 20, 1968) is an American filmmaker, composer, and visual effects supervisor. He shoots, edits, produces, and scores many of his films in Mexico and in his home state of Texas. Rodriguez directed the 1992 ...

and written by

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American filmmaker, actor, and author. Quentin Tarantino filmography, His films are characterized by graphic violence, extended dialogue often featuring much profanity, and references to ...

from a concept and story by Robert Kurtzman. Starring

Harvey Keitel Harvey Keitel ( ; born May 13, 1939) is an American actor and film producer, known for his portrayal of morally ambiguous and "tough guy" characters. He rose to prominence during the New Hollywood movement, and has held a long-running associatio ...

George Clooney George Timothy Clooney (born May 6, 1961) is an American actor, filmmaker, and philanthropist. Known for his leading man roles on screen in both blockbuster and independent films, Clooney has received numerous accolades, including two Ac ...

, Tarantino, Ernest Liu, and

Juliette Lewis Juliette Lake Lewis (born June 21, 1973) is an American actress, singer and musician. She is known for her portrayals of offbeat characters, often in films with dark plots, themes and settings. Lewis gained prominence in American cinema during t ...

, the plot follows a pair of American criminal brothers (Clooney and Tarantino), who take a family as hostages (Keitel, Liu and Lewis) to cross into Mexico, but ultimately find themselves trapped in a saloon, defending against a horde of vampires. ''From Dusk till Dawn'' premiered on January 17, 1996, at the

Cinerama Dome The Cinerama Dome is a movie theater located at 6360 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, California. Designed to exhibit widescreen Cinerama films, it opened November 7, 1963. The original developer was William R. Forman, founder of Pacific Theatr ...

theater in Hollywood, Los Angeles, and was released on January 19 in the United States. It initially received mixed reviews from critics, who described the film as well-made if overly violent. After enjoying financial success at the box office, ''From Dusk till Dawn'' has since become a

cult film A cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a cult following. Cult films are known for their dedicated, passionate fanbase, which forms an elaborate subculture, members of which engage in repeated ...

and spawned a

media franchise A media franchise, also known as a multimedia franchise, is a collection of related media in which several derivative works have been produced from an original creative work of fiction, such as a film, a work of literature, a television program, o ...

of sequel films, a video game, and other media adaptations.

Plot

Fugitive bank robber brothers

Seth Seth, in the Abrahamic religions, was the third son of Adam and Eve. The Hebrew Bible names two of his siblings (although it also states that he had others): his brothers Cain and Abel. According to , Seth was born after Abel's murder by Cain, ...

and Richie Gecko hold up a liquor store, killing clerk Pete Bottoms and Texas Ranger Earl McGraw in a shootout. They inadvertently destroy the building as they leave. At an inn room where they are hiding out, Seth returns from getting food to find Richie has raped and murdered a bank clerk they had taken hostage, much to his anger. Jacob Fuller, a pastor experiencing a crisis of faith brought on by the death of his wife, is on vacation with his teenaged children Scott and Kate in their recreational vehicle (RV). They stop at the inn and are kidnapped by the Gecko brothers, who force the Fuller family to smuggle them over the

Mexican border Mexico shares international borders with three nations: *To the north the United States–Mexico border, which extends for a length of through the states of Baja California, Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León and Tamaulipas. *To the sou ...

. In Mexico, they arrive at the Titty Twister, a

strip club A strip club (also known as a strip joint, striptease bar, peeler bar, gentlemen's club, among others) is a venue where strippers provide adult entertainment, predominantly in the form of striptease and other erotic dances including lap dances. St ...

in the desert (with a small sign over the door that reads "Open from dusk 'til dawn"), where the Gecko brothers will be met by their contact, Carlos, at dawn. Carlos will escort them to the sanctuary at "El Rey", a place of safety for fugitives from justice whose admission fee is 30% of their money. When Richie complains to Seth that this is too high, Seth tells him it is not negotiable. When they come into the bar, the bartender refuses to serve them and orders them to leave, telling them that only bikers and truckers are welcome, and they do not like or welcome outsiders in their bar. Jacob, however, convinces the bartender that due to the special license he is required by law to have to drive his RV, he is technically a truck driver, convincing him to let them stay. Seth, resentful that he was not considered good enough to enter at first, takes a violent dislike to the bikers and truckers. During a bar fight, the bar employees reveal themselves as

vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and c ...

s, and kill most of the patrons. Richie is bitten by a

stripper A stripper or exotic dancer is a person whose occupation involves performing striptease in a public adult entertainment venue such as a strip club. At times, a stripper may be hired to perform at private events. Modern forms of stripping m ...

, Santanico Pandemonium, and dies, but Seth manages to kill her by shooting at a chandelier above her that impales her. Only Seth, Jacob, Kate, Scott, a biker named Sex Machine, and Frost—a Vietnam War veteran—survive. The others are reborn as vampires, including Richie, forcing the survivors to kill them all. When an army of vampires, in bat form, assembles outside, the survivors lock themselves inside, but Sex Machine is bitten, becomes a vampire, and bites Frost and Jacob. Frost throws Sex Machine through the door, allowing the vampires to enter, while Frost turns into a vampire. Seth, Kate, and Scott escape to a storeroom, followed shortly by an injured but still alive Jacob, brandishing a

shotgun A shotgun (also known as a scattergun, peppergun, or historically as a fowling piece) is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge (firearms), cartridge known as a shotshell, which discharges numerous small ...

. In the storeroom, they fashion weapons from truck cargo the vampires have looted from past victims, including a stake mounted on a pneumatic drill, a

crossbow A crossbow is a ranged weapon using an Elasticity (physics), elastic launching device consisting of a Bow and arrow, bow-like assembly called a ''prod'', mounted horizontally on a main frame called a ''tiller'', which is hand-held in a similar f ...

, and

holy water Holy water is water that has been blessed by a member of the clergy or a religious figure, or derived from a well or spring considered holy. The use for cleansing prior to a baptism and spiritual cleansing is common in several religions, from ...

, which requires Jacob to recover his faith to bless. Jacob, knowing he will soon become a vampire, makes Scott and Kate promise to kill him when he changes. The group makes their final assault on the undead. Sex Machine mutates into a large, rat-like creature and attacks Seth, but is killed by Kate. Jacob becomes a vampire after killing Frost, but Scott hesitates to kill him, allowing Jacob to bite him. Scott kills him, but then is overwhelmed by vampires, who begin to devour him; he begs for death, and Kate kills him. As vampires surround Kate and Seth, streams of morning light enter through bullet holes in the building, making the vampires back away. Carlos arrives and his bodyguards blast open the door, letting in the sunlight, which kills the vampires. Seth chastises Carlos for his poor choice of a meeting place, and negotiates a smaller tribute for his admission to El Rey. Kate asks Seth if he wants her to go with him to El Rey, but he refuses, apparently concerned for her safety, leaving her with some cash. Kate drives away in the RV, leaving the Titty Twister behind, which is revealed to be the top of an eight-level, partially buried,

Aztec The Aztecs ( ) were a Mesoamerican civilization that flourished in central Mexico in the Post-Classic stage, post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central ...

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

surrounded by abandoned trucks from various decades.

Cast

as Jacob Fuller *

as Seth Gecko *

as Richard "Richie" Gecko *

as Katherine "Kate" Fuller * Ernest Liu as Scott Fuller *

Salma Hayek Salma Valgarma Hayek Pinault ( , ; ; born September 2, 1966) is a Mexican and American actress and film producer. She began her career in Mexico with starring roles in the telenovela ''Teresa (1989 TV series), Teresa'' (1989–1991) as well a ...

as Santanico Pandemonium * Brenda Hillhouse as Hostage Gloria Hill *

Marc Lawrence Marc Lawrence (born Max Goldsmith; February 17, 1910 – November 28, 2005) was an American character actor who specialized in underworld types. He has also been credited as F. A. Foss, Marc Laurence and Marc C. Lawrence. Early life Lawrence w ...

as Old Timer Motel Owner *

Cheech Marin Richard Anthony "Cheech" Marin (born July 13, 1946) is an American comedian and actor. He gained recognition as part of the comedy act Cheech & Chong during the 1970s and early 1980s with Tommy Chong, and as Don Johnson's partner, Insp. Joe Dom ...

as Border Guard / Chet Pussy / Carlos * Michael Parks as Texas Ranger Earl McGraw * Kelly Preston as Newscaster Kelly Houge *

Tom Savini Thomas Vincent Savini (born November 3, 1946) is an American prosthetic makeup artist, actor, stunt performer and film director. He is known for his makeup and special effects work on many films directed by George A. Romero, including ''Martin ( ...

as Sex Machine * John Saxon as FBI Agent Stanley Chase *

Danny Trejo Danny Trejo (, ; born May 16, 1944) is an American actor. Known for his Danny Trejo filmography, large body of work as a character actor, films in which he has appeared in have grossed over $3.7 billion worldwide. A native of Los Angeles, Tr ...

as Razor Charlie * Fred Williamson as Frost * John Hawkes as Pete Bottoms * Tito & Tarantula as The Titty Twister House Band

Development

''From Dusk till Dawn'' was conceived by Robert Kurtzman, who wrote the film's initial treatment in 1988 to create work for his co-founded special effects and prosthetic makeup studio, KNB EFX Group. In 1990, KNB hired

to write the script as his first paid writing assignment, who agreed to write the screenplay for $1,500 and an agreement to have KNB provide the makeup for '' Reservoir Dogs''. Kurtzman originally wanted to direct ''From Dusk till Dawn'', but as he had never directed a feature before on top of the film's violence and unusual narrative, he could not secure the interest of a studio despite their initial proposed budget of $1–2 million. Sometime after the release of ''

Pulp Fiction ''Pulp Fiction'' is a 1994 American independent crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino from a story he conceived with Roger Avary.See, e.g., King (2002), pp. 185–7; ; It tells four intertwining tales of crime and violence ...

'', Tarantino approached

Miramax Miramax, LLC, formerly known as Miramax Films, is an American independent film and television production and distribution company owned by beIN Media Group and Paramount Global. Based in Los Angeles, California, it was founded on December 19, ...

and stated that his next project would be ''From Dusk till Dawn'', albeit with

(whom he had met earlier and thought his style was perfect for the project) directing. Miramax agreed, and shooting began in the summer of 1995.

Production

References to other titles

The "El Rey" hideout in Mexico was taken from '' The Getaway'', a 1958 crime novel by Jim Thompson. Earl McGraw became a recurring character in Rodriguez and Tarantino's works, later appearing in '' Kill Bill'', '' Planet Terror'', and ''

Death Proof ''Death Proof'' is a 2007 American slasher film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It stars Kurt Russell as a Stunt performer, stuntman who murders young women with modified cars he says are "death-proof". Rosario Dawson, Vanessa Ferlito ...

'' as an

Easter egg Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs, are eggs that are decorated for the Christian holiday of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. As such, Easter eggs are commonly used during the season of Eastertide (Easter season). The ...

. Chango Beer and Sex Machine's codpiece gun are references to Rodriguez's 1995 film '' Desperado''. Seth also returns to the hotel with Big Kahuna Burgers, which were used in ''Pulp Fiction'' and mentioned in ''Death Proof''. Seth Gecko also says the line: "All right, Ramblers. Let's get ramblin'!", a quote from Tarantino's ''Reservoir Dogs''. Scott's T-shirt decoration reads "Precinct 13", a reference to

John Carpenter John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American filmmaker, composer, and actor. Most commonly associated with horror film, horror, action film, action, and science fiction film, science fiction films of the 1970s and 1980s, he is ...

's 1976 film, '' Assault on Precinct 13''. Salma Hayek's character, Satanico Pandemonium, is a reference to the 1975 nunsploitation film '' Satánico pandemonium''.

Non-union crew

As with many of Rodriguez's films, ''From Dusk till Dawn'' employed a nonunion production crew, which is unusual for a production with a budget above $15 million. The making of the film, including the crew's nonunion status, was documented in '' Full Tilt Boogie'', released two years later.

Release

Box office

''From Dusk till Dawn'' was released on January 19, 1996. On its first week, the film grossed $10,240,805 in the United States, making it the highest-grossing film of the week. The next week, the film fell to third-highest in the box office, where it grossed $4,851,921, being beaten by '' Mr. Holland's Opus'' and ''

Bed of Roses Bed of roses is an English expression that represents a carefree life. This idiomatic expression is still popular. In the thirteenth-century work Le Roman de la Rose (called "The French Iliad" in Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable), a L ...

''. ''From Dusk till Dawn'' grossed $25,836,616 in the United States and $33,500,000 internationally, for a worldwide gross of $59,336,616. On May 1, 1996, the film was banned in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

; Irish Film Censor Board head Sheamus Smith cited its "irresponsible and totally gratuitous" violence, which he felt was particularly untimely in the wake of the then-recent

Dunblane Dunblane (, ) is a town in the council area of Stirling in central Scotland, and inside the historic boundaries of the county of Perthshire. It is a commuter town, with many residents making use of good transport links to much of the Central Be ...

and Port Arthur massacres. In January 2004, the video release was passed with an 18 certificate.

Critical reception

Audiences polled by

CinemaScore CinemaScore is an American market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts from the data. Background Ed Mintz, who ...

gave the film an average grade of "B−" on an A+ to F scale.

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...

gave the film three out of four stars and described it as "a skillful meat-and-potatoes action extravaganza with some added neat touches". In her review for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'',

Janet Maslin Janet R. Maslin (born August 12, 1949) is an American journalist, who served as a film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1977 to 1999, serving as chief critic for the last six years, and then a literary critic from 2000 to 2015. In 2000, M ...

wrote: "The latter part of ''From Dusk till Dawn'' is so relentless that it's as if a spigot has been turned on and then broken. Though some of the tricks are entertainingly staged, the film loses its clever edge when its action heats up so gruesomely and exploitatively that there's no time for talk". ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'' gave the film a "B" rating and

Owen Gleiberman Owen Gleiberman (born February 24, 1959) is an American film critic who has been chief film critic for '' Variety'' magazine since May 2016, a title he shares with . Previously, Gleiberman wrote for ''Entertainment Weekly'' from 1990 until 2014. ...

wrote: "Rodriguez and Tarantino have taken the let-'em-eat-trash cynicism of modern corporate moviemaking and repackaged it as junk-conscious 'attitude'. In ''From Dusk till Dawn'', they put on such a show of cooking up popcorn that they make pandering to the audience seem hip". In his review for ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', Desson Howe wrote: "The movie, which treats you with contempt for even watching it, is a monument to its own lack of imagination. It's a triumph of vile over content; mindless nihilism posing as hipness". ''

Cinefantastique ''Cinefantastique'' is an American horror, fantasy, and science fiction film magazine. History The magazine originally started as a mimeographed fanzine in 1967, then relaunched as a glossy, offset printed quarterly in 1970 by publisher/ ed ...

'' magazine's Steve Biodrowski wrote: "Whereas one might reasonably have expected that the combo of Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez would yield a critical mass of nuclear proportions, instead of an atomic fireball's worth of entertainment, we get a long fuse, quite a bit of fizzle, and a rather minor blast". In his review for the ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...

'', Mick LaSalle called the film "an ugly, unpleasant criminals-on-the-lam film that midway turns into a boring and completely repellent vampire 'comedy'. If it's not one of the worst films of 1996 it will have been one miserable year". In Marc Savlov's review for the ''

Austin Chronicle Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

'', he wrote: "Fans of

Merchant Ivory A merchant is a person who trades in goods produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Merchants have been known for as long as humans have engaged in trade and commerce. Merchants and merchant networks operated i ...

will do well to steer clear of Rodriguez's newest opus, but both action and horror film fans have cause for celebration after what seems like a particularly long splatter-drought. This is horror with a wink and a nod to drive-in theatres and sweaty back seats. This is how it's done".

Awards and nominations

Soundtrack

The soundtrack features mainly Texas blues by such artists as

ZZ Top ZZ Top is an American rock band formed in Houston, Texas, in 1969. For almost 56 years, it consisted of vocalist-guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard (musician), Frank Beard, and bassist-vocalist Dusty Hill prior to his death in 2021. ZZ ...

and brothers Stevie Ray and Jimmie Vaughan on separate tracks. The Chicano rock band Tito & Tarantula, who portrayed the band in the Titty Twister, appears on the soundtrack, as well. The film's score is by Graeme Revell. " Dark Night" by

The Blasters The Blasters are an American rock music, rock band formed in 1979 in Downey, California, by brothers Phil Alvin (vocals and guitar) and Dave Alvin (guitar), with bass guitarist John Bazz and drummer Bill Bateman (drummer), Bill Bateman. Their s ...

plays over the film's opening and closing credits.

Video game

A video game of the same name was released for

Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...

in 2001. It is based on events that transpire directly after the end of the film.

Sequel and prequel

''From Dusk till Dawn'' was followed by two

direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, television series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strat ...

installments, a sequel '' From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money'' (1999) and prequel '' From Dusk Till Dawn 3: The Hangman's Daughter'' (2000). They were both received poorly by critics.

is the only actor to appear in all three, although Michael Parks appears in both ''From Dusk till Dawn'' and ''The Hangman's Daughter''. Rodriguez, Tarantino and

Lawrence Bender Lawrence Bender (born October 17, 1957) is an American film producer. Throughout his career, Bender-produced films have received 36 Academy Award nominations, resulting in eight wins. Bender rose to fame by producing '' Reservoir Dogs'' in 1992 ...

served as producers on all three films.

Television

television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

inspired by the films premiered on the El Rey network in March 2014, produced and directed by Rodriguez. The show was intended to explore and expand on the characters and story from the film, providing a wider scope and richer

mythology. The series ended production in 2016, with ''

Deadline Hollywood ''Deadline Hollywood'', commonly known as ''Deadline'' and also referred to as ''Deadline.com'', is an online news site founded as the news blog ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' by Nikki Finke in 2006. It is updated several times a day, with en ...

'' reporting that the actors have been released from their contracts as of October 31.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:From Dusk till Dawn 1996 action comedy films 1996 comedy horror films 1996 films 1990s action horror films 1990s American films 1990s English-language films 1990s monster movies 1990s Spanish-language films A Band Apart films American action comedy films American action horror films American exploitation films American comedy horror films American monster movies American splatter films American vampire films Censored films Dimension Films films Films adapted into comics Films about brothers Films about dysfunctional families Films about kidnapping in the United States Films about murderers Films about rape Films about the Texas Ranger Division Films about widowhood Films directed by Robert Rodriguez Films produced by Elizabeth Avellán Films scored by Graeme Revell Films set in deserts Films set in Mexico Films set in Texas Films shot in California Films with screenplays by Robert Kurtzman Films with screenplays by Quentin Tarantino From Dusk till Dawn (franchise) Miramax films Troublemaker Studios films Saturn Award–winning films English-language comedy horror films English-language action horror films English-language science fiction horror films English-language crime films English-language action comedy films