ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, January 20, 1996 TAG: 9601220035
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 10 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: MOVIE REVIEW
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO CORRESPONDENT
If there's any remaining doubt that Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino are two of the premier B-filmmakers of their time, "From Dusk Til Dawn" ought to put it to rest.
This escapee from the drive-in is violent, bloody and grimly funny. Even the most devoted fans of low-budget horror flicks may be surprised at how far it goes. More mainstream audiences be warned: decapitations, amputations and burning bodies are just the beginning.
Bank robbers Seth (George Clooney) and Richard Gecko (Tarantino, who also wrote the script) are on the run from the Texas Rangers as the film begins. After a couple of graphic killings and a rape-murder that thankfully occurs off-screen, they kidnap a family.
Jacob Fuller (Harvey Keitel) is a pastor who has lost his faith and is looking for a spiritual rebirth on an RV trip with his kids Kate (Juliette Lewis) and Scott (Ernest Liu). Seth forces Jacob to drive the five of them across the border to a Mexican strip bar. Turns out the place is full of vampires.
As he's proven before in "El Mariachi" and "Desperado," Rodriguez knows how to keep action moving. The pace zips right along with a quirky visual humor that gives a cartoonish quality to the most graphic moments. Tarantino's script is much closer in tone and intention to his "True Romance." The complexity of "Pulp Fiction" is notably absent.
Despite the expensive advertising blitz that has preceded it, "From Dusk Til Dawn" is nothing more than an exploitation flick. The presence of such B-movie stalwarts as Michael Parks, Fred Williamson, Tom Savini and John Saxon is not accidental. For those who are wondering what George Clooney, the hunk from TV's "ER," is doing here, remember that until now, his most notable big-screen credit was "Return of the Killer Tomatoes."
Harvey Keitel provides the film's saving grace. He plays the only sympathetic adult protagonist with an easy grace that leaves his younger and flashier co-stars in the shadows. That, however, is hardly an unqualified recommendation.
"From Dusk Til Dawn" is too grotesque to recommend to a general moviegoing audience, and too frivolous for fans of "Pulp Fiction. As the guiltiest of guilty pleasures, though, it may be just the ticket.
Got a question about movies? Contact Mike Mayo by e-mail at 75331.2603compuserve.com
From Dusk Til Dawn ** 1/2
A Dimension Films release playing at the Salem Valley 8 and Cinema USA - Crossroads. 104 min. Rated R for graphic violence, strong language, nudity.
LENGTH: Medium: 56 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: "From Dawn to Dusk" stars (left to right) Quentinby CNBTarantino, Harvey Keitel, George Clooney and Ernest Liu. color.