Blu-ray News and Reviews | High Def Digest
Film & TV All News Blu-Ray Reviews Release Dates News Pre-orders 4K Ultra HD Reviews Release Dates News Pre-orders Gear Reviews News Home Theater 101 Best Gear Film & TV
Blu-Ray : No No No No No No No
Ranking:
Sale Price: $39.99 Last Price: $ Buy now! 3rd Party 39.99 In Stock
Release Date: May 15th, 2011 Movie Release Year: 1996

From Dusk Till Dawn / From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood

Overview -

From Dusk Till Dawn

Two criminals and their hostages unknowingly seek temporary refuge in an establishment populated by vampires, with chaotic results.

From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money

More people are turned into vampires as they go around spreading their evil satanic hate.

OVERALL:
No No No No No No No
Rating Breakdown
STORY
VIDEO
AUDIO
SPECIAL FEATURES
Tech Specs & Release Details
Technical Specs:
BD25 disc
Video Resolution/Codec:
1080p/AVC MPEG-4
Length:
196
Aspect Ratio(s):
1.78:1
Audio Formats:
English DTS-HD Master Audio
Subtitles/Captions:
None
Release Date:
May 15th, 2011

Storyline: Our Reviewer's Take

Ranking:

'From Dusk Till Dawn'

I have a hard time believing that 'From Dusk Till Dawn' didn't have any sequences with Quentin Tarantino behind the camera calling the shots. Always have. The Robert Rodriguez flick, based on his outline of the story, was adapted for the screen by the recent Academy Award winner, and features a number of his trademark shots. The film, which starts out as a fugitives on the run story that quickly turns into a supernatural splatterhouse, acts as a meshing of the styles of the two fan favorite helmers, and the result is a memorable, if uneven little actioner that has a great sense of humor, plenty of guts and gore, and some great, memorable characters, featuring the breakthrough performance of Hollywood staple George Clooney.

The story of a pair of brothers (Clooney and Tarantino as Jacob and Richard Gecko) on the wrong side of the law, seeking asylum in El Rey, Mexico, 'From Dusk Till Dawn' may very well be one of the best constructed genre defying flicks ever. We have the story of the men on the lam, who could not be any more different if they were from different parents. We have the police efforts to stop them, and the family (Harvey Keitel, Juliette Lewis, Ernest Liu) who accidentally cross paths with the Gecko brothers and prove to be the catalyst they needed to make their way across the border away from the US Agents hunting them down after their murder spree and bank robbery. There's the element of black comedy in the way that all five of the major characters interact, on their micro-road trip to lands below the border.

And then there's vampires, strippers, and a battle between survivalists and the demonic forces seeking to feed on their bodies and steal their cargo. The twist in the story couldn't be more out of the blue if it were a random outbreak of zombies in the works of Shakespeare (though they do fit in 'Pride & Prejudice'), as the film makes a sharp turn and a massive detour. The grass isn't always greener on the other side, I suppose you could say. Especially not in the sandy, dirty Mexican underground.

'From Dusk Till Dawn' was my first exposure to Rodriguez's filmography, and due to the clever uniqueness, it made me seek out the works of the director who, much like Tarantino, made films that obviously appealed to him, critics be damned. A year removed from 'Desperado,' and featuring a few of the same faces (like Cheech Marin, an almost baby faced Danny Trejo, and the gorgeous Salma Hayek), Rodriguez made what may be his most forgotten mainstream non-children's film (yeah, we're not counting those damned 'Spy Kids' flicks), an unforgiving, unrelenting two toned romp that doesn't fall short of entertaining. It's a fascinating, bizarre work, to be sure.

Say what you will about Clooney, he proved here that he could handle the role of the leading man, even if he didn't get top billing, losing out to the grizzled Keitel playing the pastor who lost his faith. Clooney may not have been the first (or sixth) choice to play the part of Seth Gecko, but the thief/killer with a conscience (at least compared to his brother) fit him perfectly, as his dominating voice is perfect for barking orders and taking charge, while Tarantino makes the psychopathic Richard seem like more of a layered character than a one note dick. Keitel could bring a paper bag to life, so it's obvious that he acts the part of the rock in the film, while Lewis (and her career) seemed to peak here, that final interesting hurrah following 'Natural Born Killers,' 'Cape Fear', and 'Kalifornia,' before seemingly slumming it in forgettable or bit roles for the better part of a decade.

'From Dusk Till Dawn' is to B cinema what the 'Grindhouse' films were to their respective film sub-culture, with a few stars (including makeup genius Tom Savini and Fred Williamson) and numerous references making this a fitting, interesting homage. It's full of interesting kills, action and excitement, witty dialogue, believable, fleshed out and realized characters, and, lest we forget, a certain bar south of the border named after a certain maneuver sure to land one in a sexual harassment or assault case, chock full of hard characters, harder monsters, and plenty of eye candy. As the film stops, so that we can see Hayek's prolonged provocative dancing, right before the shit hits the fan, we have a film that ran the gamut, hitting that hot and sweaty sex appeal in a memorable sequence featuring the world's luckiest snake.

Tarantino and Rodriguez's collaboration may start to lose steam once the vampire onslaught begins, and becomes dependent on some silly contrivances, but there's no denying the fun to be had here. 'From Dusk Till Dawn' is a film that wants to get you as invested as possible in the story prior to the moment the bar appears, and tries its best to keep its hooks in you when it does the Kansas City Shuffle. It's sure to lose some, including those who weren't fully into the characters, but if you go into this film expecting some savage, nasty undead slaughtering, you'll be fine and dandy.

'From Dusk Till Dawn: Texas Blood Money'

Crappy sequel, oh crappy sequel, it was hard to not see you coming. The opening of 'From Dusk Till Dawn: Texas Blood Money' is all sorts of awful...yet it's still the peak of the film's effectiveness. Imagine a false opening, if you would, a parody of sorts, starring Bruce Campbell and Tiffani Amber Thiessen, as lawyers or lawyer and assistant, talking about defending a serial killer. Sure the dialogue is blah blah blah, etc, etc, etc, but it's done by Bruce fucking Campbell. He could call me and say he stole my checkbook and I'd still say he's the best. Of course, the scene is a horrible parody, where bats can bite through steel elevator wire, but that's beside the point. The real movie soon starts, and it just plain stinks.

'From Dusk Till Dawn' was neat because it pulled a complete 180 in the middle of the film, going from a nihilistic escape thriller chronicling a pair of murderous brothers to a supernatural splatter house. Its sequel doesn't understand the idea of pulling a rug out from under someone, as we're introduced to the idea of vampires much, much too early, as Luther (Duane Whitaker) enters the Titty Twister (which looks totally different) and tells the wrong dude (Danny Trejo) that he ran over and shot the wrong bat. Of course he gets his ass turned, and starts a horrible chain reaction. Now none of his bank robber buddies are safe from his bloodlust, and the job hasn't even started yet. Buck (Robert Patrick) is in for the fight of his life as he has police waiting on the outside to nail his ass, and vampires inside with him waiting to eat it.

Everything about 'Texas Blood Money' is awful. Everything. Acting is haphazard, effects are ridiculous and cheesy, the film gives us too many moments of "bat vision," which pulls you right out of the film, and the plot...I've seen more intelligent things written on bathroom stalls. This film drags along, completely oblivious to its failings, as we get scene after ill constructed scene that don't tie together, making a jarring, impossible to follow or care about hour and a half that couldn't end soon enough. Vampire death sequences, well, they're just the icing on the crap cake, as I can do a more convincing shrivel and die effect whenever I'm stuck eating Carls Jr. "food."

Writer/director Scott Spiegel gets nothing right with his cheap and dirty DTV followup to Tarantino and Rodriguez. There isn't a single memorable shot, character, line, performance, twist, scene, or kill. The dialogue is horrific, characters are less than one dimensional and are thoroughly unlikeable. The entire experience is unlikeable, so why is that any surprise? Plot twists are excessively convenient and ridiculous, including a friggin' eclipse, the moment the sun rises, which makes no sense, at all, and seems to last forever. What is that?! Man, those vampires sure are lucky! Worst of all, there's no explanation, whatsoever, on why a vampire needs to rob a bank or get money. None. You're a vampire, dude, you can just break in anywhere, anytime, when the night is much younger. Why risk shit on your first night? How is that logical?

How is it Luther knows so much on how to be a vampire on his first night, anyways? Why are there Texas police and/or parole officers in Mexico? Does Danny Trejo's appearance mean this is a prequel, since he dies in the original? Why do both films have to star bank robbers going to Mexico? Why are the girls at the Titty Twister so second tier this time around? Why did the robbers need to drill into the bank vault when they never look in the hole to the mechanism to see when they hit the combination, and it never makes any sound on their one and only attempt at the combination, which is of course correct? Where did the vampires expect to hole up for the entire long day when there was still cops outside who would obviously follow them? Like how many licks it gets to the center of a Tootsie Pop...no one knows. Except that owl. He's a real dick.

'From Dusk Till Dawn' Film Score: 3.5/5

'From Dusk Till Dawn: Texas Blood Money' Film Score: 1/5

Video Review

Ranking:

On the list of things that "should not be," two full length films on one layer of an optical disc definitely earns a spot. While I don't have a Blu-ray drive to verify the amount of disc used in the standalone version, it is safe to say that it had the capability of being up to 25GB for one film. Here? Impossible. Either one film is going to be hideously awful and mega compressed on top of what disc space was remaining when one film was added, or both will have a downgrade in quality, albeit possibly not as steep. So which is it? Can 'From Dusk Till Dawn' look any worse?

Amazingly, and surprisingly, no. The copy of 'From Dusk Till Dawn' on this double feature disc is no worse for wear than the standalone version. The same transfer was obviously employed, though the end result is just a hair different, though not enough to raise or lower the score any more than it already earned.

It's still an orange night, skin tones are still beyond nuclear, and lack of detail, excessive saturation, noise issues, the lack of detail, crush, the lack of detail, and artifacting are still there. Artifacts are more prevalent this time around, yes, but they're not anywhere near as bad as one would expect, with only a few shots showing some serious ugliness that's hard to miss, while the rest is still just random, "keep an eye out for them" variety splotches and booboos. The issues with the disc are not amplified here, which leads me to wonder exactly how much disc space is allocated on each disc for this film. So, based on this part of the review alone, if you refuse to or cannot pick up the Alliance release, this is the go-to, since it isn't all that much worse. I hate saying that, as I really wanted to exercise my demeaning writing skills here, but on this occasion, a travesty was averted. The film still looks horrible.

So...if 'From Dusk Till Dawn' doesn't look truly awful, making the horrendous standalone look golden by comparison, does that mean that 'Texas Blood Money' will fare as well?! In a word: bwaaaaaahahahahaha. Sorry. Had to get that out there. Unlike some other Echo Bridge releases, this direct-to-video flick is in its natural 1.78:1, in 1080p, but, much like other Echo Bridge releases, it looks atrocious.

Artifacts, ahoy! Noise, attack! Super orange skin tones, you're next! Frozen grain, splotchiness, get ready! The only way this one could look any worse would be if the picture were soft and lacking in any detail whatsoever for the majority of the film...oh, wait...it has that, too. This release is bland, horribly soft and hazy at times, with amateurish photography not helping matters one bit. Every issue that 'From Dusk Till Dawn' had is present here...only more so. This is an unmitigated disaster, as it makes the original look good.

'From Dusk Till Dawn' Video Score: 1.5/5

'From Dusk Till Dawn: Texas Blood Money' Video Score: 1/5

Audio Review

Ranking:

So, the video on 'From Dusk Till Dawn' wasn't a real downgrade, so what about the audio?! To use a familiar acronym, S.S.D.D.. There's no real difference here compared to the standalone version. Strengths and weaknesses remain the same, as does the fact that the film is given a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix. The only difference is...now the back art actually says as much. If the rest of the audio portion for this film sounds familiar, that's because it reutilizes the description I wrote not too long ago on this very topic.

So how does it sound? Not bad, but not great. Dialogue is in your face, front and center, proper, but not harsh. It literally feels like it's right in front of you, speaking inches away from your nose, which is pretty neat. The music in the opening of the film is very subdued, but as the film rolls on, and hits Mexico, music gains power, as the tone changes, like a teenager finally moving past that awkward voice-changing stage. Gunfire has a great distinct pop, with a tiny bit of echo in some instances, while rear speakers get a great amount of activity, including plenty of localized effects, even if a few of them are a bit clunky and forced.

Bass levels aren't all that amazing, but they do have their moments. The Benny's World of Liquor explosion is beyond tame and lacking in the cajones factor, but in the Titty Twister, we get some good roar, often for extended periods of time. The mix is often quiet, with some random surges of strength, which is fairly bizarre, while a few lines feel horribly looped in, and some of Tarantino's lines are tough to discern. To be fair, his mumbling nature was a difficult listen in the Canadian disc, as well. Also, to be fair, this track is absolutely neutered in more than one respect compared to its import counterpart.

I have one question about the audio for 'From Dusk Till Dawn: Texas Blood Money': why does it sound so extremely front heavy? Apparently because a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track is all we're afforded. That makes sense, really. This flick can be difficult to hear, prioritization doesn't exist, whatsoever, as dialogue becomes somewhat of a blur, as do soundtrack elements, with little distinction between notes and instruments. Sure, this one packs a punch, of sorts, but when a ten year old DVD can have 5.1 audio and a Blu-ray can't even have that, then whatever score would otherwise be earned has to be marked down accordingly. This is not a good sonic experience. It's blunt for sake of bluntness, and makes an already difficult viewing, both in film and video quality, all the more difficult.

'From Dusk Till Dawn' Audio Score: 3/5

'From Dusk Till Dawn: Texas Blood Money' Audio Score: 2/5

Special Features

Ranking:

Hey, if zero extras are found on a standalone release, doesn't it make perfect sense that the double feature release, on a single layer, should have like a thousand extras? Considering we're talking about the most bass ackwards Blu-ray distributor out there, that isn't implausible, but what's more likely: nothing.

For the record, 'From Dusk Till Dawn: Texas Blood Money' has the same amount of extras as 'From Dusk Till Dawn.'

Final Thoughts

So, riddle me this: why release the first part of a film trilogy, and then the first and second parts together, instead of the second and third, or, dare I say, the first and its full length making of feature, 'Full Tilt Boogie.' I mean, I get it, no one really wants 'Texas Blood Money,' anyways, but that doesn't excuse stupid, lazy logic. How do two films fare when crammed on a single layer? See those low scores? That's how. A word of warning: Echo Bridge double features are pathetic excuses for Blu-rays. They're the lowest of the low, they're the only things worse than regular Echo Bridge (or MVD) releases. Skip it. Avoid it. If you see it, form a cross with your two pointer fingers (or middle, if you want to make two statements in one). Just don't buy it.