I think that the bikini dance Santanico performs is essentially a ritual, like saying grace before the meal. It might serve also to relax the food to make it easier to take down, thus making a virtue of a necessity.
I find it hard to believe that "truckers" could just vanish without being missed, even in the "reality" presented in this movie. In the final scene in this movie, the camera pulls away from the "Titty Twister" to reveal a graveyard of abandoned trucks. You would think that someone would wonder what happened to all the missing cargo shipments!
It makes no sense, if they did this for centuries someone would notice especialy if the location gets a lot if visitors. The only logical thing is that it is relatively recent because even there a few thousand a year won't go unnotice.
Even so if they were to investigate tho , most people don't believe vampires or such monsters. They are seen as crazy. I think ofc some people will get involved ,but not knowing the true terror would get them killed. The survivors would have to walk back if their vehicles aren't pushed over the edge . Even so the police or government would see it as a sick joke and possible the survivors would be in trouble for false reporting. Who knows maybe the gov does know vampires are in Mexico. Perhaps made a deal with the vampires to kill off the criminals kinda like purge but more sublet. Idk that's what I think anyways.
I always assumed the vampires weren't meant to attack when they did but they went into a blood frenzy due to richies hand. And they were going to wait until everyone was drunk before feeding
So I think a point was missed during the segment covering when "Seth got away without consequence." he may not have changed his ways but he didn't take the girl with him to El Ray. Because El Rey in the Robert Rodriguez universe is an allegory for hell. He willingly was going to hell. Technically the brother's whole goal was to get to "hell". where in the beginning it was viewed as going to a sort of criminal's Paradise. by the end of the movie you can tell that Seth hesitates to expose the girl to that because he realized during that little encounter that hell is real and that's where he belongs. Hence the "fucking bastard" comment.
I never understood that “fucking bastard”line till now. I thought he just meant it as they weren’t going to rid off into the sunset together and “be a couple”. Your way makes more sense.
When I saw this movie for the first time when I was little, I did not know this was a vampire movie. When I see the bar owner and female dancers turn into vampiric monters, I was shocked. I was like "holy shoot, I thought this was just a simple crime drama movie. But it's a freaking vampire movie!!" Lol I freakin love this movie. One of the best vampire movies ever.
This is my favorite of your vampire reviews so far! Tarantino sure is a sneaky bastard when it comes to planting deep, important themes about the human condition in one's mind.
This blog was very well done, you turned Dusk into a college thesis. Gotta say I didn't see that coming. I kinda predicted before watching the review that you wouldn't quite get this one. Consider this Irish cripple's foot firmly in mouth. Its lucky that I don't need it for walking. For me, Seth kinda gains a little redemption at the very end. There's no whiskey drenched rambler who doesn't want a cute femme riding shotgun in his getaway car. I've seen many a charming swashbuckler turn into a full on pirate jerk soon as that's the pay off for doing so. Hell I've seen knights turn pirate without blinking to get an innocent femme on the horse. Seth gets the offer, but turns it down. He knows its not the life for this girl, so he rides off alone. That's pretty rare. Whole exception clauses have been written to male honor codes just to account for the massive swarm of dudes who can't seem to resist that specific temptation. Seth sheds blood without a second thought, but passes a morale test that most men would fail. Its like he has an exact list of don'ts that would take him into total bastard territory. He doesn't care at all for conventional morality, but strictly maintains the code he set for himself. Its a personal code, so he could just change it. But he doesn't.
Seth doesnt have a happy ending. the town theyre trying to get to is "El Rey" (first mentioned in the 1974, The Getaway) is a criminal underworld urban legend of a town where criminals go to retire and live in paradise and you do pay to go there. However the life of luxury winds down their money (certain amount must be spent monthly) and when broke, they are put in a surrounding village of destitution where they either starve or are cannibalized by the people there. So ultimately its a resort of criminals and mobsters scheming, scamming , and killing each other for money, while making it look like accidents or suicides to stay alive in El Rey
About the metal chandelier killing off Salma Hayek's character. I like to think it was a small maybe unintentional nod to the 1962 Phantom of the Opera film where the Phantom gets killed in a similar way when trying to push Christine out of harms way.
Great review. I'm really digging this series. Have you considered Kindred: The Embraced? Buried gem of a vampire series. You probably know all about it, but if not, make sure to catch the DVD set with the epilogue. Now you've got me thinking about From Dusk Till Dawn, and Seth Gecko. The thing is, you say he hasn't actually changed by the end of the film... and maybe he hasn't... but then again, maybe he has. Because the movie ends shortly after his escape with Kate, and there's really no chance for him to show how he's changed. And that, perhaps, sums up his character... someone who's run out of chances. Let's consider his position; he's doomed if he doesn't seek asylum. He's dug himself so deep on the wrong side of the law that he'll never have a truly peaceful life. And after all, even if he's learned that being a genuinely good person is worthwhile, there's no reason not to try and survive. Many of Tarantino's protagonists fall into this pattern... The Bride, for example, and Jules Winnfield. These are people who have sinned egregiously and ultimately had life-changing experiences which changed them for the better. But they still live in a violent world, and leaving it takes time. For some, the quest to escape is their entire character arc. But Seth doesn't have that kind of time before the credits roll. The best he can do is turn to Kate... who, at her lowest point, is considering hitching a ride with him to El Rey... toss her some money, and refuse. It's the best he can do, dissuading someone younger from falling into the world he inhabits. There's a tragic contrast between the two, but also a note of hope. To me, what draws us to Seth in the first half isn't that he's charming and handsome, but that he appears resigned to his fate. There's a weariness about him. We know he has a conscience, but he can't bring himself to actually be a good person. And as we meet him he's on his way out of the world, aiming to lose himself in a comfortable spot in the underworld, in a way, leaving life behind. He's on the threshold of Hell. The way I see it, meeting the Fuller family is divine intervention. They were headed in a similar direction, but his family deters theirs from despair just as they inspire him to reclaim a shred of faith. The Titty Twister represents a brutal waypoint between total failure and salvation. Seth's experience at the bar was important because it may have been his last chance to fight for good instead of evil. He's still going to El Rey, but whatever happens now he can say that at least once he won one for the angels. The vampires are all the accumulated ugliness that Seth has accrued over the course of his life, and finally, at the latest possible opportunity, he fights it instead of giving in. That wad of cash he throws Kate, and those parting words... they're little acts, but they're meaningful. He declares his anger that Kate's family is dead, and he parts with some of the cash which used to be so important. Sure, he's still a bastard, and he always will be. But maybe a small piece of his soul really has been saved.
To me, From Dusk Till Dawn is the TRUE ancestor to Grindhouse... it explains the mixture of Rodriguez and Tarantino's talents. Except this time, Death Proof begins the movie and ends in Planet Terror fashion.
Simon Bergeron I _love_ Grindhouse, though I think it would've been better if it started with Death Proof and then ended with Planet Terror. Death Proof is much more accurate to what a grindhouse movie is, and it would've made Planet Terror even more insane as a result.
I still wonder how that bar could survive so long when all the clients don,t survive the night, with so many trucker disappearing they might be lone wolf but they still have employers who should know where they spend the night when they are doing some jobs for them
turns 25 today! Still an excellent cult classic by Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez. Half shoot em up half horror film. This was pre-Spy Kids. George Clooney and Quentin Tarantino make for good sibling criminals the Geckos. Harvey Keitel is really likable and Juliette Lewis. I do understand why it divides a lot of people; some enjoy it's blending of two genres others don't appreciate it for making one of the biggest left turns in cinema history. Crazy how it lead to 2 sequels and a tv series. Salma Hayek's dance number is the best scene in the movie yet she doesn't recall a lot of it since she had a fear of reptiles. Thankfully she was one of the many women in Hollywood who spoke up about Harvey Weinstein's bad behavior. Funny how Cheech Marin plays 3 different parts throughout the whole thing. It's plot is gruesome, grisly, violent, filled with unique monologues, casual sexism, a garnish of racist comments, bombastic violence, uncalled for opening scenes and main characters who are loathsome yet lovable.
The dance is intended to loosen people up before the kill, lower their defenses so they are not prepared to defend themselves before the slaughter. One could also are the argument that the dance is a kind of ritual they do, a prayer to their god before the meal begins.
I showed my teenager niece this film last weekend and she loved it! She didn't know anything about the movie beforehand so when the vampires revealed themselves and the genre flipped her mind was blown. LOL I also loved that she was saying that Richie was a creep and awful, but told me it was sad when he died. I'm thinking of showing her this video so we can have more discussions! I also think she'll laugh at the discoball joke!
11:30 In all the times I watched this video before, I never heard Lindsay say 'Come, new ally! Destroy the monster!' That is a great line, and it went over my head over and over again, apparently.
I think the dance is their type of either hypnosis, trance and/or seduction and it works, because everyones eyes is only focused on one person (for obvious reasons).
I didn't see this one for the longest timeonly saw the sequels firstamazing that Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarentino made itSalma Hayek gives one of my fav scenes ever :)
+Maven of the Eventide Oh dear hope that didn't cause too many fights haha Erik is a great name and your reviews made me watch Phantom of the opera and i liked the story and the 2004 movie even though Erik is meant too be fully deformed and a beautiful singer. i have not seen your Queen of the dammed review what did you think of it .
I really enjoyed the review! It would be interesting to get your take (if you have one to offer) on the classic black and white "Nosferatu," or it's remake by Werner Herzog. Also, "Shadow of the Vampire" with John Malkovich and Willem Dafoe.
*"The Maven digs deep to prove that there’s more to this Quentin Tarantino film than Salma Hayek in a bikini."* Answer: That post ER, George Clooney, had a LONG career ahead of him. And D til D proved it.
Even though I'm a huge vampire movie fan, I totally walked into this movie blind. It was a random blockbuster pick for a sleep over with my best friend. We were like "hey, I've heard that movie's name before" and then half way through it was like "wait?!! this is a vampire movie????". Bizarre movie watching experience.
There is a kind of irony with the family in it being named Fuller, since the characters Seth and Richie Gecko remind me of Hannibal Lector and Will Graham. lol
It's a Grindhouse movie there doesn't need to be a point to the movie technically rated R but you know it's rated x. And that's why this is my favorite vampire movie ever.
Seth Gecko is genuinely a very charismatic character...because well he is a George Clooney character after all and it's a delicious piece of irony on Clooney's half as Clooney himself said that he's playing someone who rather than saving someone from going to the ER is actually sending them to the ER. Clooney's idea to have a tattoo was because he saw the movie We Were Warriors, interesting Salma is afraid of snakes and she had to undergo therapy to get over her fear, and Robert Rodriguez coaxed her into doing so by saying that if she wasn't able to take on the role that Madonna was also up for it. Santanico has her own origin story in the third movie. There's a graphic novel adaptation of the movie and a video game as well.
The reason for the sexy dance number is that Quentin Tarantino was inspired to write From Dusk Till Dawn after having watched the 1986 vampire movie, Vamp, which also takes place in an underground strip club in Los Angeles with Grace Jones as a character nearly identical to Salma Hayek's character in From Dusk Till Dawn.
Yes, it is a case of the audience siding with the human against the non-human. The history of the U.S. is replete with former competitors and antagonists becoming allies when confronted by an other they find threatening. Not unlike the saying that goes something like: I against my brother, my brother and I against my cousin, my cousin and I against the stranger.
One of the things I found interesting about the Gecko brothers in this film was that Seth (Clooney's character) was dead focused on their escape to El Rey. What is El Rey? His last exchange with Kate intrigued me, when she asked him if he wanted her to go with him. "Do you know where I'm going? Do you know what El Rey is? I might be a bastard, but I am not a fucking bastard." I took it to mean that he knows there's not really a place for him or Richie in society, and he wants to remove them from that. That means going to a place where people are more like them, maybe worse.
"they're hideous and frightening" and to think we got the guy with the penis gun to thank for that(No seriously, Sex Machine is played by the head of the make-up department Tom Savini).
Maybe vampires can see their own reflections and shadows but no one else can. Count Orlock's shadow is a big part of Nosferatu, Selene sees her reflection in Underworld, so perhaps these scenes are examples of seeing life through the vampire's eyes. With our mortal eyes, they'd not be visible.
the reason we like seth is because in a fucked up situation like that these guys would probably be the ones who would save our asses - so suddenly they become heroes, only because they are on our side because of the circumstances.
Hello Maven. I am a HUGE fan of yours!!!!!! I love all of your Vampire Reviews, even though some of them you and I have very different opinions on (mainly Dracula Untold. I absolutely LOVED that movie!), but they're all still awesome! If it's at all possible, I have a request for a Vampire Reviews from you. It's not exactly about a "true" Vampire, but it is a film about an ESSENTIAL character in Vampire Lore. I would absolutely love it if you did a Vampire Reviews episode on the film "Bathory: Countess Of Blood," featuring actress Anna Friel as Elizabeth Bathory. I love that movie immensely, and Elizabeth Bathory is the Vampire that I pair Dracula (Vlad Tepes) with instead of Mina. However, if you do decide to do a Vampire Reviews episode of that film, there is one detail about the plot that I need to spoil right out the gate or the plot will make no sense to you at all: This film is a portrayal of Elizabeth Bathory's life, but it's based around a new theory about her that has arisen, which states that Elizabeth Bathory was actually framed for the crimes she was said to have committed by one of her biggest political rivals, a Hungarian nobleman named Thurzo.
I wonder how much of seth's redemption comes from him being played by George Clooney who was known a good old Dr Sexy from ER at the time the movie came out.
Maven, thanks for all the cool reviews!!Please do "Kiss of the Damned." It came out 2013 I think, and it looks so cheesy. I just really want to know what you think of it 😀
Your review is awesome. I mean I kinda have a similar feeling about this movie the first time I watched it which is why I really like it compared to other blood & gore movies. In my case it was just a gut feeling that I really can't explain (at least not as clear as you did). I felt compassion in Seth because he is aware of all his choices he chose and he still choose to do it. It kinda makes me think about myself and my choices. At the end when Seth left Kate, I kinda didn't know which one will be better for Kate, left her alone and hope she could find her way back to the good-people life or take her with him and then she will probably live the rest of her life as another criminal. Actually when I first watched it, I thought he left her because he doesn't want to look like a pervert dude with a young girl consider the places he probably visit very often are Human Version of Titty Twister. Hope you would consider doing a review of the series From Dusk Till Dawn (2014). I watched it and really like it. I wonder does this Seth character can be re-deemed? Hint: In the end Seth didn't kill Richie after he was turned and he did let Kate tagged along after they survived the night.
The basic element of this flick -- bad guys meet up with something unimaginably worse. It's been done before in the "B" monster movie, "Beast From Haunted Cave." Okay -- Fred "The Hammer" Williamson. Harvey Keitel is good in this and even better as "Sport" in "Taxi Driver." Michael Parks (RIP)
I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on the TV series based on the movie! (I haven't watched it yet, but apparently a lot of people really like it. And the girl playing Santanico Pandemonium in that series is GOOOOORGEOUS.)
Interesting video gal! This is actually my personal favorite vampire flick (And not because i'm a sucker for Tarantino and Rodriquez), actually own the DVD and Laserdisc of it.... yet not the VHS... gotta remember to grab that. XD
huh, I just realized, by the end of the review, that this was posted on my birthday. Great review again! Honestly, never saw the movie(s), but I have watched the tv show which I wish they would bring back with all the original cast (of the show, but cameos from the cast of the movie would be great! Danny Trejo was in the tv show though, not sure if anyone else was). What do you think of the tv show?
The gecko brothers are based on the hero twins of Mayan mythology. That’s why the titty twister is a Mayan pyramid. They blow the lid off of the underworld in the mythos.
Good point "evil is a point of view" In the matter of survival (Human Vs Vampire) it's all about who can be meaner and beastly. Seth, Frost and even Sex Machine had no problems killing they were the meanest of the humans, the Family had to be encouraged to get mean. For the Vamps that was their natural state, Humans are food. Out of the two in the group Seth and Frost were the only two who we knew of to have back stories of fighting other humans at the level of Kill or be killed. Every Vampire movie shows a protagonist that goes the level above from Van Helsing chopping vamps heads off to buffy staking them. Sure the Vamps aren't human but the humans can get just as Beastly. If you find yourself in Hell, fight like the devil.
If the Night Stalker was being hunted by Pinhead in a movie people would be rooting for both characters because of their legons. More people want to see a villain win these days because we see a lot of ourselves in the villains in movies.
As much as I can appreciate complex, sophisticated, and deep vampire characters, I cannot deny my overstated testosterone, and blatant worship of Quentin Tarantino. I FUUUUUUUUUUUUCKING LOOOOOOOOOOVE this goddamn movie!!
LE and CG characters walk out after the NE, fallen LG, NG, LN, and CN characters all fall to the CE vampires. In other words, Evil with a code or good no matter what, no in-between. And sadly? you can look at his other works and see that too.
Eh, I still think it's mostly a good popcorn flick. But then, Rodriguez apparently felt there was enough meat to the franchise to justify adapting it into a TV series, so what to I know?
Interesting review. I agree that relative morality is definitely a theme for this movie and a lot of the parallels are well considered. Its definitely a personal favorite of the vampire genre for me and while its definitely a self aware vampire movie I wouldnt go so far as to call it full blown parody because the morality of the characters and their development is a definite theme here. That said I disagree with a couple minor points, these vampires aren't just some subspecies that hunts people. This isn't the vampire via disease model and thats stressed again and again throughout the movie, these are in the context of the movie bona fide demonic creatures, they get killed by holy water and repelled by crosses and if you recall also totally enslave and hurt people just for the thrill of it. Sure the film is playing within a spectrum of morality and I agree its trying to get the audience to question and think about that on some level, but the vampires are definitely on the extreme end and deliberately so. I don't think sex machine and the military guy are completely unsympathetic characters either. They aren't the main heroes but they do nothing pre-transformation to make us dislike them. I also do not think Seth's transformation is wholly disingenuous. In the moment it is, and it even displays intelligence on his part to recognize the nature of his foe and that it flies in the face of his worldview....that said he is a weak guy and steps out of the hero role when his lie isnt at stake...as many people do, but its up to the audience to recognize that in part because he did face pure supernatural evil and so we as the audience recognize his choice in universe as foolish and in so doing I think perhaps the movie calls the audience to be more morally reflective because unlike some other movies that trade in fighting supernatural evil creatures this one acknowledges the moral consequences of those creatures existence and still has a character reject them as a result of his own flaws.
Yakno. I really think that the vampires weren't going to kill the whole house that night. just a few. I mena look at the stuff in the back, unless they empty that weekly there aren't many things. plus it'd be pretty obvious after a pretty quick while that truckers disappear in that area. I do wonder how many they took per night. I mean how many can one person feed i wonder? I'd also argue that we can't say whether he changed or not in the end. WE didn't exactly get much info there
Mmm 🤔 gonna give Seth a solid Lawful Neutral. Thieves Guild. The commentary that he gets away with everything is shakey with regard to El Rey in the Tarantino verse. He tells Richie it's a place of peace, but really he is dragging his chaotic-evil brother to an elephant graveyard for crooks. He rebuffs Kate's offer to join him (and sleep with him) partly because of his higher ethics. Also that a sweet girl like Kate would not be safe in El Rey. It could be seen as symbolic that Seth is first among all the group that the door man attempts to reject. While Richie is quite literally welcomed into the fold.
Haha i totally forgot about Quentin sucking Selma’s toes. Now it makes sense why he did the scene. He has a big foot fetish so it totally makes sense now!
I think that the bikini dance Santanico performs is essentially a ritual, like saying grace before the meal. It might serve also to relax the food to make it easier to take down, thus making a virtue of a necessity.
It may also improve the flavor, releasing hormones into the blood.
@@aubreyackermann8432 Well yes. She's tenderising her food, and also marinating it with tequila.
Ah I see , like how some slaughter systems calm the cows right before death. That's interesting .
Or maybe she just wanted to give her meals a little entertainment before chowing down
I mean, she's the bloodsuckers' high priestess. Makes sense that she craves worship.
The first half of FDTD is basically Reservoir Dogs.
The second half is basically The Evil Dead, only with vampires instead of Deadites.
I find it hard to believe that "truckers" could just vanish without being missed, even in the "reality" presented in this movie. In the final scene in this movie, the camera pulls away from the "Titty Twister" to reveal a graveyard of abandoned trucks. You would think that someone would wonder what happened to all the missing cargo shipments!
Ya I think some company or store would get made of very suspicious fo shipments not there. Why I sing there a movie here someone looks into this.
It makes no sense, if they did this for centuries someone would notice especialy if the location gets a lot if visitors. The only logical thing is that it is relatively recent because even there a few thousand a year won't go unnotice.
Here’s a scary fact. The rate at which people go missing is almost the same as prey animals going missing in the African savannah
@@johnlavery3433 dead beat by Jim Butcher...
Even so if they were to investigate tho , most people don't believe vampires or such monsters. They are seen as crazy. I think ofc some people will get involved ,but not knowing the true terror would get them killed. The survivors would have to walk back if their vehicles aren't pushed over the edge . Even so the police or government would see it as a sick joke and possible the survivors would be in trouble for false reporting.
Who knows maybe the gov does know vampires are in Mexico. Perhaps made a deal with the vampires to kill off the criminals kinda like purge but more sublet. Idk that's what I think anyways.
I always assumed the vampires weren't meant to attack when they did but they went into a blood frenzy due to richies hand. And they were going to wait until everyone was drunk before feeding
The reason Seth is likable is because George Clooney is charming AF.
Not only that but its his confidence and intelligence that gives it all out.
So I think a point was missed during the segment covering when "Seth got away without consequence." he may not have changed his ways but he didn't take the girl with him to El Ray. Because El Rey in the Robert Rodriguez universe is an allegory for hell. He willingly was going to hell. Technically the brother's whole goal was to get to "hell". where in the beginning it was viewed as going to a sort of criminal's Paradise. by the end of the movie you can tell that Seth hesitates to expose the girl to that because he realized during that little encounter that hell is real and that's where he belongs. Hence the "fucking bastard" comment.
If you've heard of Jim Thompson's The Getaway, El Rey is much worse than that.
I never understood that “fucking bastard”line till now. I thought he just meant it as they weren’t going to rid off into the sunset together and “be a couple”. Your way makes more sense.
@@Moszan I'm very interested. 🤔
This was a very intelligent review for such a goofy movie. Thumbs up.
Very silly to think so much about this movie I love very much. Interesting thoughts though
When I saw this movie for the first time when I was little, I did not know this was a vampire movie. When I see the bar owner and female dancers turn into vampiric monters, I was shocked. I was like "holy shoot, I thought this was just a simple crime drama movie. But it's a freaking vampire movie!!" Lol I freakin love this movie. One of the best vampire movies ever.
Great job of explanation of such a cult classic... Oh, and the Lindsay Ellis cameo just explained a whole bunch of her reviews and episodes!
This is my favorite of your vampire reviews so far! Tarantino sure is a sneaky bastard when it comes to planting deep, important themes about the human condition in one's mind.
This blog was very well done, you turned Dusk into a college thesis. Gotta say I didn't see that coming. I kinda predicted before watching the review that you wouldn't quite get this one. Consider this Irish cripple's foot firmly in mouth. Its lucky that I don't need it for walking. For me, Seth kinda gains a little redemption at the very end. There's no whiskey drenched rambler who doesn't want a cute femme riding shotgun in his getaway car. I've seen many a charming swashbuckler turn into a full on pirate jerk soon as that's the pay off for doing so. Hell I've seen knights turn pirate without blinking to get an innocent femme on the horse. Seth gets the offer, but turns it down. He knows its not the life for this girl, so he rides off alone. That's pretty rare. Whole exception clauses have been written to male honor codes just to account for the massive swarm of dudes who can't seem to resist that specific temptation. Seth sheds blood without a second thought, but passes a morale test that most men would fail. Its like he has an exact list of don'ts that would take him into total bastard territory. He doesn't care at all for conventional morality, but strictly maintains the code he set for himself. Its a personal code, so he could just change it. But he doesn't.
Pirate? As in buttPirate? Well shiver me timbers and blow me down👦🏾
She should look at the From Dusk Til Dawn tv series. Its dope.
Its hella dope wish they continued it
@@colored433 oh yeah. they could have easily have extended it into a 4th season....wish they did
🤣🤣🤣
Seth doesnt have a happy ending. the town theyre trying to get to is "El Rey" (first mentioned in the 1974, The Getaway) is a criminal underworld urban legend of a town where criminals go to retire and live in paradise and you do pay to go there. However the life of luxury winds down their money (certain amount must be spent monthly) and when broke, they are put in a surrounding village of destitution where they either starve or are cannibalized by the people there. So ultimately its a resort of criminals and mobsters scheming, scamming , and killing each other for money, while making it look like accidents or suicides to stay alive in El Rey
...
I don't think the movie intended for us to got that deep.
@@kayleighbrown459 And? Some people have fun connecting the dots with film and literature.
@@Moszan Fair enough.
About the metal chandelier killing off Salma Hayek's character. I like to think it was a small maybe unintentional nod to the 1962 Phantom of the Opera film where the Phantom gets killed in a similar way when trying to push Christine out of harms way.
Great review. I'm really digging this series. Have you considered Kindred: The Embraced? Buried gem of a vampire series. You probably know all about it, but if not, make sure to catch the DVD set with the epilogue.
Now you've got me thinking about From Dusk Till Dawn, and Seth Gecko. The thing is, you say he hasn't actually changed by the end of the film... and maybe he hasn't... but then again, maybe he has. Because the movie ends shortly after his escape with Kate, and there's really no chance for him to show how he's changed. And that, perhaps, sums up his character... someone who's run out of chances.
Let's consider his position; he's doomed if he doesn't seek asylum. He's dug himself so deep on the wrong side of the law that he'll never have a truly peaceful life. And after all, even if he's learned that being a genuinely good person is worthwhile, there's no reason not to try and survive. Many of Tarantino's protagonists fall into this pattern... The Bride, for example, and Jules Winnfield. These are people who have sinned egregiously and ultimately had life-changing experiences which changed them for the better. But they still live in a violent world, and leaving it takes time. For some, the quest to escape is their entire character arc. But Seth doesn't have that kind of time before the credits roll.
The best he can do is turn to Kate... who, at her lowest point, is considering hitching a ride with him to El Rey... toss her some money, and refuse. It's the best he can do, dissuading someone younger from falling into the world he inhabits. There's a tragic contrast between the two, but also a note of hope.
To me, what draws us to Seth in the first half isn't that he's charming and handsome, but that he appears resigned to his fate. There's a weariness about him. We know he has a conscience, but he can't bring himself to actually be a good person. And as we meet him he's on his way out of the world, aiming to lose himself in a comfortable spot in the underworld, in a way, leaving life behind. He's on the threshold of Hell.
The way I see it, meeting the Fuller family is divine intervention. They were headed in a similar direction, but his family deters theirs from despair just as they inspire him to reclaim a shred of faith. The Titty Twister represents a brutal waypoint between total failure and salvation.
Seth's experience at the bar was important because it may have been his last chance to fight for good instead of evil. He's still going to El Rey, but whatever happens now he can say that at least once he won one for the angels. The vampires are all the accumulated ugliness that Seth has accrued over the course of his life, and finally, at the latest possible opportunity, he fights it instead of giving in.
That wad of cash he throws Kate, and those parting words... they're little acts, but they're meaningful. He declares his anger that Kate's family is dead, and he parts with some of the cash which used to be so important. Sure, he's still a bastard, and he always will be. But maybe a small piece of his soul really has been saved.
To me, From Dusk Till Dawn is the TRUE ancestor to Grindhouse... it explains the mixture of Rodriguez and Tarantino's talents. Except this time, Death Proof begins the movie and ends in Planet Terror fashion.
Simon Bergeron I _love_ Grindhouse, though I think it would've been better if it started with Death Proof and then ended with Planet Terror. Death Proof is much more accurate to what a grindhouse movie is, and it would've made Planet Terror even more insane as a result.
I still wonder how that bar could survive so long when all the clients don,t survive the night, with so many trucker disappearing they might be lone wolf but they still have employers who should know where they spend the night when they are doing some jobs for them
turns 25 today!
Still an excellent cult classic by Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez. Half shoot em up half horror film. This was pre-Spy Kids.
George Clooney and Quentin Tarantino make for good sibling criminals the Geckos. Harvey Keitel is really likable and Juliette Lewis.
I do understand why it divides a lot of people; some enjoy it's blending of two genres others don't appreciate it for making one of the biggest left turns in cinema history.
Crazy how it lead to 2 sequels and a tv series.
Salma Hayek's dance number is the best scene in the movie yet she doesn't recall a lot of it since she had a fear of reptiles. Thankfully she was one of the many women in Hollywood who spoke up about Harvey Weinstein's bad behavior.
Funny how Cheech Marin plays 3 different parts throughout the whole thing.
It's plot is gruesome, grisly, violent, filled with unique monologues, casual sexism, a garnish of racist comments, bombastic violence, uncalled for opening scenes and main characters who are loathsome yet lovable.
>waxes leg
>hisses
I'm dying.
Please do a review of From Dusk Till Dawn the tv series, it's now on Netflix
The dance is intended to loosen people up before the kill, lower their defenses so they are not prepared to defend themselves before the slaughter. One could also are the argument that the dance is a kind of ritual they do, a prayer to their god before the meal begins.
I showed my teenager niece this film last weekend and she loved it! She didn't know anything about the movie beforehand so when the vampires revealed themselves and the genre flipped her mind was blown. LOL I also loved that she was saying that Richie was a creep and awful, but told me it was sad when he died. I'm thinking of showing her this video so we can have more discussions! I also think she'll laugh at the discoball joke!
11:30
In all the times I watched this video before, I never heard Lindsay say 'Come, new ally! Destroy the monster!' That is a great line, and it went over my head over and over again, apparently.
It dawned up on me the Tarantino character actually dress like AVGN.
I actually did start watching it 5 minutes after the start, in a friends house. I indeed thought it was a hostage film.
And then came the fangs.
I would love for you to review "We Are The Night" a German Vampire movie.
Love your dog! The look of *What is mom doing to me now?* reminds me of mine
I hope you get to compare and contrast the FDTD movie with the television series. Your insights would be absolutely fabulous!
i think the series is different to stand alone but / agree
Maven have you ever checked out Forever Night?
it's an obscure 90s vampire show
13:13 "-they are lustful, and base, and mean..." [redhead bucking]
Dude some of these cuts are perfect. Masterstroke. 😍
new to the channel and i have to say it's amazing. also that guy probably loved every minute of that beating lol
I think the dance is their type of either hypnosis, trance and/or seduction and it works, because everyones eyes is only focused on one person (for obvious reasons).
I know this is old, but I LOVE your dog! What a cutie.
I didn't see this one for the longest timeonly saw the sequels firstamazing that Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarentino made itSalma Hayek gives one of my fav scenes ever :)
Been a fan of maven for ages love the vampire element she does had no idea she had a baby who else wonders if she named him erick haha
+I'mBatmanHI My husband wouldn't let me name him Erik :(
+Maven of the Eventide Oh dear hope that didn't cause too many fights haha Erik is a great name and your reviews made me watch Phantom of the opera and i liked the story and the 2004 movie even though Erik is meant too be fully deformed and a beautiful singer. i have not seen your Queen of the dammed review what did you think of it .
Maven of the Eventide You didn't name him Vlad, did you? 😉
Oh poop, She's married! :( There goes my fantasy .... I mean, I'm married too, but I still had a crush.
Richie is the most horrible person in the movie. He is irredeemable. He really should have died sooner in live.
Elisa, I am so glad you are still active on youtube! And I'm glad you have been re-uploading your old videos! Cant wait to see new content!
Always enjoy your reviews Maven! I recommend checking out the From Dusk Till Dawn series they made for the El Rey network. It's actually really good.
I really enjoyed the review! It would be interesting to get your take (if you have one to offer) on the classic black and white "Nosferatu," or it's remake by Werner Herzog. Also, "Shadow of the Vampire" with John Malkovich and Willem Dafoe.
*"The Maven digs deep to prove that there’s more to this Quentin Tarantino film than Salma Hayek in a bikini."* Answer: That post ER, George Clooney, had a LONG career ahead of him.
And D til D proved it.
Even though I'm a huge vampire movie fan, I totally walked into this movie blind. It was a random blockbuster pick for a sleep over with my best friend. We were like "hey, I've heard that movie's name before" and then half way through it was like "wait?!! this is a vampire movie????". Bizarre movie watching experience.
There is a kind of irony with the family in it being named Fuller, since the characters Seth and Richie Gecko remind me of Hannibal Lector and Will Graham. lol
It's a Grindhouse movie there doesn't need to be a point to the movie technically rated R but you know it's rated x.
And that's why this is my favorite vampire movie ever.
Seth Gecko is genuinely a very charismatic character...because well he is a George Clooney character after all and it's a delicious piece of irony on Clooney's half as Clooney himself said that he's playing someone who rather than saving someone from going to the ER is actually sending them to the ER. Clooney's idea to have a tattoo was because he saw the movie We Were Warriors, interesting Salma is afraid of snakes and she had to undergo therapy to get over her fear, and Robert Rodriguez coaxed her into doing so by saying that if she wasn't able to take on the role that Madonna was also up for it. Santanico has her own origin story in the third movie. There's a graphic novel adaptation of the movie and a video game as well.
The look on your dogs face is priceless.
The reason for the sexy dance number is that Quentin Tarantino was inspired to write From Dusk Till Dawn after having watched the 1986 vampire movie, Vamp, which also takes place in an underground strip club in Los Angeles with Grace Jones as a character nearly identical to Salma Hayek's character in From Dusk Till Dawn.
Yes, it is a case of the audience siding with the human against the non-human. The history of the U.S. is replete with former competitors and antagonists becoming allies when confronted by an other they find threatening. Not unlike the saying that goes something like: I against my brother, my brother and I against my cousin, my cousin and I against the stranger.
One of the things I found interesting about the Gecko brothers in this film was that Seth (Clooney's character) was dead focused on their escape to El Rey. What is El Rey? His last exchange with Kate intrigued me, when she asked him if he wanted her to go with him. "Do you know where I'm going? Do you know what El Rey is? I might be a bastard, but I am not a fucking bastard." I took it to mean that he knows there's not really a place for him or Richie in society, and he wants to remove them from that. That means going to a place where people are more like them, maybe worse.
"they're hideous and frightening" and to think we got the guy with the penis gun to thank for that(No seriously, Sex Machine is played by the head of the make-up department Tom Savini).
any plans to cover the netflix revamp of this?
Dana Baryckyj re-vamp lol
That dog's expression!!! :DDD
Maybe vampires can see their own reflections and shadows but no one else can. Count Orlock's shadow is a big part of Nosferatu, Selene sees her reflection in Underworld, so perhaps these scenes are examples of seeing life through the vampire's eyes. With our mortal eyes, they'd not be visible.
Salma Hayek was afraid of snakes too. And it helps that the naive Kate was half in love with Seth by the middle of the fight.
Wait a minute, is that Savini? Tom Savini of sfx make up fame, as one of the bikers?
Absolutely. His best role ever.
Hailed by many as the Citizen Kane of Mexican vampire movies.
4:18 = one of the best jokes in any video, in the history of Blip.TV, Channel Awesome, and Chez Apocalypse history.
the reason we like seth is because in a fucked up situation like that these guys would probably be the ones who would save our asses - so suddenly they become heroes, only because they are on our side because of the circumstances.
Hello Maven. I am a HUGE fan of yours!!!!!! I love all of your Vampire Reviews, even though some of them you and I have very different opinions on (mainly Dracula Untold. I absolutely LOVED that movie!), but they're all still awesome! If it's at all possible, I have a request for a Vampire Reviews from you. It's not exactly about a "true" Vampire, but it is a film about an ESSENTIAL character in Vampire Lore. I would absolutely love it if you did a Vampire Reviews episode on the film "Bathory: Countess Of Blood," featuring actress Anna Friel as Elizabeth Bathory. I love that movie immensely, and Elizabeth Bathory is the Vampire that I pair Dracula (Vlad Tepes) with instead of Mina. However, if you do decide to do a Vampire Reviews episode of that film, there is one detail about the plot that I need to spoil right out the gate or the plot will make no sense to you at all: This film is a portrayal of Elizabeth Bathory's life, but it's based around a new theory about her that has arisen, which states that Elizabeth Bathory was actually framed for the crimes she was said to have committed by one of her biggest political rivals, a Hungarian nobleman named Thurzo.
I wonder how much of seth's redemption comes from him being played by George Clooney who was known a good old Dr Sexy from ER at the time the movie came out.
Movies need more criminals fighting monsters! Is there more criminals vs monster in movies?
Cockneys vs Zombies.
She didn't get that Cheech Marlin plays all three characters.
Maven, thanks for all the cool reviews!!Please do "Kiss of the Damned." It came out 2013 I think, and it looks so cheesy. I just really want to know what you think of it 😀
He grows on the audience because he's easy on the eyes
Oh, this movie. Dig the channel, Maven.
Would you consider the tv series? It’s actually pretty fascinating.
great work , i just smile thinking about folow up vid on the from dusk till dawn tv series .
Wow, You got so much out of this film...
Your review is awesome. I mean I kinda have a similar feeling about this movie the first time I watched it which is why I really like it compared to other blood & gore movies. In my case it was just a gut feeling that I really can't explain (at least not as clear as you did). I felt compassion in Seth because he is aware of all his choices he chose and he still choose to do it. It kinda makes me think about myself and my choices.
At the end when Seth left Kate, I kinda didn't know which one will be better for Kate, left her alone and hope she could find her way back to the good-people life or take her with him and then she will probably live the rest of her life as another criminal. Actually when I first watched it, I thought he left her because he doesn't want to look like a pervert dude with a young girl consider the places he probably visit very often are Human Version of Titty Twister.
Hope you would consider doing a review of the series From Dusk Till Dawn (2014). I watched it and really like it. I wonder does this Seth character can be re-deemed? Hint: In the end Seth didn't kill Richie after he was turned and he did let Kate tagged along after they survived the night.
The basic element of this flick -- bad guys meet up with something unimaginably worse. It's been done before in the "B" monster movie, "Beast From Haunted Cave." Okay -- Fred "The Hammer" Williamson. Harvey Keitel is good in this and even better as "Sport" in "Taxi Driver." Michael Parks (RIP)
A movie made by Quentin Tarantino plus staring George cloney is gonna to be awesome.
I think this is one of my favorite movies that George Clooney is in
I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on the TV series based on the movie! (I haven't watched it yet, but apparently a lot of people really like it. And the girl playing Santanico Pandemonium in that series is GOOOOORGEOUS.)
when they killed Santanico Pandemonium I cried.
Interesting video gal! This is actually my personal favorite vampire flick (And not because i'm a sucker for Tarantino and Rodriquez), actually own the DVD and Laserdisc of it.... yet not the VHS... gotta remember to grab that. XD
I love how the opening never gets captioned in anything resembling the actual sentences she uses.
huh, I just realized, by the end of the review, that this was posted on my birthday. Great review again! Honestly, never saw the movie(s), but I have watched the tv show which I wish they would bring back with all the original cast (of the show, but cameos from the cast of the movie would be great! Danny Trejo was in the tv show though, not sure if anyone else was). What do you think of the tv show?
The gecko brothers are based on the hero twins of Mayan mythology. That’s why the titty twister is a Mayan pyramid. They blow the lid off of the underworld in the mythos.
Good point "evil is a point of view" In the matter of survival (Human Vs Vampire) it's all about who can be meaner and beastly. Seth, Frost and even Sex Machine had no problems killing they were the meanest of the humans, the Family had to be encouraged to get mean. For the Vamps that was their natural state, Humans are food. Out of the two in the group Seth and Frost were the only two who we knew of to have back stories of fighting other humans at the level of Kill or be killed. Every Vampire movie shows a protagonist that goes the level above from Van Helsing chopping vamps heads off to buffy staking them. Sure the Vamps aren't human but the humans can get just as Beastly. If you find yourself in Hell, fight like the devil.
Love the dog bit 🤣🤣🤣 reminds me of the one i used to have.
5:54 maybe it’s like a microwave food, gets the blood flowing
5:55 - What he told her was "I HAVE A MASSIVE FOOT FETISH AND I AM PAYING YOU A LOT OF MONEY!"
I would love to see your take on the Dusk til Dawn tv series, compared with the film.
If the Night Stalker was being hunted by Pinhead in a movie people would be rooting for both characters because of their legons. More people want to see a villain win these days because we see a lot of ourselves in the villains in movies.
Best damn 90's vampire movie....*EVER!!!!*
Yes, I went into this movie blind- and it was VERY confusing
Along came the series and reminded everyone of what this movie was
As much as I can appreciate complex, sophisticated, and deep vampire characters, I cannot deny my overstated testosterone, and blatant worship of Quentin Tarantino.
I FUUUUUUUUUUUUCKING LOOOOOOOOOOVE this goddamn movie!!
LE and CG characters walk out after the NE, fallen LG, NG, LN, and CN characters all fall to the CE vampires. In other words, Evil with a code or good no matter what, no in-between. And sadly? you can look at his other works and see that too.
Eh, I still think it's mostly a good popcorn flick. But then, Rodriguez apparently felt there was enough meat to the franchise to justify adapting it into a TV series, so what to I know?
Lindsay Ellis! I’ve heard of Dusk Til Dawn and I don’t know why I thought it was different.
despite T's complacency of the molestation of many women he worked with from working with Weinstein, the story structure is way strong.
Hi, Maven! Liked you review. What do you think about parts 2 and 3? And what about the series?
What do you think of the Carmilla series on youtube?
Interesting review. I agree that relative morality is definitely a theme for this movie and a lot of the parallels are well considered. Its definitely a personal favorite of the vampire genre for me and while its definitely a self aware vampire movie I wouldnt go so far as to call it full blown parody because the morality of the characters and their development is a definite theme here. That said I disagree with a couple minor points, these vampires aren't just some subspecies that hunts people. This isn't the vampire via disease model and thats stressed again and again throughout the movie, these are in the context of the movie bona fide demonic creatures, they get killed by holy water and repelled by crosses and if you recall also totally enslave and hurt people just for the thrill of it. Sure the film is playing within a spectrum of morality and I agree its trying to get the audience to question and think about that on some level, but the vampires are definitely on the extreme end and deliberately so. I don't think sex machine and the military guy are completely unsympathetic characters either. They aren't the main heroes but they do nothing pre-transformation to make us dislike them. I also do not think Seth's transformation is wholly disingenuous. In the moment it is, and it even displays intelligence on his part to recognize the nature of his foe and that it flies in the face of his worldview....that said he is a weak guy and steps out of the hero role when his lie isnt at stake...as many people do, but its up to the audience to recognize that in part because he did face pure supernatural evil and so we as the audience recognize his choice in universe as foolish and in so doing I think perhaps the movie calls the audience to be more morally reflective because unlike some other movies that trade in fighting supernatural evil creatures this one acknowledges the moral consequences of those creatures existence and still has a character reject them as a result of his own flaws.
Yakno. I really think that the vampires weren't going to kill the whole house that night.
just a few.
I mena look at the stuff in the back, unless they empty that weekly there aren't many things.
plus it'd be pretty obvious after a pretty quick while that truckers disappear in that area.
I do wonder how many they took per night. I mean how many can one person feed i wonder?
I'd also argue that we can't say whether he changed or not in the end. WE didn't exactly get much info there
Mmm 🤔 gonna give Seth a solid Lawful Neutral. Thieves Guild. The commentary that he gets away with everything is shakey with regard to El Rey in the Tarantino verse. He tells Richie it's a place of peace, but really he is dragging his chaotic-evil brother to an elephant graveyard for crooks. He rebuffs Kate's offer to join him (and sleep with him) partly because of his higher ethics. Also that a sweet girl like Kate would not be safe in El Rey. It could be seen as symbolic that Seth is first among all the group that the door man attempts to reject. While Richie is quite literally welcomed into the fold.
The best of the best. This is quentin on 🔥
Haha i totally forgot about Quentin sucking Selma’s toes. Now it makes sense why he did the scene. He has a big foot fetish so it totally makes sense now!
The duct tape montage was sweet!
4:18 - I died