From Dusk Till Dawn

This is not your typical vampire movie.

The first time I watched “From Dusk Till Dawn” I thought I was watching a dark and violent comedic version of “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” until over halfway through the movie when Salma Hayek finishes a strip tease by gnarling a piece of flesh off Quentin Tarantino’s neck. Just to be clear, we’re talking mid-90’s Salma Hayek.

This Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino collaboration truly has it all: gunfights, explosions, hilarious witty dialogue, Cheech Marin and Danny Trejo cameos, a mariachi rock and roll band that shreds a bloody torso, a Mexican strip club named Titty Twister, a biker named Sex Machine, and did I mention vampires?

A delightfully genre-bending edge-of-your-seat homage to outlaw and vampire movies, “From Dusk Till Dawn” is quintessential Tarantino and Rodriguez. In other words, it is a ton of gory fun. Tarantino wrote the screenplay, and Rodriguez directed the film. Robert Kurtzman wrote the original story.

“From Dusk Till Dawn” is definitely an acquired taste, and does not take much brainpower. It has also received mixed reviews, but for those who have a special place in their heart for a great crime or vampire B-movie, “From Dusk Till Dawn” is absolute gold. The filmmakers’ love of the genres seeps into the chaotic twisted fun that permeates the tone of the film. Also, did I mention Mr. Wolf is in it?