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2021 Festival Review – From Dusk Till Dawn (25 Year Anniversary)

(Warning some spoilers ahead!)

Hellbent on mashing the barbarism of westerns with the seductive appeal of vampires, topped with a slew of brutal action and profanity is Robert Rodriguez’s 1996 superb horror film From Dusk Till Dawn’. 

In the wake of a heist with multiple deaths, fugitives Seth Gecko (George Clooney) and his brother Richie Gecko (Quentin Tarantino) further their crime spree as they take Jacob Fuller (Harvey Keitel) and his two teenage children hostage to help them over the border to Mexico to escape from their misdeeds. But their quick stop at a truckers bar turns into bloody carnage as the bar is riddled with thirsty vampires.

From Dusk Till Dawn [25 Year Retrospective]: Okay Vampire Killers… -  Bombshells & Blueshells

From Dusk Till Dawn has taken center stage in the 1990s horror scene ever since its release, partly due to the top tier casting. Featuring is an ample level of star power as we see Danny Trejo, Fred Williamson, John Saxon, Juliette Lewis, and special effect royalty Tom Savini join Clooney, Keitel, and Tarantino.

Cult Film Reviews: From Dusk till Dawn

The film plays out as two acts. The first half is a tense action-thriller with guns and reckless thieves fuelling the narrative. Seth smoothly portrays the ‘good-guy-bad-guy’ role, with his villainous actions being pushed to one side as his slight moralistic touch puts him in our good books. Whereas Richie is a nihilistic psychopath with perverted tendencies. Coupling the rogue brothers’ feisty persona’s is the quintessential conventions that action films relish in, including quick pacing, power divides, and deadpan humour. 

It’s evident that the witty dialogue and lack of sensitivity is due to Tarantino’s input as the screenplay writer, but what strikes a cord the most throughout this purposefully misleading first half is its necessity and importance. The film manages to do the impossible as it brews a slow build up, taking its time to generate a familiarity with the characters, almost forcing us into submission where we just have to carry on watching to find out who stays alive. With the foreboding story delaying a release we sort of relax, allowing Rodriguez to pull the rug out from underneath us and shock us with a sexually amped world of slaughter. 

We become comfortable in what we know, thus when the vampires attack it’s quite a shock to the system. However, instead of being confused and put off by the sudden change we revel in the delight of nonsensical violence

From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) Review |BasementRejects

Granting From Dusk Till Dawn’s fluidity from action to horror is a combination of eccentric characterisation and the outlandish setting, which is indisputably a feast for the eyes. After the Gecko’s and Fuller’s reach Mexico they reach their final stop before freedom as they plan to meet a contact that will take them to a hidden fugitive hideout. However, the aptly named “Titty-Twister” doesn’t just house drunken dirty men ogling over the bar’s strippers, but also a coven of lusty vampires. Rodriguez didn’t just name the bar crudely for a quick giggle, the dive’ truly wallows in titillating essences, particularly through the erotic dancing and bawdy egos of the bikers in attendance. 

Movie Review: From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) | Movierdo

Vampires naturally exude a bodily charm that both fascinate and repel. From Dusk Till Dawn understands this power and uses it as a comical guise to accelerate the action. After watching Santanico (Salma Hayek) perform, the tantalisation reaches a peak, but within minutes the gawking crowd are ripped to shreds as the vampires transform into frightful reptile-like beasts baring their fangs and feasting on whoever they please. Similarly to the disturbance of the genre change half-way through, the sudden vampire attack on the mere mortals proves that Rodriguez is not here to play.

The Horror Digest: From Dusk Till Dawn: A Titty Twister Sounds Scary

The erupting second half explicitly displays as much gratuitous violence as possible (the film was even banned in Ireland for eight years!). Decapitations, impalements, stabbings, shootings, and bodies being set on fire are just some of the film’s most lawless moments. Inducing the B-movie aesthetic even further is the quasi neo-western elements that prove the unruliness of the film’s ambience, such as violent gang mentality, border crossing, bar fights, dusty tonal palettes, and vast desert settings. Rather than this mashup of themes becoming excessive, it simply adds to the chaos and sheer pandemonium that is From Dusk Till Dawn. 

From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)

The constant switching of events encompassed by an abundance of splatter and violence is not only cinematically impressive, but also a wild take on the typical creature feature that you are sure to not forget…

We’ll be screening From Dusk Till Dawn on Saturday 25th September 2021 at this years fest, tickets and details here.

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2021 Festival Review- Red Snow

Sean Nichols Lynch brings us Red Snow, a genre bending vampire film that crumples the conventions of the genre through purposeful deception and dismantling everything you thought you knew about vampires.

Red Snow (2021) - IMDb

Taking us on the journey is Olivia Romo (Dennice Cisneros), a struggling vampire romance novelist who is all alone on Christmas at her family’s cozy cabin by Lake Tahoe. Her loneliness at the supposed ‘happiest time of the year’ takes a hopeful turn as she finds herself in the company of Luke (Nico Bellamy), a real life vampire. Although her dreams have come true she must now battle with mistrust and the looming consequences…

Although it would be easy for Red Snow to develop into another archetypal holiday romance, accompanied by immortals, Lynch disavows any soppiness in favour of pushing a rich and introspective narrative that only furthers the incredibly dimensional characters. Olivia and Luke are rounded, their bond as ostracised people is inexplicably computed as their chemistry burns bright throughout. The pair’s kinship is warming without overshadowing their own individual personalities as their sole personas propel a certain air of charm that forces the viewer into a sympathetic position. 

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That’s not to say that sentiment dominates, as Luke and the rest of the vampire coven are undeniably capable of creating unease. The vampires that exist within the world of Red Snow are vicious, unnerving, and spine-tingling, but what truly furthers their ruthlessness is an apt humanness that Lynch bravely anchors onto. 

A key plot motivation is how Olivia’s failing book relies too much on vampire tropes, and with Luke’s assistance she uncovers that these creatures can identify with the excitements and trials just as much as mundane humans can. And it’s this relatability where the film’s horror stems from- they know that their savageness is wrong but they persist in continuing their frightening lifestyle. It’s this precise reason as to why Red Snow lingers with me, the budding bond between Luke and Olivia is admirable, but Lynch toys with what we know and expect to see in a vampire film, diminishing any predictability

Ensuring that Red Snow evokes an emotive response are the performances by both Bellamy and Cisneros who beyond a shadow of doubt create an immersive experience. Olivia isn’t drawn as a vampire-fangirl dreaming of someone sweeping her off her feet, instead she’s not unfamiliar to insecurities and is grounded in reality. Similarly to Luke, although he is presented with that classic bad boy charm, his sensitivity gradually comes to light. Lynch boldly bares the heart of the film whilst not slumping the threat. 

Red Snow challenges what we know as the distinctive vampire chronicle, however, it still uses some genre highlights but in a more innovative form. Fairly on we are introduced to Julius King (Vernon Wells), an infamous vampire hunter part of a much larger group known as The Severon Group. Wells has already cemented his reputation within cinema through his roles in Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981) and Weird Science (1985), which highlights his dramatic knack for eccentricity, with Red Snow being no exception to his flair as the role of Julius King is what drops the tension in the first place and makes us second guess Luke’s true intentions.  

The fleshed out story is not the only factor worthy of praise as the marriage between the setting and the overall aesthetic harmonises together to form a visual banquet. Olivia’s fondness for the macabre at Christmas time did make me chuckle, joining the shining baubles on the tree is vampire fang decorations and instead of wearing snowman holiday jumpers she dons Nosferatu T-shirts, a girl after my own heart. Red Snow completely took me by surprise every step of the way, cementing itself as a solid entry into both vampire and holiday horror.

You can check out Red Snow on Saturday 25th September 2021 at this years fest, tickets and details here.