A year after Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez each helmed a segment of portmanteau comedy Four Rooms, the pair delivered this deliciously schlocky homage to B-movie horror.
The first half of the narrative is fairly straightforward, as gangster brothers-on-the-lam Seth and Richie Gecko (played, in something of a genetic stretch, by George Clooney and Tarantino himself) take preacher Jacob Fuller (Harvey Keitel) and his kids hostage.
This being a Tarantino screenplay, things take a turn for the surreal after the group seek refuge at desert bar Titty Twister which, it turns out, is a favourite with the local vampires.
It’s certainly not high art, but From Dusk till Dawn is memorable precisely because it’s so outrageous – everything, from the costumes and the cinematography to Rodriguez’s adrenaline-fuelled direction, a riotous assault on the senses.
It’s also an important early entry in Tarantino’s canon, showcasing a talent for arresting dialogue and colourful characters alongside the uncompromising determination that has become his trademark.
