WARNING: Movie spoilers ahead.
Last week I blogged on the need for foreshadowing in novels to help the reader (more specifically, me) follow along on the journey. Commenters had other points of view, and one specifically mentioned the films by Quentin Tarantino. It got me to thinking about his films, specifically From Dusk Till Dawn.
I love Tarantino. I love how he combines brutal violence and quirky humor. My college advisor (the late Dr. Hadley Tremaine) once said that humans use humor to help them deal with frightening and taboo subjects – and that these vary by culture. I was doing an independent study on early Saxon tales. The violent stories of war and battle often had little bites of comedic commentary. One man was run through by a sword and killed. The blade entered his mouth and out the other side of his skull. And “that food tasted strange to him
Stu
Yup. Pretty much transfixed until the vampires took center stage. *sigh*
🙂
debradunbar
Glad I wasn’t the only one scratching my head! I loved Pulp Fiction too. This was fun, but just. . . weird.
Stu
I fully expected the kidnapping to be the catalyst for an intense gangster flick. Then…Salma Hayek and her “snake dance”. NOW I expected more steamy scenes and added sexual tension (and hopefully more Salma). Then…the vampires.
Uh. OK.
Loved Pulp Fiction. Liked From Dusk To Dawn. Reading your words, I may have concluded why I didn’t love From Dusk To Dawn. Good read. Thanks.
debradunbar
And now I must go find Kolchak the Night Stalker. LOL
Dana
No, no, no! This movie works great! I love this movie. When I watched it for the first time with my ex-wife, as soon as they got to the strip club, she turned, looked at me, and said, “um, honey, what kind of movie did you rent?” 😀
It’s definitely not two movies. In fact, if you watch the entire From Dusk Til Dawn series, you’ll see this is the intent of the franchise…put in a standard premise, then BAM! hit ’em with the supernatural.
There are other movies/TV series that have done this too. “Kolchak the Night Stalker” comes to mind. It’s just that Tarantino and Rodriquez do it to the nth degree as usual.
debradunbar
I thought both parts were great – but i kind of wish it had been 2 movies.
Jon Long
I always said From Dusk to Dawn was essentially two movies, simply because of the 360 in the middle. It confused me when it happened but I loved it. It’s often too easy for the reader or watcher to discern where a plot is going, to figure out the clues presented prior to the big reveal, so when you find something that manages to eradicate that with the unexpected, it’s a magical thing indeed.