I missed From Dusk Till Dawn 1, so I'm not sure how its reported legions of fans assess number two, Texas Blood Money. I'm not even sure how I assess number two. It's either a poorly executed, intentionally-derisive look at horror films and the ridiculous premises they expect the viewer to swallow, or it's a really bad horror film.
Either way, Quentin Tarantino disappoints us with this film. Known for mocking social commentaries such as Pulp Fiction, Tarantino made a big mistake in co-writing this story and co-executive producing the film. Initially, Dusk Till Dawn 2 shows glimmers of irony and intelligence, but then it recedes into scene after scene of mindless gore. This unevenness gives the impression that the film started out as one thing, then it either stopped working or someone changed the film's direction.
When Luther (Duane Whitaker) escapes from prison, he contacts his old buddy Buck (Robert Patrick) with the plan of getting some guys together and setting up a bank robbery in Mexico. En route to their meeting place, Luther runs into a large bat with his car, then shoots it when he discovers it's still alive. Unfortunately for him, the bat turns out to be a vampire, and when the bat's other vampire buddies discover it's been shot, they attack Luther and, of course, turn him into a vampire. Luther then carries on to meet the other would-be bank robbers, and soon turns all of them into vampires, except for his friend Buck. At this point, the film falls apart completely and the rest of the movie is spent with vampires attacking innocent people in the goriest ways possible.
Of course, if you have vampires, you also need good guys. Predictably, one of the good guys turns out to be the State Trooper who swore to hunt down Luther after he escaped from prison. Why he ends up on the vampire case in Mexico is one of the film's many points of illogic, but it's a good thing he's there because the vampire/bank robbers kill off most of the Mexican police force. The other good guy in the film turns out to be Buck, and while I don't want to give the story away, he does know something about wooden stakes, crosses and daylight.
If this all sounds like a big waste of time, you're right. You might want to pass on this one.
