This 1999 sequel to FROM DUSK TILL DAWN is a big step up from the disappointing first sequel TEXAS BLOOD MONEY, although it’s not as good as the original. The story is a prequel to the first FROM DUSK TILL DAWN and explores the origins of Salma Hayek’s character Santanico Pandemonium from the first feature. But even though the film is a prequel, FROM DUSK TILL DAWN 3 also comes off as a retread. Remember in the original the first hour started off as a tense heist/caper/kidnapper movie until the cast found themselves in the Titty Twister Bar? Well, the prequel follows the exact same formula, only this time its a hundred years earlier and the characters are bandits and cowboys (instead of crooks) who stumble into the pre-Titty Twister saloon. The good news is that the first hour of the film plays like a European spaghetti western!

There is not a lot of big name talent in the film, but for the most part everyone performs their parts very well. Character actor Michael (WICKED) Parks gets a lead role as real life civil war hero and writer Ambrose Beirce. I’ve seen this guy before and didn’t really think too much of him. But he really steals the show here and possesses a lot of prescience. Marco (STENDAHL SYNDROME) Leonardi is the wanted-dead-or-alive bandit Johnny Madrid, but the actor is a little too pretty boy to pull off the rugged character. Actress Ara Celi portrays the beautiful hangman’s daughter, Esmerelda. Temeura (ONCE WERE WARRIORS) Morrison gives a great performance as the nasty hangman. Rebecca (URBAN LEGEND) Gayheart plays bible thumping traveler Mary. Sonia (KISS OF THE SPIDERWOMAN) Braga is cast as the vampire princess. Danny (CON-AIR) Trejo reprises his roll as the vampire bartender Razor Charlie.

The movie takes place around Mexico in 1870. In a small Mexican town, outlaw bandit Johnny Madrid (Leonardi) is about to hang for his various crimes. Michael Park’s real life character of Ambrose Beirce is waiting for a stagecoach that will take him towards Pancho Villa, when he witnesses the hangman (Morrison) whip his own daughter, Esmerelda, for not listening to him. As Madrid is hanged, an outlaw shoots the rope and Madrid falls free. He grabs the hangman’s daughter as a hostage and jumps onto a horse and runs out of town. The enraged hangman rounds up a posse and pursues Madrid who by now has hooked up with his outlaw cohorts.

Beirce shares a stagecoach with a bible thumping couple John and Mary Newlie. Until Madrid and his goons hijack it, that is. Once the outlaw gang find out there is no money aboard they leave the passengers stranded in the desert. The passengers wander on for days until they come to a cantina standing alone on the dunes. This cantina is the one that becomes the Titty Twister bar in the original. Soon, the hangman’s posse arrives there as well and partakes in the prostitutes and alcohol.

Soon Johnny Madrid and Esmerelda stumble upon the cantina, unaware of who is inside. When they go in, Esmerelda immediately falls under the spell of the undead proprietors. The hangman sees Madrid and a bar fight ensues. The vampires soon attack and the bar fight turns into a fight for survival. Ambrose Beirce manages to convince the outlaws, the hangman, and the Newlies to put aside their hostilities and deal with the ever present threat of the vampires. The vampires have killed everyone else in the cantina, and only Esmerelda has been spared. What fate could the vampires possibly have for the hangman’s daughter?

There is a lot more to the plot that I choose not to reveal because of spoiler purposes. But the origins of the Santanico character (played here by Ara Celi who resembles a young Salma Hayek) are fully explained. It also hints about the fate of Ambrose Beirce who disappeared in real life in 1914. Michael Parks has great screen presence and you hope he shows up in the next sequel. Temura Morrison makes for a truly vile villain as the hangman, and there is more to his character than meets the eye. The characters are basically one dimensional, but the actors I just mentioned go the extra mile and make the film work.

When the cat is out of the bag in the last act, all hell breaks loose. And gore fans everywhere will be satisfied by the graphic details. There are enough surprises and jolts to appease even jaded horror films, though you’ve seen this all before in films like EVIL DEAD and DEMON KNIGHT (not to mention the original DUSK TILL DAWN): vampires lick blood off the floor, off their victims (and each other), rip out jugulars, etc. The only thing more violent than the vampires are their human attackers, who initiate an even bigger bloodshed by staking the undead, beheading the undead, impaling the undead, burning the undead. The traditional make-up effects (they still have these?) are very well done. But, some unconvincing CGI effects are used to supplement the regular makeup effects, but cannot match their realism. By the time the movie is over, you are just so desensitized to all the flowing red.

Despite the praise I’ve been giving the film, the script has some problems. One of the biggest problems comes near the end of the vampire attacks when Mary Newlie is bitten by a vampire. We witness the entire rapid-fire vampire vs. humans bar fight, suddenly the loud fighting stops. The movie turns black and white. A vampire hypnotizes Mary and forces her to do the cha-cha with him (while Latin music plays in the background) before he bits her. Then the scenes goes color and the struggle continues. What? Did I miss something here. Was this supposed to be humorous? All this lengthy sequence did was ruin the momentum, and pad out the running time. I would have given the movie a nice 4.0, but because of this needless scene, I’m only going to give it a 3.5.

I have to confess, the movie was original and interesting until the vampires come into the film, and we all know how it ends as a retread of the original. Once again an intriguing storyline gets drowned out by the gore. When the main characters are on the run from the vampires, the script pulls out every horror cliché in the book. Do you remember the final shot of the original where the camera is behind the Titty Twister and the camera goes slowly back revealing it to be an Aztec pyramid with trashed vehicles all around? Here they copy the exact same scene, except instead of automobiles there are horse-drawn carriages and stagecoaches strewn about!

SIGHT

Buena Vista Home Video presents FROM DUSK TILL DAWN 3 in a widescreen 1.85.1 transfer that features 16x9 enhancement (which fills up my 16x9 TV) . Despite being a medium budget film, the transfer looks very glossy, with a sharp, detailed image. Colors are extremely vivid. There are many scenes of the dessert at dusk (and dawn) and the gorgeous flaming red visuals look breathtaking. Contrast and brightness are superior with good shadow detail. Despite director Pesce’s inexperience, the studio thankfully paired him with experienced cinematographer Michael Bonvilliain, who produced some great visuals and art direction all served up lovingly on this 16x9 enhanced transfer with crisp detail. Likewise, the splattery effects are depicted with lots of bloody detail for you gore hounds. The film has a distinct, sandy color scheme (until the final bloody act), that looks gorgeous and detailed. The filmmakers use lots of bizarre camera angles (ala spaghetti westerns), that look great in the transfer. The transfer is so good, that it draws attention to the shoddy CGI effects. As a result, these cartoonish computer effects can’t match the luster of the traditional makeup effects.

SOUND

Buena Vista has done a very nice job with the Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. There is lots of activity in the sound field. But, the back-to-front panning effects are limited, because this is not a high-velocity sci-fi or action movie that requires endless panning effects and deep bass. The DD 5.1 sound field is effectively used to depict firing bullets and horror-related effects like doors creaking, bat wings flapping, vampires growling, etc. The sound field is clear and crisp with no distortion or dropouts. The bass is there to support the gunfire, and the few explosions, but is mostly there for ambiance. The movie is also dialog driven and features many Latin characters speaking heavily accented English; it all sounds intelligible and emanates from the center speaker. Nathan Barr manages to compose an symphonic/electronic score that provides a lot of excitement in the action scenes, with bits and pieces of classical western tones and Mexican sounding rhythms. Overall, though not a thunderously powerful DD 5.1 that will shake your foundations, it is an expansive, well-synchronized, realistic soundtrack that beckons you into the movie.

FEATURES

The only extra is a "deleted scene", although I don’t why they call it that, as not only does it have nothing to do with the movie, but it takes place in the present as opposed to one hundred years ago. The deleted scene is full frame, and runs 51 seconds. In this scene, two men are at a bar (one of whom is the director, and the other is Michael Parks). The other guy laughs at the elder Parks for telling a ridiculous vampire story, and Parks eyes suddenly turn yellow as Parks promptly pulls out the guys bloody heart and eats it! The video quality is not as good as the feature. No trailer.

CONCLUSION

The vampire western craze started years ago with BILLY THE KID VS. DRACULA, and later entries included fare like GHOST TOWN and SUNDOWN. While THE HANGMAN’S DAUGHTER is not as good as the original FROM DUSK TO DAWN, it is without a doubt the best vampire western of all time. Co-creators Rodriquez and Tarentino are admitted fans of the spaghetti western genre, and I’m sure purposely intentioned this film to play like one, with the added vampire subtext. On that level it succeeds. Thanks to Disney coming to their senses, the DVD boasts 16x9 enhancement which works wonders on the imagery. The soundtrack supports the film nicely and the only thing I can grumble about is the lack of extras. But Disney delivered great video and audio so good on this DVD that I forgot that this was not even a theatrical release!

FROM DUSK TIL DAWN 3 is available from DVDEmpire.com

FROM DUSK TIL DAWN: COLLECTOR'S BOX SET is available from DVDEmpire.com

                                                 Rating (out of 5):