The characters are generic, but they are filled out with some over-the-top yet cool dialogue and quirks that are practically Tarantino's trademark. The action and effects are little better than the average B movie, and the vampires are repelled by anything that even remotely resembles an actual cross ( such as the crossbars in the safe's wheel, or the red cross on the back of an ambulance). Spiegel and Yakin work hard to capture what Tarantino and Rodriguez accomplish in the first film, with the sleazy feel and rough characters, and only partially succeed. Buck gets wise to what is happening, making him the overall hero of the flick as he fights to survive, then tries to kill the others. While Luther is slowly turning the rest of the gang into vampires, a silent alarm is tripped and the cops show up in force. The two then get back together with the gang and insist on hitting the bank right away. Jesus manages to kill her, but Luther converts him. Luther goes back to the motel, and his first victim is the hooker ( played by the rather luscious Playboy Playmate Maria Checa in her first role) Jesus had just spent an evening with. Luther, of course, becomes our first vampire. The bartender offers to give him a ride back to his Jeep, where he investigates the bat and finds the bat was really a vampire. He hoofs it, and finds himself at the Titty Twister bar. Unfortunately, a huge bat hits Victor's Jeep and takes it out of commission. The four members of the gang head south to the El Coyote motel in Mexico to await Victor's arrival. Rounding out the gang is the idiot Ray Bob, played by Brett Harrelson ( STRANGELAND and yep, he's Woody's brother). The safecracker is the grizzled C.W., played by Muse Watson ( I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER). Their muscle is the hot-headed Jesus ( It's "hay-sus" but his buddies call him "jee-zus"), played by Raymond Cruz ( ALIEN: RESURRECTION). He contacts his old partner, Buck ( Robert Patrick: TERMINATOR 2, THE FACULTY), who in turn rounds up the rest of their gang. When Luther ( Duane Whitaker: PUPPETMASTER 5, TALES FROM THE HOOD) busts out of jail, he plans a heist on a Mexican bank reputed to be a laundering point for American drug dealers. Once again, our protagonists are actually the bad guys. The only things writer/director Scott Spiegel ( INTRUDER, EVIL DEAD 2) and writer Boaz Yakin ( THE PUNISHER) borrowed from the first flick were the Titty Twister bar ( apparently it wasn't destroyed for good, and it's only in this flick for about five seconds), Razor Eddie the bartender ( Danny Trejo: DESPERADO, FROM DUSK TIL DAWN, ANACONDA, and blink-and-you'll-miss-him in THE HIDDEN), and a few brief character references. In fact, this could easily have been a stand-alone story. Quentin Tarantino, Lawrence Bender, and Robert Rodriguez may have put their names on this film as executive producers, and their production companies ( A Band Apart and Los Hooligans) are listed in the credits, but in reality they probably contributed very little beyond cash and a plot to follow up on. Rated: Australia, USA: R / Belgium: KNT / Finland: K-18 / France, Iceland, Netherlands: 16 / Germany, Norway, Spain, UK: 18 / Ireland: BANNED / Italy: VM18 / Portugal: M/16 / Sweden: 15 "This Ray Bradbury-esque is one of the most memorable and one of the more original stories I've read in a long time."įROM DUSK TILL DAWN 2: Texas Blood Money - 1999Ī Band Apart / Los Hooligans / Miramax ( direct to video) "'Willow Blue' will burrow under your skin and stay there long after you've put the book down."
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