FROM DUSK TILL DAWN 2 - TEXAS BLOOD MONEY

Now you know the old saying, don't you? 'Never trust an outlaw unless they've been transformed into a vampire by a demonic bartender'. No! Wait a minute! That can't be right. Even though I'm pretty damn certain that was the message behind this 85 minute movie made in 1999. You know. That one Directed by Scott Spiegel; and Starring: Robert Patrick, Bo Hopkins, Brett Harrelson, with Bruce Campbell.


From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money


THE STORY:
Now I've got to admit. The last thing I was expecting whilst I was holed-up in my motel room, watching some crummy Bruce Campbell movie on the TV, was for Sheriff Lawson (Bo Hopkins) to decide to pay me a visit, and have the gall to ask me if I've seen my old pal Luther (Duane Whitaker) since he's escaped from prison.

I mean, for crying out loud! What was he expecting me to say? 'Sure Sheriff. I've spoken to Luther on the phone a few moments ago. In fact, we're just about to rustle-up a gang of thieves and rob a bank way out of town'! Ha! What a sap that sheriff is.

Of course I fobbed the fool off with some flippant remark, only to then proceed to round up CW (Muse Watson), Ray Bob (Brett Harrelson), and Jesus (Raymond Cruz), before driving us all the way down to another motel room near the bank in question, to await for Luther's arrival.

Admittedly. I wasn't to know that my convicted friend was going to run into some trouble before he got to see us. Some trouble involving a flat tire and a demonic bartender from the‘Titty Twister' called Razor Eddie (Danny Trejo).

But then again, I'm not a clairvoyant, am I? I'm the roguish outlaw named Buck (Robert Patrick). Who's life suddenly turns into a living hell when what next transpires transforms from a simple robbery to an attack by vampires. As the police come under demonic fire - some bad guys have a lot of blood to acquire - the world begins to turn stark raving mad - and at the end of the day, the end of this flick isn't really that bad.

THE REVIEW:
Now the only way I can really convey to you my feelings about 'From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Bloody Money', is by telling you a simple story of something that happened to me a couple of months ago.

One Sunday my cousin and his family came over to my parents house for a barbecue, and me being 'Uncle Monkey', I messed about with his brats as per usual, joking and playing with them in a rather jovial fashion. However, as the evening then dragged on, I told my nephews that I had a bit of work to do on my computer, and asked them to go and bother my two brothers for an hour or so, until I finished what I had to do.

Yet I'm sorry to say that one of these little git's didn't really get my message. And half an hour later, he crept up behind me whist I was writing, and purposefully closed down my word processor, making me loose all of my work in the process.

Of course I was very angry with him at first. And gave him a bit of a slap whilst his parents told him off. Still, the point I'm trying to make here, dear reader, is that sometimes kids, or adult film-makers for that matter, do things without fully understanding what they are doing, and in in many ways that is how I feel about this movie.

Well. Let's face it. It's nothing like its more illustrious predecessor at all. There are no big name actors in it. The whole production feels as if it was made for television. The overall narrative is a very simple affair. Plus to add insult to injury, the characters are all of the one note variety.

Yeah. I'm not pulling your leg. From my perspective none of the characters have been given enough scope for you to actually care what is happening to them. And if it wasn't bad enough most of them were of the criminal class, to make matters even worse, these are the type of criminals you can't really engage with, and this makes the whole pretext feel kind of redundant and moot.

Furthermore, the ending of this movie didn't feel quite right either. In my eyes it came across rather long winded in the execution, whilst the camera work (even though very good overall) does get a bit overbearing towards the films conclusion. To the point where it got rather distracting to the eye.

OK. I have to admit. To back-track-slightly, I did notice that the character Robert Patrick plays is given more screen time than the rest. And he is able to reveal more about himself via the intended plot.

Also, in stark contrast to some of my negativity, this film is still a really enjoyable feast for the horror fans, and does manage to elevate itself way above what could have been a rather dreadful slice of cinema.

For instance, I have to mention that the special effects make-up on the actors were really great on screen. And this was elevated even more so by the occasionally innovative camera work, the two great cameos by Bruce Campbell and Danny Trejo, plus I also thought the ensemble cast members gelled together pretty well too.

Apart from that, though, well? Here. Let's just look at the facts, shall we? (1) 'Dimension Films' first release this $5 million dollar production in America on the exact same day the Euro first crashed. It was on the 16th of March, 1999. (2) Loosely translated, this sequel was given the subtitle, 'Terror In Texas' in Argentina; where as in Brazil it was called, 'Texas Blood'. (3) The majority of this movie was shot on location within the very hot country of South Africa. It started production on the 19th of January, 1998, and then it ended on the 8th of March, of the very same year. (4) Quentin Tarantino was an un-credited writer on this horror movie, even though he did publicly co-produce it with Robert Rodríguez and Lawrence Bender. (5) Not only is James Parks the son of Michael Parks, but in addition to this, James plays Deputy McGraw in this picture, whereas Michael plays Ranger Mcgraw in the first, as well as being the character's son by default. (6) The vampire who was shot at the side of the road by Luther, was none other than the editor of this flick, Bob Murawsk. (7) Danny Trejo is the only actor to star in all three of the 'From Dusk Till Dawn' series of films. (8) After this flick yelped like a loon, Robert Patrick starred in the action-adventure, 'The Vivero Letter'; Bo Hopkins starred in the TV-drama, 'Time Served'; and Duane Whitaker starred in the thriller, 'Tempest Eye'.

By now I'm sure you get the basic gist of what I felt about 'From Duck Till Dawn 2: Texas Bloody Money'. It's a somewhat bi-polar movie. With some good points to it. With some bad points to it. And generally it's a pretty middle of the road story-line, even though I would recommend it to any horror or western fans out there. Right Bruce?

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A so-so good-bad movie. Nuff said.

THE RATING: B