'Dusk 2' sinks its teeth into video stores today

For a mediocre movie, "From Dusk Till Dawn" has sure gotten quite a bit of attention since its release three years ago. First there was the documentary on the film's making, "Full Tilt Boogie," and now a pair of direct to video releases - both a prequel and sequel for fans who just can't enough of life at the Titty Twister. Robert Rodriguez, director of "From Dusk Till Dawn," and Quentin Tarantino, the film's writer and star, produced and were each involved in the writing of a script for one of the upcoming continuations.

New in video stores today is "From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money," a sequel set two weeks after the conclusion of the original film. Tarantino receives a co-story credit for the movie and is said to have heavily contributed to the development of the script. The plot centers on five shady characters who join forces and head south of the border to attempt a big time bank robbery. The plan goes to pieces when upon arriving in Mexico, certain members begin to encounter and turn into vampires

Courtesy of Dimension Home Video Vampire hunters are at it again.

, leading to a bloody, vamps vs. good guys finale.

The film's cast has some recognizable faces, but many of the roles are played by virtual unknowns. Robert Patrick, last seen in Rodriguez's "The Faculty," plays Buck, the ringleader of the robbers. Also included: Brett Harrelson as a bumbling burglar and Danny Trejo as Razor Eddie, the only character to return from the original film. Bruce Campbell and Tiffani-Amber Thiessen make quick cameos at the film's beginning (any idea what happens to them?) in a scene that seems to have become the norm for all horror movies.

Writer-director Scott Spiegel, a native of Birmingham, Mich., seems way too anxious to show us that he is the director, and he includes a bevy of shots from odd angles and points of view. While this benefits the film for a time, it becomes very annoying by the film's end.

Spiegel also includes killings that rip off the most famous sequences from Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" and "Psycho" and neither of them are very entertaining. Spiegel should be able to think of something more original than killing someone in the shower and then showing their blood swirl down the drain, or he shouldn't be directing.

For the most part, "From Dusk Till Dawn 2" is about what would be expected for a direct to video follow-up of the film's predecessor. What it lacks in terms of a story it tries to compensate for with wild special effects and bloody battles between humans and vampires. So, unless you're a die-hard fan of the original, save your blood money and try something else.

03-16-99