From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money

Production: Robert Rodriguez (Executive Producer) — Quentin Tarantino (Executive Producer) — Meir Teper (Producer) — Lawrence Bender (Executive Producer) — Michael S. Murphey (Producer) — Gianni Nunnari (Producer)

Screenplay: Scott Spiegel (Story) — Duane Whitaker (Screenplay) — Boaz Yakin (Story)

Music: Joseph Williams (Original Music Composer)

Cinematography: Philip Lee (Director of Photography)

Some former convicts organize a heist in a Mexican bank; their leader, just before meeting with his companions, is attacked and bitten by a vampire, thus transforming himself into a creature of the night. His intention is still to rob the bank, but first he wants to "vampirize" the members of his team, though not everyone agrees. The arrival of the police further complicates the situation. Hollywood law states that every successful film must have at least a sequel, and "From Dusk Till Dawn" is no exception to this rule; but unfortunately, it often happens that the second chapter of a saga is terribly inferior to the first, and this practice also holds true for this film. Produced for home video with poor effects, a thin plot, and starring "recycled" stars, far from the particular mix of horror, irony, and splatter that Rodriguez's film had given us. Notable is a small appearance by Bruce Campbell, the unforgettable protagonist of "The Evil Dead" by Raimi. In short, a lot of boredom for a film produced exclusively for commercial purposes.

From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money had the deck stacked against it, not only because it is a sequel, but because of the movie to which it is a sequel. What in the original was an unforeseeable surprise becomes expectation here, and we’re left simply waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Having said that, this film is better than it has any right to be, precisely because it knows how dumb it is. An old band of bank robbers is getting back together for one more score, which they insist on carrying out even after most of them have been turned into vampires; this would only make sense if it were a blood bank.

To its credit, Texas Blood Money is not oblivious to the situation’s inherent silliness; when asked "What in the hell are vampires doing robbing a bank?," protagonist Buck Bowers (the always effective Robert Patrick) deadpans: "I suppose vampires need money just like anybody else."

Insofar as the movie works, it does so because of the cast, who bring to the script more than it brings them. The filmmakers try too hard to emulate Tarantino and Robert Rodríguez at the peak of their powers, and can’t even reach the low levels to which those have sunk nowadays.

As far as horror/fantasy sequels are concerned, From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money exists in the same limbo as The Crow: Wicked Prayer. This not the best vampire movie ever, but it’s by no means the worst either.

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FROM DUSK TILL DAWN 2: TEXAS BLOOD MONEY