From Dusk Till Dawn

Director: Robert Rodriguez
Writers: Robert Kurtzman (story), Quentin Tarantino (screenplay)
Released: 1996
Labels: Vampire|1990's|Thriller

On the run criminal brothers Seth and Richard Gecko take a vacationing family hostage on their way to the Mexican border. Once safely across, they hole up at a bar for the night and insist that the family wait with them. Things take an unexpected turn as the group and their fellow patrons find themselves on the bar menu and fighting for their lives, as all the working strippers, bar staff and even the house band turn into vampires. 

"From Dusk Til Dawn" is clearly defined by its two halves, first is the escape from the US by the two brothers. The direction of Rodriguez and the pen of Tarantino are clear to see - it's slick, witty stuff with smart-assed dialogue and some trademark gunplay and explosions thrown in for good measure. George Clooney is excellent as Seth in this early film role and really steals the show for much of it. 

The film's second half, inside the bar, shifts up a gear - the wit and dialogue remain but the action gets a whole lot crazier. The battle with the Vamps is messy, chaotic and relentless as if Evil Dead era Sam Raimi were given this section to play with. The Vampires look great, they beef up, become all gnarly and scaly and look more monsterfied than the usual pasty-faced romantics that we see nowadays. There's a really imaginitive use of the plentiful SFX with some inventive and often hilarious deaths of both human and vamp (watch out for the clever range of weaponry the heroes come up with). Expect solid, safe performances from the likes of Harvey Keitel, Juliette Lewis and Tarantino himself. Also noteworthy are appearances from Salma Hayek, Tom Savini and Rodriguez favorites Cheech Marin and Danny Trejo.

It does look a little tired around the edges at times, particularly the dated CGI but it has such an energy that it still remains an exhilarating watch. 

From Dusk Till Dawn Official Website

From Dusk Till Dawn on IMDb

From Dusk Till Dawn on Wikipedia

Predictably it has a killer soundtrack too.....

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Let Me In

Writers: Matt Reeves, John Ajvide Lindqvist 

Director: Matt Reeves

Released: 2010

Labels: Vampire|2010's 

Let Me In is a beautiful melancholy story of a young boy Owen, played by Kodi Smit-McPhee (The Road) living alone with his alcoholic divorcee Mom. He is bullied relentlessly at school and as a result is emotionally isolated and very withdrawn. A seemingly young girl, Abby, played by Chloe Moretz (Kick Ass) and her apparent 'father' move into the apartment building. Abby has a secret, she is a Vampire, many years older than she appears to be. Her 'father' (who we now realize is her human handler/protector) sets about attempting to kill people from the neighborhood in order to harvest their blood for Abby, he fails and Abby is compelled to collect some for herself leaving a bloody mess that he has to clear up. Meanwhile, Owen and Abby have become friends, more than that really, they fall in love.

Abby's 'Father' continues to try to obtain blood for her and his attempts lead to an accident that he can't walk away from. He pours acid onto his face so that he can't be recognized by the police in a bid to protect his beloved Abby. She visits him in the hospital and in a scene that answers some questions posed at the very start of the movie, she bites and drinks from his neck and lets him fall from a balcony to his death. Owen has guessed by now that Abby is, in fact, a Vampire and seems pretty accepting of this fact (that's love for you!). The climax of the movie is when Abby 'helps' him with his bully problem in a bloody, yet incredibly effective, way. This seals his love for her and as the film ends we see them leaving together (albeit her in a box) to start afresh with Owen as her new, devoted handler.

  

Let Me In is basically a direct re-make of the Swedish film,  Let the Right One In (2008) (which itself is taken from the Novel, Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist ). A lot of the scenes are exactly the same and both films have a very similar feel in direction, cinematography and casting. There are some slight differences in plotline, the US version introduces a Detective (Elias Koteas) into the story who is following the bloody trail left by Abby and her handler and the Swedish film is perhaps slightly less palatable for those that are easily offended, but none of these things detract from the quality of both of these movies.

If we had to choose one to recommend to you then it would be Let the Right One In simply because it is refreshing and original and Let Me In is a straightforward re-make. But, if you really don't get on with foreign language films (and some people don't) then enjoy the US version for the great movie that it is.

Let Me In theatrical trailer

Let the Right One In theatrical trailer

Let Me In Official Site

Let Me In at iMDB

Let Me In at Wikipedia

Let the Right One In at iMDB

Let the Right One In at Wikipedia