From Dusk Till Dawn 3 : The Hangman's Daughter

Directed by  : P.J.Pesce
Written by    : Robert Rodriguez, Alvaro Rodriguez
Starring       : Michael Parks, Marco Leonardi, Temeura Morrison, Rebecca Gayheart
Also starring : Ara Celi, Orlando Jones, Danny Trejo, Lennie Loftin
Sequel to     : From Dusk Till Dawn
Sequel to     : From Dusk Till Dawn 2 : Texas Blood Money

The “From Dusk Till Dawn” franchise is a strange one, the original was an innovative crime/vampire movie and the second film was a mediocre B-movie. Now the third installment in the series arrives - again on straight-to-video - and although it’s not as good as the first movie it’s still a surprisingly decent vampire film.

Rather than the contemporary American/Mexican setting of the first two films, this is a prequel set in 19-th Century Mexico and therefore one of the few (only?) examples of a vampire western. The story tells the tale of the encounter between a group of bandits who kidnap/liberate the eponymous Hangman’s Daughter and rob real life writer-turned soldier Ambrose Bierce. After they both end up at a remote (and inevitably vampire-infested) Mexican Inn for the night the scene is set for some entertainingly over-the-top action horror.

The initial part of the film is more like a Western than a horror movie and manages to be reasonably authentic and establishes the main characters well. The second half is very reminiscent of the second half of the first movie as the surviving humans must defend themselves against a horde of vampires. As the vampires attack it gets a bit sillier with some over-the-top effects but nowhere does it sink to the ludicrous depths of the second movie. There is some good dialogue, and the pre-vampire part of the film has quite a decent plot and some good characterisation, although the latter stages descend into fun-but-silly B-movie horror.

The acting and direction is of a fairly high-standard despite not featuring any famous name, the character of Bierce (played by Michael Parks) is particularly well portrayed.

Overall, this is a decent vampire with an unusual historical setting. Nothing special but worth watching.

Rating : 7 / 10

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All content ©2003 William Marnoch.

Comments? Agree/Disagree with the Reviews? Suggestions? Random Ramblings? Whatever you might want to say, feel free to e-mail me at william@wmarnoch.freeserve.co.uk .