Reviews
[TV Review] “From Dusk Till Dawn” Season Three is a Gory Good Time!
From Dusk Till Dawn had a rough start during its first season. Constrained to the plot of the first movie, viewers were forced to sit through a 10-hour adaptation of a 108-minute movie. While it started to get interesting in the latter half of the season when it started deviating from the film’s plot, it wasn’t enough to merit a recommendation. Season Two improved on the first, as it was able to fully break away from the film’s narrative, but it wasn’t without its flaws. This brings us to Season Three, which may be the best season of From Dusk Till Dawn yet.
The third season takes a different narrative approach than the previous two, offering up a monster-of-the-week format that works better than it should. It’s a format reminiscent of the early seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Charmed, and even Smallville. Those shows used the format in their early seasons but outgrew it and moved on to more layered season-long arcs. From Dusk Till Dawn manages to merge both formats to much success.
Each of the four episodes provided for review contained a different Xibalban monster as the antagonist, though not the main antagonist. That role is reserved for Kate (more on that in a bit). From a scorpion man to camouflage motorcycle warriors, there is a wide variety of baddies for our characters to face, each with a unique gimmick that prevents the routine from getting stale.
The writing is still a little shaky (examples being an outdated reference to Britney Spears and some other forced pop culture references), but overall the show has embraced its campy tone without going overboard into parody. The writers know what kind of show this is, and they roll with it.
As you may recall, the second season ended with Santaánico (Eiza González) and the Gecko brothers (D.J. Cotrona and Zane Holt) parting ways, while Kate (Madison Davenport, having a ton of fun this season) was murdered and possessed by the blood in the mysterious blood well. Season 3 picks up with the Gecko brothers, now acting as guardians for the seven remaining culebra lords. Cotrona and Holt have always had a great rapport with each other, and that holds true here. For some reason, González’s role has been trimmed for this season (I believe she only appears in one episode). It is unclear as of now what her role will be in the season, but she hasn’t been given much to do so far. This may be due to budgetary constraints, but it’s regrettable nonetheless.
From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series, for El Rey Network and Miramax
Davenport arrives at the tail-end of the first episode, but she really gets to show off her acting chops in the second episode. Now that she has been possessed by the blood of an ancient being named Amaru, she is given her best material yet (and lots of eyeliner). Amaru is set up as the season’s big bad and Davenport is able to have plenty of fun in the role. There are traces of Angel’s Illyria or Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Glory in Amaru, if that gives you any idea of what kind of character she is.
The show still hasn’t figured out what to do with Jesse Garcia or Brandon Soo Hoo. Soo Hoo, as Kate’s culebra brother Scott, doesn’t appear until the fourth episode of the season and feels like he is in a completely different show. Garcia is more integrated into the happenings of the season, but still fails to be a compelling character, even in his new role as the Peacemaker. However, if you were worried that Jake Busey wouldn’t return: fear not. Professor Sex Machine (I swear I’m not making this up) does return this year, and he’s just as funny and ridiculous as ever.
The new characters introduced this season fare slightly better, but their screen time is limited so they don’t make much of an impression. Nicky Whelan pops up in the fourth episode as a mysterious bar patron, though her identity will ring a bell to fans of Grindhouse (and to be clear: everyone should be a fan of Grindhouse). Ana De la Reguera (who was so good as a crazed fan on Jane the Virgin this year) has a brief stint as one of the seven culebra lords and gets to trade barbs with Holt and Cotrona. Even the master of special effects himself, Tom Savini, pops up in the third episode as a pot smoking demon hunter named Burt.
For a show with such a small budget, it certainly makes the most of it. While there is plenty of CGI blood splatter (a forgivable flaw in this type of show), the practical effects do stand out. Heads are ripped off, faces are detached and intestines are spilled. It all looks glorious. Gorehounds will find plenty to
Fans of the first two seasons of From Dusk Till Dawn will find plenty to like about Season 3. I dare say that it might be the most entertaining season yet. Of course this is only based on the first four episodes of the season, but they are extremely promising episodes at that.
From Dusk Till Dawn will have a two-hour premiere on the El Rey Network on Tuesday September 6th, 2016 at 9p ET.
Rebooting and expanding upon Bryan Bertino’s chilling 2008 horror film in a brand new trilogy, all installments already shot as part of one continuous, overarching story, makes for one of the more ambitious horror endeavors as of late. It also means that The Strangers: Chapter 1 is only the opening act of a three-part saga. Considering it’s the entry most committed to recreating the familiar beats of Bertino’s film, Chapter 1 makes for a tricky-to-gauge, overly familiar introduction to this new expansion.
The Strangers: Chapter 1 introduces happy couple Maya (Madelaine Petsch) and Ryan (Froy Gutierrez) on their way to starting a new life together in the Pacific Northwest. Car troubles leave them stranded in the quirky small town of Venus, Oregon, where they’re forced to stay the night in a cozy but remote cabin in the woods.
Naturally, the deeply in love couple soon find themselves in a desperate bid to survive the night when three masked strangers come knocking.
Madelaine Petsch as Maya in The Strangers. Photo Credit: John Armour
Director Renny Harlin, working from a 289-page screenplay by Alan R. Cohen & Alan Freedland that was broken into three movies, keeps Chapter 1 mostly self-contained to recapture the spirit of the original film. The core remains the same in that it’s reliant on the eerie stalking and escalating violence that builds toward a familiar conclusion, but Harlin mixes it up a bit through details and set pieces that hint toward the larger story around Venus itself. The early introductory scenes establishing both the protagonists and their setting offer the biggest clues toward the subsequent chapters, with the bustling diner giving glimpses of potential allies or foes yet to come- like the silent, lurking Sheriff Rotter (Richard Brake).
One downside to announcing this as a trilogy is that we already know that the successive chapters will continue Maya’s story, robbing more suspense from a film that liberally leans into its predecessor for scares. The good news is that Madelaine Petsch brings enough layers to Maya to pique curiosity and instill rooting interest to carry into Chapter 2. Maya begins as the gentler, more polite half of the young couple in love, but there’s a defiance that creeps through the more she’s terrorized. On that front, Petsch makes Maya’s visceral fear tangible, visibly quaking and quivering through her abject terror as she attempts to evade her relentless attackers.
The Strangers – Chapter 1. Photo Credit: John Armour
It’s her subtle emotional arc and quiet visual hints toward the bigger picture that tantalize most in an introductory chapter meant to entice younger audiences unfamiliar with the 2008 originator. The jolts will have a harder time landing for fans of Bertino’s film, however, even when Harlin stretches beyond the cabin for stunt-heavy chase sequences or gory bursts of violence. It’s worth noting that Harlin’s tenured experience and cinematographer José David Montero ensure we can grasp every intricate stunt or chase sequence with clarity; there’s no worry of squinting through the dark, hazy woods to make out what’s happening on screen. A more vibrant color palette also lends personality to Venus and its residents.
The Strangers: Chapter 1 exists in a unique place in that it’s the first 90 minutes of what will amount to a roughly 4.5-hour movie yet doesn’t give much away at all about what’s ahead, presenting only part of the whole picture. Chapter 1 does a sufficient job laying the groundwork and delivering horror thrills but with a caveat: the less familiar you are with The Strangers, the better. Harlin and crew get a bit too faithful in their bid to recreate Bertino’s effective scares, even when remixing them, and it dampens what works. The more significant departures from the source material won’t come until later, but look to a mid-credit tease that sets this up.
The Strangers: Chapter 1 doesn’t establish enough of its own identity to make it memorable or set it apart, but it’s just functional enough to raise curiosity for where we’re headed next.
The Strangers: Chapter 1 releases in theaters on May 17, 2024.
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