Tonight’s premiere of El Rey’s From Dusk Till Dawn begins the “official” sequel that the movie never got to have! The series got off to a rocky start last year, but the final three or four episodes raised the stakes and were a lot of fun. If you watched the first season, you’ll know that it ended a little differently than the 1996 film did, with several characters that died in the film still left alive in the show (Scott, Richie, Santánico, to name a few). It also expanded on the mythology on the Culebras a great deal. So how did tonight’s premiere compare to the first season? Pretty well, for the most part, but the show still has some kinks to work out.
Much of the draw of “Opening Night” comes from the fact that we are finally past the remake of the first film that was the first season. It’s not 100% compelling yet, but there are more things working in this premiere than not, so that’s something.
Definitely working for the show is Santánico. Eiza Gonzalez is great in the role and imbues the character with a sense of humanity that she wasn’t fully able to convey last season. Her sojourn in the meat-packing plant with Richie wasn’t particularly interesting (though the fight scene with the uber-vamp in the main room while all the workers were oblivious was a nice bit of physical comedy), but their growing relationship is one of the more fascinating aspects of the series. It is a little odd that Richie is more sane as a Culebra than he was as a human, though.
The flashbacks that revealed Lord Amancio Malvado (new cast member Esai Morales) was the man who turned her into a Culebra (in the opening scene of the pilot) was a nice turn of events. I’m not sure if this show needs another bad guy, especially since Danny Trejo’s “The Regulator” was awoken at the end of the episode, but at least that gives Santánico’s mission a personal stake that the audience can relate to.
Less interesting (and by less interesting I mean not interesting at all) is everything else happening at the Titty Twister. Scott is chained up and doesn’t get much to do. Carlos is bearded, rips out his fangs, and gets himself a sword (which…alright). The aformentioned Lord Amancio Malvado does get a cool entrance (wearing a coat made of faces, I might add) by ripping the face off of another Culebra, but other than that nothing else really happens.
Kate’s mission to find her brother is sort of a mixed bag. On the one hand, I’m loving this new, tough-as-nails Kate. She has agency and Madison Davenport is owning the role (it’s a far cry from her Mormon character on Shameless). On the other hand her end goal is to locate her brother, who doesn’t have much of a presence. Hopefully that will be remedied as the season continues.
Seth is now a heroin addict, and while the eventual reveal that the hotel manager was a Culebra was a nice (and the only) twist for the episode, the real meat of his story came from his meeting with Sonja (Briana Evigan, Sorority Row), a tattoo artist who also forges passports. Again, not much was shown with her character, so it’s difficult to make any snap judgments.
This was a mostly solid premiere that was stretched out a little too thin. Now that all of the characters are spread out into their own sub-plots, From Dusk Till Dawn will have to work a little bit harder to give each character defining moments that make us care about what happens to them. Here’s hoping the series keeps improving!
Random Notes
- Welcome to my weekly reviews of From Dusk Till Dawn everyone! I know the first season was rough, but I’m looking forward to where this season is headed. Sorry this review is so late. It’s been a crazy week.
- “Balthazar Ambrose. Wow, are you a Hannah Barbera Character or something? -Richie, when discovering the meat-packing plant manager’s name.
- “I’m fine! I was just reading the Bible and….praying.” -Kate, after the motel clerk checked to see if she was alright.
- “I am not wearing that.” -Santánico, after seeing the meat-packing plant uniform.
- Santánico’s original name was Kisa, in case you were wondering.
- I was surprised when Gonzalez showed back up. His subplot is not particularly interesting. Jesse Garcia is a fine actor, but on a show full of Culebras and outlaws, Gonzalez is the most boring character on this show.