SXSW 2014: From Dusk Till Dawn [The Series] Review

From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series Review: “Episode 1.01″ (Season 1, Episode 1) [SXSW 2014]

by Isaac Feldberg

Was From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series, Robert Rodriguez’s ambitious TV adaptation of his iconic 1996 collaboration with Quentin Tarantino, a really bad idea? It’s too early to tell. Though the show’s pilot, which covers just the film’s opening scenes in a Texas liquor store where bank robbers Seth and Richie Gecko (D.J. Cotrona and Zane Holtz, respectively) stop on their way down to Mexico, is tense and enjoyable, it’s how From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series handles all the madness down the road at the vampire-populated Titty Twister that will determine whether or not Rodriguez had a good reason to return to the Gecko brothers.

I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say that there are vampires in From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series.

Although someone watching the pilot with completely fresh eyes might not know going in that the supernatural creatures play a huge role in the overall story, even those who are newcomers are going to pick up on some early teasers.

For one, the show starts with a girl being chased through a jungle by three Aztec warriors. Once captured, she’s tossed into a pit full of snakes, which quickly descend upon her, biting and slithering. It’s a thoroughly nasty image, and one that suggests From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series could have some delicious scares in store. Another tease comes courtesy of the noticeably unhinged Richie, who sometimes sees a seductive vampiress in the place of the beautiful young hostage (Eiza González) the brothers take at the liquor store. There’s a more pronounced supernatural edge to the show than the film ever had, which could be a great thing if Rodriguez and co. take the time to properly flesh out the extensive Aztec mythology that the original film merely hinted at.

Until the Gecko brothers arrive at the Titty Twister, I have a feeling that teases are all we’ll be getting. Still, the pilot does work as an introduction to the main players. Seth is the brains of the operation, logical and coolheaded. Cotrona does a fine job of making us root for him, instantly establishing a charismatic screen presence. The actor also has great chemistry with Holtz, who has a much trickier character to play. It’s clear from the show’s opening minutes that there’s something very wrong with Richie – he’s sociopathic and prone to vivid hallucinations – and Holtz perfectly captures his unhinged, mad-dog intensity. I’m looking forward to watching their relationship, already unstable by the end of the pilot, unfold throughout the series.

Boasting high production values, compelling leads and the promise of gleefully gory pandemonium down the road, From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series is an ambitious and exciting debut for Robert Rodriguez's El Rey network.

The Titty Twister Reopens...

There's therefore much to look forward to in the rest of the series, with the brothers yet to meet the preacher and his family, and the Titty Twister and the horrors therein yet to come. But on this evidence, From Dusk Till Dawn has made a healthy transition from big screen to small.
An fun pilot that lacks tension if you’ve seen the movie on which its based, but entertains nevertheless, and sets things up for what should be a fun ride to the gates of hell.

FROM DUSK TILL DAWN: THE SERIES

As far as the opening to a television series goes, the pilot does what it is supposed to do: offers up some enticing bits to keep you entertained while it drops some mystery into the story to bring you back for more. Richie is constantly seeing and hearing things, but maybe he’s not crazy so much as tormented by an external force. The sides of conflict to come are established as well, as Freddie becomes the embittered opponent to the Gecko Brothers before episode’s end.
The pacing of the pilot alternates between explosive violence and creepy calm, befitting the sequence it portrays. Gun shots sound like cannons going off, and while the violence doesn’t hit the over-the-top bar that some of Rodriguez’s other projects have, it remains imposing. Likewise, while the dialogue doesn’t always have that cleverness that Tarantino put into the original film, it still retains idiosyncracies that make it oddly amusing. Richie has a few humorous moments that showcase his complete lack of a silver tongue, contrasting him that much more with the smooth-talking Seth.
For those of us wondering how this series would work with the original film, it would appear that we’re going to get a first season that will be an expanded extension of that film’s narrative. If they can turn the opening ten minutes of the original feature into a forty-plus minute episode, they can probably make an entire movie last a ten episode season. And that can be a good and a bad thing.

SXSW Review – From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series

Not nearly as successful as small screen reinventions like Hannibal or Bates Motel, From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series clings too tightly to the source material and, as a result, becomes a mediocre effort. I'll give this one – like all shows – 2 or 3 more episodes to find its voice. If my interest wanes, I'll simply drive a stake through it and revisit the original film like I often do.

[TV Review] "From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series" Pilot Is Impotent and Lazy

If anything, at least new viewers will enjoy the expanded chaos of From Dusk Till Dawn that’s jam-packed with wit, gore and surprises.

From Dusk Till Dawn -- The Series: TV Review

Assuming the first season follows the model set up by the original film, there's plenty for the next nine episodes to explore, even if the first episode did drag on the setup. It seems that From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series could be, like the film, a very mixed bag. Even the Geckos themselves are a toss-up: Cotrona's George Clooney impersonation is distracting (and doesn't hit its mark), while Holtz's new conception of Richie is one of a well-crafted creep. But the real standout of the first hour is Johnson's Sheriff McGraw, a grizzled and confident man, whose monologues about the loneliness and consuming nature of the job are befitting of True Detective's morose philosopher-lawman Rust Cohle: full of world-weary wisdom. The ultimate wisdom of pulling this story back out of the vault, though, remains to be seen.

TV Review: ‘From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series’

While the press notes say the more expansive format will allow the series to deepen the tone and explore “the Mesoamerican mythology behind the creatures inside the club,” this is “From Dusk Till Dawn,” for heaven’s sake, not “Gone With the Wind.” If people want to learn something, they’re probably better off watching PBS.
Like any start-up, part of the battle for something like El Rey is just getting noticed, and the title (being distributed internationally via Netflix) has accomplished that.
After the plodding premiere, though, all I could think was wake me around the time they get to the snake dance. And maybe not even for that.