From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)
When the directors of Pulp Fiction and Desperado joined forces in 1996, nobody expected the chaos that followed. From Dusk Till Dawn is part crime thriller, part vampire splatterfest, and entirely unforgettable. This week, the Born to Watch crew sinks their teeth into the film that turned George Clooney from TV doctor to Hollywood icon.
Whitey, Damo and Gow hit the road to El Rey, cocked, loaded, and possibly armed with a "dick gun." The boys dive straight into the movie's outrageous tonal shift: one moment it's a gritty outlaw chase, the next it’s a full-blown blood-soaked vampire brawl. Half road movie, half horror comedy, From Dusk Till Dawn remains one of cinema's wildest left-turns – and the lads can't get enough of it.
They reminisce about seeing it for the first time, back when nobody knew the twist. Gow remembers sitting in a dark cinema thinking it was just a stylish Tarantino heist until all hell literally broke loose. Damo recalls wearing out the VHS tape twice in a row, and Whitey laughs about taking five unsuspecting mates to see it just to watch their jaws drop. This is movie memory at its finest: the mid-'90s, Empire magazines, no spoilers, no internet, just word-of-mouth madness.
The conversation slides quickly from Clooney's charisma to Quentin Tarantino's unnerving performance as Richie Gecko, possibly his best acting turn. Damo describes him as “quiet, creepy and dangerous,” while Gow compares his brotherly chemistry with Clooney to "a bomb about to go off." The trio agree Clooney oozes movie-star presence, Harvey Keitel grounds the chaos, and Juliette Lewis somehow still looks 23 for the next 20 years.
And then there's Salma Hayek. The fellas do not hold back on the famous Titty Twister dance scene, the snake, the stumble, the hips, and Tarantino's now-infamous foot fetish. Whitey confesses it's "maybe the sexiest dance in movie history," while Damo says it's proof every song has an inner stripper. The music, the lighting, the moment – pure '90s cinematic magic.
Between the beer, blood, and banter, the boys celebrate everything that makes From Dusk Till Dawn such gleeful trash. They quote the immortal "Mexican or domestic?" gag, debate the "ugly snorbs" among the vampire horde, and burst into laughter, recalling Clooney's moral compass, the bad guy with the good heart. There's genuine affection for how the film refuses to play by any rules.
In Film School for F-Wits, Whitey goes full academic, calling the film the "ultimate tonal shift" and challenging the others to name a movie that turns harder or faster. Damo nominates a few classics, Gow brings his rugby grand-final energy, and the chat devolves into biscuits, Monte Carlos and Venetians, proof that even when the vampires attack, Born to Watch stays on brand.
From the "popcorn popping in the servo" opening to Cheech Marin's triple role and the legendary Titty Twister monologue, the episode is wall-to-wall chaos, nostalgia and laughs. By the time the guys hit The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, it's clear this flick isn't high art, but it’s pure fun. A 7.2 on IMDb? The crew say it’s worth every drop of blood and beer.
So grab a cold one, reload your dick gun, and join Whitey, Damo and Gow as they revisit From Dusk Till Dawn, the movie that proved you never know what's lurking inside the bar until the sun goes down.
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