Reviewed by Johnny McNair

Echo Bridge Entertainment – 94 minutes – 1999 – Rated R – 1080p Widescreen 1.85:1 – DTS 5.1 Audio Mix

The first From Dusk Till Dawn movie became a cult film thanks to the names behind it, Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriquez. The straight to video sequel, Texas Blood Money, did not have the cool factor of the original, but that didn’t stop anyone from making a third film. The latest film in the trilogy, which is actually a prequel, From Dusk Till Dawn 3: The Hangman’s Daughter comes to Blu-ray from Echo Bridge Entertainment. If you though the second film was a bad, just wait until you see this one.

THE MOVIE

Taking place in Mexico in the early 1900s, a wanted outlaw named Johnny Madrid (Marco Leonardi) has been sentenced to death by hanging, but he is then rescued by Reece (Jordana Spiro), who is a young member of his posse. During his escape he kidnaps the hangman’s daughter Esmerelda (Ara Celi). Why? Well because that’s the title of the film. Madrid then learns that one of his men Ambrose Bierce (Michael Parks) has run off to join up with the legendary Pancho Villa to take park in the revolution. To get to the point, Bierce’s stagecoach is attacked by bandits, which leads them to escape to the La Tetilla del Diablo. And you guessed it, this place is swarming with vampires and will be the center of the movie where all the characters end up and will have to fight to survive.

One thing to give it credit for is that From Dusk Till Dawn 3 knows that it is only a straight to video film and never attempts to be anything more. The film was directed by P.J. Pesce, who if you look up his credits only seems to direct bad straight to video films. The look of the film itself is not bad, mixing old western elements with horror, but it all wears thin when you don’t care about any of the characters. As with almost anything associated with a Robert Rodriquez film, Danny Trejo makes an appearance, and they also squeezed Beverly Hills 90210 alumni Rebecca Gayheart into the mix.

The film doesn’t have any scares at all, and just goes for offering as much gore and blood as it can in a ninety-minute window. There is not one original moment and you will literally be able to point out who will be die as soon as the character is introduced. It would have been a better effort if the film was fun in that Evil Dead 2 kind of way and sort of spoofed the other films, but instead it tries to stand on it’s own. If you’re a fan of the series, you may find something here to enjoy, but it will be hard.

VIDEO

This 1080p transfer in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio is more like a standard DVD hiding in a Blu-ray case. Colors are saturated and there is plenty of grainy and muddy shots. A few close ups weren’t even properly transferred and appear to be soft. This one gives Blu-ray a bad name and should be ashamed of itself.

AUDIO

The provided DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack also leaves plenty to be desired. Yes, this is a loud film with plenty of gunfire, screams and sound effects. The dialogue is muffled and wasn’t properly adjusted to level the background noises from conversations, because it all sinks in together. The music is good, but most Tarantino/Rodriguez productions offer great soundtracks. The audio on this Blu-ray is better than the video, but really that’s not saying much.

EXTRAS

There is nothing here to see. The only feature is a measly four-minute interview with Robert Rodriguez who looks like he’s been forced to do it.

BOTTOM LINE

The small budget that it took to makes this mess could have been used to fund a really good independent movie that we’ll never see. This is a Blu-ray featuring a bad movie, a crappy image, mediocre sound, and no real bonus features. Basically save your cash for a better movie. There are plenty out there.

SCORES (Out of 5):

The Movie: 2.0

Video: 2.5

Sound: 3.0

Extras: 0.0

Bottom Line: 2.0