by Donald J. Bingle

From Dusk 'til Dawn

Onward to this month's review of From Dusk 'til Dawn. This movie, written by Quentin Tarantino of Pulp Fiction fame, was the improbable hiatus film picked by George Clooney at the height of his ER fame. Perhaps I wasn't paying attention, but it seemed to have a short theatre run, followed by a mediocre video chain buy, so I wasn't expecting much when we brought it home from Blockbuster (hey, I know it's a plug, but I actually used to represent the Blockbuster guys). What we discovered was a quirky movie with some extremely good scenes and some group dialog and action that would make any gamer proud. In short, the best vampire film since Fright Night. You wouldn't know (unless you watch previews or read the video jacket) that this even is a vampire movie for almost the first half of the movie as Quentin Tarantino and George Clooney play on-the-run cons terrorizing a widower preacher (who has lost his faith) and his two kids--the movie is unsettling and creepy, but not supernatural--then the definitely weird stuff starts happening and the main characters and a couple of other random passersby tossed into the fray have to start dealing with all sorts of stuff they don't believe can happen -- because it is happening to them. This is where the film really reminds me of all the old Chill modules I used to know and love: the players have to start improvizing what to do based on their knowledge of the supernatural from bad B movies, and must assemble workable weapons from a storehouse of old abandoned freight. The dialog is eerily reminiscent of gaming conversations from Chill games, too. While racking their collective brains to figure out how to stop the vampires, one character suggests that silver might be useful. "No, that's for werewolves" says one. "I know silver bullets are for werewolves, but I think silver works against vampires, too." Another interrupts: "Does anyone have any silver? No? Then it really doesn't matter." The dialog is occasionally hysterical and there are several very clever bits of action, ranging from an interesting way to drink champagne to a short shot of someone scratching crosses in the soft lead at the tip of their bullets (presumably to make the bullets effective against vampires, but the movie doesn't beat you over the head by explaining that). Gaming sessions should all be this good.