A Look at From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series

Written by Scotty

There have been a handful of movies that have extended their longevity by transferring to the small screen after their release, but none that have truly captured my horror loving heart has one just has.  From Dusk Till Dawn has made a successful jump between mediums and there is one reason behind it, the story did not change. 

Ok, to be honest, I loved the movie and there is little that could keep me from watching it come to life with an extended story.  With a couple more characters, along with a strong back story that answers your questions from the original movie, I absolutely loved what this brought to the small screen.  So, let’s jump into the guts of how this show has captured my heart.

First of all, it has to deal with vampires.  Done!  I have always been a fan of the genre, but it has been lost the past couple of years with love stories and such that leave me wanting to stab a stake though someone's heart.  These are the old school, eat your heart out vampires that I have come to love and want more of.  But it also changes the lore ever so slightly, making the vampires a serpent race instead of the normal children of the night.  Not a bad transition, since they both feed on the blood of the living and have fangs that will leave you cringing in your seat.

Second, The Gecko brothers are back and there is no way to stop them.  If you liked the interaction between the brothers in the movie, you will love it in the series as they continue to battle even more.  Richie becomes more of vocal point in this series than he was in the movie and you get an entire backstory to what is really going through his mind, rather than just thinking he is crazy from square one.  Although Seth is forced to trust his brother, he cannot and does not believe what is happening to him which leads to a more dynamic relationship between the two, but when they are called upon to perform, they pull it together as they always have before.

Third, the new characters that you never got to see in the movie.  Carlos is by far my favorite, the mastermind behind the Gecko’s latest heist that is just looking for his take.  But Carlos is a key player in all of the story since he has his fingers in everything.  To go along with Carlos, his five hundred year old love, Santanico is the one who is playing with Richie’s mind throughout the entire series.  Telling him to do things, along with bringing him to his fate, Santanico is not only beautiful, but extremely powerful and willing to do anything to get her way.  Ranger Freddie Gonzalez is the anchor of the new characters in the series with his unwillingness to give up on his hunt for the Gecko brothers.  Trying to avenge the loss of his mentor, Freddie will not allow even vampires to stop him from attaining his goal and with such devotion to his dearest friend, he finds out that he has more to offer than he could have expected.

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Fourth, The Fuller Family.  Yes, they are all there with Father Jacob, Kate and Scott.  Like I said before, you get more of a character profile on everyone in the series and there is no exception with this family as you actually get to see what happens to their mother and why they are heading down to Mexico.  Even Scott gets a decent amount of story, even though he is picking on his sister most of the time, but it is not wasted.  They are a great group and even though there does not seem to be a strong family bond when the story starts, you see them come together to achieve the impossible, as only a family can do.

Fifth, Sex Machine.  There is no way that you cannot bring up one of the most loved characters from the movie and although I was a little bit worried about it to start, he grew on me.  With a full back story of him being a college professor, it really did not make a difference to me until he was unleashed on the vampire horde and was able to show what he was made of.  Now I understand the teaching background and his obsession with the occult for the series, but I would have never thought that after seeing him in the movie, not in a million years.

Well there is a breakdown of the characters, now I will take you through a quick recap of the performances. D. J. Cotrona who plays Seth Gecko is just phenomenal, he has unleashed his inner George Clooney in his role and has completely taken over the thief.  But Zane Holtz, as Richie Gecko is superb in the his role and not taking anything away from the movie, has a more difficult role to fill since you never get to see the full back story of the character.  Jessie Garcia as Freddie Gonzalez was probably the finest choice made when casting, you can see the emotion in his eyes for the hatred for the Gecko brothers and actually feel like he will never give up his hunt.  I was blown away by Wilmer Valderrama as Carlos, as I have never seen him playing the ultimate bad guy yet.  A special call out to Jake Busey who plays Professor Aiden Tanner, he always plays a person that is a little bit off of his rocker, but seems to really embrace it in this role.  Along with Madison Davenport who plays Kate, she adds so much to the role that you never got to see in the movie, battling with her own issues and now a treat that is taking out her family.

Well, that is it for the fine young series of From Dusk Till Dawn.  I hope everyone that loved the original movie will take a chance on the series.  A special thank you to Robert Rodriguez for helping to bring this to life on the small screen as there were some questions left unanswered from the movie.  I have seen that there is a second season coming out next year and cannot wait to see where they take the story.  Although the follow up movies lost something in translation, I can see the series taking a completely different turn and separating itself from the original.  Stay Scared!

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