From Dusk Till Dawn Episodes 2 Thru 6 Recaps: The Culebras Are Coming

I'm finally getting around to watching the rest of "From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series". To refresh our memories, the story follows the Gecko brothers (Seth and Richie). Richie breaks Seth out of jail. They rob an Abilene bank of $30 million and hightail it to the Mexican border. The brothers somehow get messed up with Carlos Madrigal (who is the head of a drug cartel and a very bad dude).

We Could Have Gone To Disneyland

The Geckos encounter a family in an RV (a preacher named Jacob, his son Scott and daughter Katie). Katie's boyfriend Kyle is following in a truck but he doesnt last long. Jacob's wife recently died. Katie uncovers the police report. It was not bad brakes as Jacob led them to believe. He was instead drunk and the accident was ruled vehicular homicide. Jacob is fleeing to Mexico to escape the authorities. Richie and Seth will use the Fuller family as hostages in order to get over the border.

Cant You Guys Come Up With A Better Plan?

Richie is crazy and has violent visions of a goddess, dead women, demons, snakes, eyeballs, etc. He does seem to have some legitimate psychic powers (since he can sense trouble in Katie's past). The Geckos also killed a Texas ranger named Earl (Don Johnson) at a liquor store. Now his partner Freddie is out for revenge. Freddie also starts having visions of a dead guy who says "Lagrimas" which I think means tears. Seth's ex wife Vanessa holds people hostage at the Big Kahuna Burger joint so Seth and Richie can escape.

How About A "That 70's Show" Remake With Vampires?

Carlos belongs to a blood cult of vampires known as Culebras. They closely resemble snakes (hence all the serpent imagery). I assume they plan to take over the world. A strange symbol appears several times throughout the show (on Richie's knife, in the desert, etc).

Richie takes a bank teller (Monica Garza) hostage at the Abilene bank. I was hoping she would last through the season but nope. Richie has a vision and kills her in a gruesome fashion. Poor woman. She did everything possible to try to stay alive (including befriending Richie).

The Fullers and Geckos reach the Mexico border. Richie has decided Jacob is a demon. They are almost detained by the crossing guards. We see in a flashback what really happened the night Jacob's wife died. He was not drunk. She tried to get out of the car. He stopped her and the car overturned. We still dont know the specifics of her ailment (is it migraines or something else)?

Freddie, You Are A Brave Man (Or Stupid, I'm Not Sure Which)

Gonzalez escapes from the Rangers and gets to the border as well. He seeks the police's help but Carlos has beaten him to the punch. Carlos is able to morph into other people so Freddie thinks he's an agent. Freddie barely escapes being killed and heads across the Mexico desert.

The RV arrives at the Titty Twister bar. It's open dusk till dawn. That's not a good sign. Seth again sees the strange symbol from Richie's knife. Freddie tells Carlos he knows there are "nine houses" coming tonight. Carlos is afraid of them all but one in particular because he will ruin everything. That one is Narciso. Carlos leaves Freddie to be tortured and killed.

Seth talks with the above mentioned Narciso at the bar. Seth says his deal with Carlos was $10 million in exchange for two first class tickets to El Rey. Narciso laughs saying "El Rey is a myth. It's not for you".

And Now For The Best Part Of The Show

Freddie escapes his tormentors. One turns into a vampire. Freddie lops off his head only to have him keep fighting. Too funny. Freddie arrives at the Titty Twister. Now the gang's all here. Meanwhile Scott tells Jacob he thinks they've been drawn to the club for a reason. Carlos gives Richie his special knife back. Santanico Pandemonium begins to perform. It is the woman from Richie's visions. I probably would have kidnapped a family, stolen an RV and driven to Mexico to see her too. She is stunningly beautiful.

Season 1 Episodes:

1. Pilot
2. Blood Runs Thick
3. Mistress
4. Let's Go Ramblin'
5. Self Contained
6. Place of Dead Roads

Grade: 3 1/2 Monsters (out of 5). I'm enjoying the cinematography, acting and fight scenes. The plot is a bit thin, the pacing slow and the dialogue hokey at times. I keep hoping they'll get past the end of the move "From Dusk Till Dawn". It took us six episodes to get to the bar (so I'm thinking they wont go much further). Viewers who didnt see the movie will probably like the series better. All in all, it's good mindless pulpy crime / horror fun.