From Dusk Till Dawn 3: The Hangman's Daughter

Dir: P. J. Pesce

1999

****

The original From Dusk Till Dawn did not need a sequel but Texas Blood Money was a great film and a Dusk Till Dawn universe suddenly didn’t sound like a bad idea. Like many sequels of the era, this franchise decided to go back rather than forward and From Dusk Till Dawn 3 became a prequel. Titled The Hangman's Daughter, FDTD3 explored the origins of the characters from the first film – particularly Santanico Pandemonium – as well as Razor Charlie (played by Danny Trejo once more) and the Titty Twister itself. The cast isn’t quite the Hollywood bonanza of the first nor does it have the cult line up of the second but it does boast some pretty cool people including Marco Leonardi (Toto from Cinema Paradiso), Rebecca Gayheart (Scream 2, Urban Legend), Sônia Braga (Kiss of the Spider Woman), Orlando Jones (Office Space), Michael Parks (who was in the original From Dusk Till Dawn) and Temuera Morrison (Once Were Warriors, Star Wars). Interestingly, George Clooney, who played Seth Gecko in the original From Dusk 'Til Dawn, said the inspiration for his character's tattoo was taken from recently watching "Once Were Warriors" – starring Temuera Morrison in the lead role. The film also stars the lesser known Jordana Spiro, who in my opinion, steals the show. The prequel is set in Mexico in the early 1900s and begins with an American author, Ambrose Bierce (Michael Parks), experiencing a nightmare in which he dies at the hands of Pancho Villa. Bierce wakes and talks to a local bartender about his intentions to join Pancho Villa's revolutionary army. He joins a stagecoach transporting a newly-wed couple, John and Mary Newlie (Lennie Loftin and Rebecca Gayheart), who are traveling to Mexico to preach Christianity. Meanwhile, Johnny Madrid (Marco Leonardi), a dangerous local outlaw, escapes from the gallows and kidnaps his hangman's beautiful daughter, Esmeralda (Ara Celi). Madrid receives assistance from Reece (Jordana Spiro), a young woman who wants to become Madrid's apprentice as an outlaw. With the hangman (Temuera Morrison) and a local posse on their trail, Madrid meets with his gang. They later rob Bierce's stagecoach because of Reece's belief that Bierce possesses an invaluable object. The object turns out to be the manuscript for Bierce's new book. Annoyed by this, Madrid leaves Reece to die in the desert. She is found by the posse who use her to track the two. As night falls, all the parties coincidentally seek shelter in an isolated inn that also serves as a whorehouse. They meet Ezra Traylor (Orlando Jones), a businessman heading to the U.S. The hangman is the only one who knows that the establishment is run by a group of vampires led by the high priestess, Quixtla (Sônia Braga), who targets Esmeralda. As night falls John gets into a fight with one of Madrid's men, drawing blood. The vampires eventually reveal themselves, lock the exit and attack the patrons. All of the hangman's men and the remnants of Madrid's gang are killed by the vampires. Ezra is overcome by vampire women, is fed on and quickly turns. His newly-undead form grabs the helpless Mary and bites her. Madrid, Bierce, Reece, John, Esmeralda, the hangman and one other patron manage to escape into the dungeons beneath the building and try to work together to find a way out. Mary rises as a vampire and goes after the group, revealing that John is a fraud who has only married her for her father's money. John is eventually forced to kill her. The patron who escaped with them hides a bite he had received from a hooker earlier. As they continue through the catacombs, he turns and bites John. John kills the patron. Doomed, he persuades Madrid to stake him to prevent him turning. As the remaining survivors keep going, Reece confesses to Bierce that she is an outlaw who has killed her entire family. The group eventually ends up back at the bar entrance, only to find Quixtla and the vampires in wait for them. She reveals that Esmeralda is a half-human, half-vampire princess, Santanico Pandemonium (Salma Hayek's character in the original From Dusk till Dawn), and the daughter of Quixtla and the hangman. The hangman had taken her away in the hope of raising her as a normal human but, thanks to his mistreatment and Madrid's kidnapping, she has been led back to Quixtla. Madrid, the hangman, Bierce and Reece are hung upside-down to be fed on later as Quixtla transforms Esmeralda into the vampire princess. Madrid manages to break from his bonds and free the others. Reece is bitten in the scuffle and presumably becomes a vampire. Esmeralda bites and turns the hangman into a vampire, but he manages to open the entrance way and kill Quixtla before the change is complete, allowing Madrid and Bierce to escape. As the film ends, Esmeralda screams for Madrid not to leave her as the entrance is closed. Madrid looks away sadly and joins Ambrose's quest to join Pancho Villa's army. As they leave, the camera zooms out to show the Mayan temple behind the building that houses the vampires, a reference to the first film. The film is a great tribute to vampire films and to the classic western. It is beautifully directed and much like the first sequel, it is criminally dismissed as just another direct-to-video cheap horror film. The story is brilliant, especially when you learn about the character Ambrose Bierce. Bierce was a real author. His book The Devil's Dictionary was named as one of the 100 Greatest Masterpieces of American Literature by the American Revolution Bicentennial Administration. His story An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge has been described as "one of the most famous and frequently anthologized stories in American literature"; and his book Tales of Soldiers and Civilians was named as one of the 100 most influential American books printed before 1900. His horror literature has been compared to both  Edgar Allan Poe and H. P. Lovecraft. His year of death is recorded as 1914 but the truth is that in December 1913, Bierce traveled to Chihuahua, Mexico, to gain first-hand experience of the Mexican Revolution. He disappeared, rumored to be traveling with rebel troops. He was never seen again. From Dusk Till Dawn 3 is essentially a suggestion as to what really happened to the great author – an idea that would become fashionable years later with the likes of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. The subtitle of the film, The Hangman's Daughter, is taken from the title of the short story The Monk and the Hangman's Daughter, that Bierce wrote in 1911. I admit I didn’t like it quite as much as the other two films but once again, it could stand on its own merits. Take away the character Santanico Pandemonium and it could have been its own stand-alone story.