The chemistry of Clooney and Tarantino is terrific. While Tarantino often writes himself into his own movies, he is not known as a great actor. But in this he is well cast as the creepy, flesh chilling sex offender/serial killer to play opposite Clooney's take- care-of-business machismo.

But let's get one thing straight, From Dusk Till Dawn is really two movies. The first half establishes the juicy, ruthless, psychotic personalities of the two brothers as they make their way to the border. The vision of director Robert Rodriguez is distinct in the same way that made a name for him with his last film, Desperado.

The partnership of Tarantino's writing and Rodriguez's cinematography works well as they both seem to come from the same school of surrealistic ideals. Rodriguez's direction gives an eyeful, with shoot 'em up action and dusty road adventure. It is shot in unusual angles and dramatic close-ups, especially on Clooney's highly photogenic, "don't fuck with me" squints. His use of music is always worth noting as it is not just wallpaper but really sets a mood.

The only problem with this movie is: make up your mind boys! Is it an action movie or a horror movie? The film completely shifts gears in the second half to become a special effects-ridden horror flick. Yes, the brothers make it to Mexico which is no big surprise, the real shocker is when they finally decide to celebrate in a Mexican strip bar that suddenly reveals itself as a haven for vampires. The movie then takes on the cheesy slapstick cliches of your average horror movie and tends to try to prove how many special effects it can show off rather than where the plot is headed.

The usual cast of Tarantino/Rodriguez characters is present - Juliette Lewis and Harvey Keitel make an almost upstaging presence in the second half as the family-taken-hostage-turned-expert vampire hunters. Cheech Marin plays not one, but three, roles; Desperado alumnus Salma Hayek is the temptress snake dancer.

The movie suddenly loses its buddy adventure charm when Tarantino's character is killed off and Lewis suddenly takes over the spotlight. Tarantino has been quoted as saying he rewrote Lewis's role when he heard she wanted the part. Well, it looks like he started from the middle because she goes from waify daddy's girl to bad-ass vampire slayer chick who decides after a few killings she wants to tag along with Clooney's character. I don't think so.

While the movie overall is entertaining as hell, the plot twists are just a little too extreme. The ending doesn't tie up any loose ends either, when all is said and done, family members are dead and the last vampire is burned, everyone just goes their separate ways. Oh that crazy nightlife, they must have a heck of a hangover!