Marco Leonardi is Johnny Madrid, a notorious outlaw facing a date with a hangman’s noose and a horde of spectators gathered to watch him die.
But he doesn’t thanks to a sharpshooting admirer named Catherine Reece (Jordana Spiro) who wants to become his apprentice.
As the Hangman opens pulls the lever to send Johnny to hell, Catherine fires a shot — Man With No Name style — snapping the rope.
Johnny does the rest with the help of blades hidden in the soles of his boots, the snatches the hangman’s pretty 19-year-old daughter Esmeralda (Ara Celi) on the way out of town.
Naturally, the hangman (Temuera Morrison) and a large posse take off in pursuit.
Watching all this is American author and mercenary Ambrose Bierce (Michael Parks), who’s traveled south of the border to join Pancho Villa’s revolutionaries.
He’ll be traveling with Mary Newlie (Rebecca Grayheart) and her new husband John (Lennie Loftin). They plan to journey deeper into Mexico to teach the word of God.
Acting on Reece’s tip that Bierce is carrying something very valuable, Madrid’s gang later attack the stagecoach.
They find nothing of value, so they steal the stage’s team of horses. That leaves Bierce and the Newlies afoot in the desolute countryside.
Reece? She’s left hanging from a noose by an aggravated Johnny Madrid.
They’ll all meet again. At an isolated inn called La tetilla del diablo (The Devil’s Nipple).
Marco Leonardi as Johnny Madrid, making a point with one of his men in From Dusk Till Dawn 3, The Hangman’s Daughter (1999)
Ara Celi as Esmeralda, relying on an outlaw to escape her ultra strict father in From Dusk Till Dawn 3, The Hangman’s Daughter (1999)
Review:
Director Robert Rodriguez and Screenwriter Quentin Tarantino teamed up to produce “From Dusk Till Dawn” in 2016. The vampire film was such a financial success, it spawned a sequel, this prequel, a video game and a TV series.
This film is set in early 20th century Mexico. And the first half is a fast-paced, stylishly done Western, with Marco Leonardi and Ara Celi making for an appealing lead couple.
Esmeralda is attracted to Johnny and hoping he’ll rescue her from a life with her father, a brutal disciplinarian. Johnny isn’t ready to be tied done to one puta, but quickly grows more attached to this lovely dark-haired lass.
Once all of our travelers reach La tetilla del diablo — Ambrose lies and tells Mary Newlie that the translation is “welcome home wayward pilgrims” — and dusk falls, all the fetching beauties there turn into blood-sucking vampires.
From that point on, the film’s pretty much non-stop vampire madness, with former adversaries forced to team up and work together if they want to survive.
Michael Parks also starred in the first film. Danny Trejo, who plays the innkeeper here, appears in all three “From Dusk Till Dawn” films.
Michael Parks as Ambrose Bierce, the author and mercenary on his way to join Pancho Villa in From Dusk Till Dawn 3, The Hangman’s Daughter (1999)
Temuera Morrison as The Hangman, trying to get his daughter back from Johnny Madrid in From Dusk Till Dawn 3, The Hangman’s Daughter (1999)
Directed by:
P.J. Pesce
Cast:
Marco Leonardi … Johnny Madrid
Michael Parks … Ambrose Bierce
Ara Celi … Esmeralda
Jordana Spiro … Reece
Lennie Loftin … John Newlie
Rebecca Grayheart …. Mary Newlie
Temuera Morrison … The Hangman
Sonia Braga … Quixtia
Danny Trejo … Razor Charlie
Orlando Jones … Ezra Traylor
Kevin Smith … Joaquin
Terence Bridgett … Chato
Mickey Giacomazzi … Erasmo
Ivan D. Lucas … Shotgun
Peter Butler … Pancho Villa
Runtime: 94 min.
Rebecca Grayheart as Mary Newlie, traveling west with her husband to spread the Lord’s word in From Dusk Till Dawn 3, The Hangman’s Daughter (1999)
ennie Lofton as John Newlie, a newlywed whose journey to spread the word takes a wrong turn in From Dusk Till Dawn 3, The Hangman’s Daughter (1999)
Memorable lines:
Stagecoach guard, revealing that the driver is mute and he is blind: “I am his tongue. He is my eyes. You are safe with us.”
Ambrose Bierce: “I’m filled with comfort.”
Hangman to Johnny Madrid: “Look at the eyes that will watch you swing from that rope. My ears will hear the crack of your neck breaking. My nose will smell the shit in your pants. And my mouth will laugh as you die.”
Hangman: “Any last words?”
Johnny Madrid: “See you in hell.”
Sonia Braga as Quixtia, queen of the vampires, trying to reclaim her daughter in From Dusk Till Dawn 3, The Hangman’s Daughter (1999)
Danny Trejo as Razor Charlie, the innkeeper with a special taste — for blood — in From Dusk Till Dawn 3, The Hangman’s Daughter (1999)
Mary Newlie, upon learning that Ambrose Bierce is an atheist: “When Gabriel blows his horn, your ears will be deaf to the resounding tone of its glory, Mr. Bierce.”
Bierce: “To the contrary. When Gabriel blows his horn, I shall be playing the tuba.”
Johnny Madrid to Catherine Reece: “You want to be an outlaw? A legend? You gotta be able to stare fear in the face, smell its breath and laugh. If you cannot do that, forget it.”
Razor Charlie to a brush salesman: “We don’t need no stinkin’ brushes.”
Johnny Madrid to Razor Charlie: “What’s the matter with this place? Your stupid friend ate my horse.”
Jordana Spiro as Reece, the young girl so impressed with Johnny she wants to become his apprentice in From Dusk Till Dawn 3, The Hangman’s Daughter (1999)
Kevin Smith as Joaquin, one of Johnny Madrid’s most trusted followers in From Dusk Till Dawn 3, The Hangman’s Daughter (1999)
The Newlies — Rebecca Grayheart as Mary and Lennie Loftin as John — in From Dusk Till Dawn 3, The Hangman’s Daughter (1999)
Marco Leonardi as Johnny Madrid and Ara Celi as Esmeralda in From Dusk Till Dawn 3, The Hangman’s Daughter (1999)
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