View source for From Dusk Till Dawn 3: The Hangman's Daughter


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{{Infobox film
| name           = From Dusk Till Dawn 3:<br>The Hangman's Daughter
| image          = From Dusk Till Dawn 3.jpg
| caption        = Poster for ''From Dusk Till Dawn 3: The Hangman's Daughter''
| director       = [[P. J. Pesce]]
| producer       = {{plainlist|
* Michael S. Murphey
* [[Gianni Nunnari]]
* [[Meir Teper]]
}}
| screenplay     = Álvaro Rodríguez
| story          = {{plainlist|
* Álvaro Rodríguez
* [[Robert Rodríguez]]
}}
| starring       = {{plainlist|
* [[Marco Leonardi]]
* [[Michael Parks]]
* [[Rebecca Gayheart]]
* Lennie Loftin
* [[Ara Celi]]
* [[Jordana Spiro]]
* [[Orlando Jones]]
* [[Danny Trejo]]
* [[Temuera Morrison]]
* [[Sônia Braga]]
}}
| music          = [[Nathan Barr]]
| cinematography = Michael Bonvillain
| editing        = Lawrence A. Maddox
| studio         = {{plainlist|
* [[Dimension Films]]
* [[A Band Apart]]
* [[Los Hooligans Productions]]
}}
| distributor    = Amuse Pictures <br /> [[Buena Vista Home Video]] <br /> New Films International
| released       = {{Film date|1999|10|31|Fort Lauderdale<br />International Film Festival|2000|01|18|United States}}
| runtime        = 93 minutes
| country = United States
| language       = English
}}
'''''From Dusk Till Dawn 3: The Hangman's Daughter''''' is a 1999 American [[horror Western]] film directed by [[P. J. Pesce]]. It serves as a [[prequel]] to the 1996 film ''[[From Dusk till Dawn]]''. It was released directly to video and was nominated at the [[26th Saturn Awards]] for "Best Home Video Release". In late 2010, the production of a fourth film in the series was discussed,<ref name= "Block">{{cite news | last = Block | first = Alex Ben | title = Weinstein Co., Miramax Ink Deal to Produce Movie Sequels | work = [[The Hollywood Reporter]] | date = July 16, 2010 | url = https://hollywoodreporter.com/news/weinstein-miramax-ink-deal-produce-60852 | access-date = March 5, 2012 | archive-date = April 2, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110402021826/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/weinstein-miramax-ink-deal-produce-60852 | url-status = live}}</ref> but, as of August 2012, further work on this possibility has not been revealed. A [[From Dusk till Dawn: The Series|TV series]] adaptation was released in 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thehollywoodnews.com/2013/11/17/t2s-robert-patrick-join-dusk-till-dawn-series/|title=T2's Robert Patrick & More Join 'From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series'|first=Craig|last=Hunter|work=TheHollywoodNews.com|date=November 17, 2013|access-date=January 15, 2014|archive-date=November 17, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201117144045/https://www.thehollywoodnews.com/2013/11/17/t2s-robert-patrick-join-dusk-till-dawn-series/|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Plot ==
In 1913 [[Mexico]], American author [[Ambrose Bierce]] experiences a nightmare in which he is killed by [[Pancho Villa]].{{efn|In reality, Bierce disappeared after claiming he was traveling to Mexico to report on the ongoing revolution.}} Bierce wakes and talks to a local bartender about his intentions to join Villa's revolutionary army. He joins a stagecoach transporting a newlywed couple, John and Mary Newlie, who are [[Christian mission|traveling to Mexico to preach Christianity]]. Meanwhile, outlaw Johnny Madrid escapes from the gallows and kidnaps his hangman Mauricio's 19-year-old daughter Esmeralda. Madrid receives assistance from the young Catherine Reece, who wants to become Madrid's apprentice as an outlaw. Madrid meets with his gang with Mauricio and a posse on their trail. They later rob Bierce's stagecoach because of Reece's belief that Bierce possesses an invaluable object. The gang does not find anything of value, with Bierce claiming he is the invaluable object, intending to join Villa. An annoyed Madrid leaves Reece hanging in the desert. The posse finds her, using her to track the two.

As night falls, all the parties coincidentally seek shelter in La Tetilla Del Diablo,{{efn|The Titty Twister from [[From Dusk till Dawn|the first film]].}} an isolated inn that also serves as a brothel. They meet Ezra Traylor, a businessman heading to the U.S. Mauricio is the only one who knows that [[vampires]] run the establishment, led by high priestess Quixtla, who is immediately drawn to Esmeralda. As night falls, John gets into a fight with one of Madrid's men, drawing blood. The vampires reveal themselves, lock the exit and attack the patrons, killing all of Mauricio's men and the remnants of Madrid's gang except for Joaquin and Madrid. Vampire women overcome and feed on Ezra, who becomes a vampire. He grabs, hypnotizes and bites Mary. Madrid, Bierce, Reece, John, Esmeralda, Mauricio, and Joaquin 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 only married her for her father's money. John eventually kills her. Joaquin, who escaped with them, hides a bite he received from a prostitute earlier. As they continue through the catacombs, he turns and bites John, who kills Joaquin. Doomed, John persuades Madrid to stake him, preventing him from turning. As the remaining survivors keep going, Bierce admits to reading in the papers that Reece is an outlaw who killed her entire family. The group ends up back at the bar entrance, only to find Quixtla and the vampires waiting for them. She reveals that Esmeralda is the [[dhampir]] daughter of Quixtla and Mauricio and will become a full-fledged vampire princess. Mauricio took her away, hoping to raise her as a normal human, and tried to kill her unsuccessfully. Thanks to his mistreatment and Madrid's kidnapping, she has been led back to Quixtla.

Madrid, Mauricio, Bierce, and Reece are hung upside-down to be fed on later as Quixtla and Esmeralda's vampire grandmother transform Esmeralda into a vampire princess, renaming her Santánico Pandemonium. Madrid breaks from his bonds and frees the others. Reece is bitten in the scuffle while Madrid kills Ezra. Santánico kills her grandmother, then bites and turns her father into a vampire, but he opens the entranceway and kills Quixtla with sunlight before the change finishes, allowing Madrid and Bierce to escape while Santánico hides. Santánico screams for Madrid not to leave her as the entrance closes. Madrid looks away sadly and joins Ambrose's quest to join Villa's army. The two leave, not noticing the [[Maya civilization|Mayan]] temple behind the vampires' building.

Bierce survives into current times and tells a patron his story. While leaving, Ambrose says that he has proof. He then reveals that Quixtla actually bit him as they fell outside the bar because he is now a vampire. He then rips the patron's heart out and bites it.

== Cast ==
* [[Marco Leonardi]] as Johnny Madrid
* [[Michael Parks]] as [[Ambrose Bierce]]
* [[Ara Celi]] as Esmeralda / [[Santanico Pandemonium|Santánico Pandemonium]]
* [[Sônia Braga]] as Quixtla
* [[Rebecca Gayheart]] as Mary Newlie
* [[Orlando Jones]] as Ezra Traylor
* [[Temuera Morrison]] as Mauricio / The Hangman
* Lennie Loftin as John Newlie
* [[Danny Trejo]] as Charlie 'Razor Charlie'
* [[Jordana Spiro]] as Catherine Reece
* Danny Keogh as Bartender
* Peter Butler as [[Pancho Villa]]
* Melissa Gilbert as Wedding Dress Whore
* [[P. J. Pesce]] as Man In Bar

==Production==
''[[From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money]]'' and ''From Dusk Till Dawn 3: The Hangman's Daughter'' were produced at the same time as one another with [[Robert Rodríguez]] and his cousin Álvaro Rodríguez shepherding their own prequel pitch which would serve as the basis for ''From Dusk Till Dawn 3'', while [[Quentin Tarantino]], [[Lawrence Bender]], and [[Scott Spiegel]] produced their own sequel pitch which would become ''From Dusk Till Dawn 2''.<ref name="FromDuskTillDawn2&3">{{cite magazine |last=Keeyes|first=John|date=December 1998|title= Before Dusk Till Dawn|url=https://archive.org/details/cinefantastique_1970-2002/Cinefantastique%20Vol%2030%20No%2011%20%28Dec%201998%29/page/n4/mode/1up?view=theater|url-status= |magazine=[[Cinefantastique]]|page=5|access-date=August 10, 2023}}</ref>

Robert Rodriguez approached [[P. J. Pesce]] about directing his prequel script for ''From Dusk till Dawn'' in 1997 after having been impressed by Pesce's film ''[[The Desperate Trail]]''.<ref name="FromDuskTillDawn3Prod">{{cite magazine |last=Keeyes|first=John|date=February 2000|title= The Hangman's Daughter:Before Dusk Till Dawn III|url=https://archive.org/details/cinefantastique_1970-2002/Cinefantastique%20Vol%2031%20No%2010%20%28Feb%202000%29/page/n51/mode/1up?view=theater|url-status= |magazine=[[Cinefantastique]]|page=52|access-date=August 10, 2023}}</ref> The first actor cast in the film was [[Michael Parks]] as [[Ambrose Bierce]] with both Pesce and Rodriguez agreeing he was right for the role.<ref name= "FromDuskTillDawn3Prod"/> Like the second film, ''From Dusk Till Dawn 3'' was filmed in [[Cape Town]], [[South Africa]] which proved problematic for some of the scenes tailored to the film's [[Western (genre)|western]] genre.<ref name= "FromDuskTillDawn3Prod"/> Due to the fact there were no horses in Africa trained to pull wagons, the film's wrangler had to train 12 horses to do so and the only stagecoach the crew could get was a prop from a local western themed steakhouse that had to be heavily modified to keep from falling apart.<ref name= "FromDuskTillDawn3Prod"/>

== Release ==
The [[American Cinematheque]] held the West Coast premiere at [[Grauman's Egyptian Theatre]] on October 30, 1999.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/1999/film/news/cinematheque-bows-dusk-3-for-halloween-1117756749/|title=Cinematheque bows 'Dusk 3' for Halloween|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=October 19, 1999|access-date=January 15, 2014|archive-date=March 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304080254/http://variety.com/1999/film/news/cinematheque-bows-dusk-3-for-halloween-1117756749/|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Reception ==
[[Rotten Tomatoes]], a [[review aggregator]], reports that 22% of nine surveyed critics gave the film a positive review; the average rating was 5.3/10.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://rottentomatoes.com/m/from_dusk_till_dawn_3_the_hangmans_daughter/|title=From Dusk Till Dawn 3: The Hangman's Daughter (1999)|work=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|access-date=April 23, 2023|archive-date=December 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225223914/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/from_dusk_till_dawn_3_the_hangmans_daughter|url-status=live}}</ref> Mike Emery of the ''[[Houston Chronicle]]'' wrote that the film "isn't terribly bad" but is too derivative and only for gore hounds.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.austinchronicle.com/screens/2001-06-08/from-dusk-till-dawn-3-the-hangmans-daughter/|title=From Dusk Till Dawn 3: The Hangman's Daughter|last=Emery|first=Mike|work=[[Austin Chronicle]]|date=June 8, 2001|access-date=January 15, 2014|archive-date=March 3, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303224009/http://www.austinchronicle.com/screens/2001-06-08/from-dusk-till-dawn-3-the-hangmans-daughter/|url-status=live}}</ref> Matt Serafini of ''[[Dread Central]]'' rated it 2/5 stars and wrote that the original film should not have had any sequels.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dreadcentral.com/reviews/dusk-till-dawn-3-hangmans-daughter-blu-ray|title=From Dusk Till Dawn 3: The Hangman's Daughter (Blu-ray)|last=Serafini|first=Matt|work=[[Dread Central]]|date=July 30, 2011|access-date=January 15, 2014|archive-date=February 6, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120206212329/http://www.dreadcentral.com/reviews/dusk-till-dawn-3-hangmans-daughter-blu-ray|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Nathan Rabin]] of ''[[The A.V. Club]]'' wrote: "Being competent is no great achievement, but for undiscriminating gore fans, it should be enough to make ''Dawn 3'' a passable evening's entertainment".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.avclub.com/review/from-dusk-till-dawn-3-the-hangmans-daughter-19194|title=From Dusk Till Dawn 3: The Hangman's Daughter|last=Rabin|first=Nathan|author-link=Nathan Rabin|work=[[The A.V. Club]]|date=March 29, 2002|access-date=January 15, 2014|archive-date=February 15, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160215215116/http://www.avclub.com/review/from-dusk-till-dawn-3-the-hangmans-daughter-19194|url-status=live}}</ref> G. Noel Cross of ''[[DVD Talk]]'' rated it 4/5 stars and called it "a smart sequel that delivers mucho bang for the peso".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/611/from-dusk-till-dawn-3-the-hangmans-daughter/|title=From Dusk Till Dawn 3: The Hangman's Daughter|last=Cross|first=G. Noel|work=[[DVD Talk]]|date=May 7, 2000|access-date=January 15, 2014|archive-date=January 1, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130101152024/http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/611/from-dusk-till-dawn-3-the-hangmans-daughter/|url-status=live}}</ref> Gordon Sullivan of ''[[DVD Verdict]]'' called it "a serviceable little action horror flick that takes a timeworn premise and adds its own small filigrees".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/fromdusktilldawn3.php|title=From Dusk Till Dawn 3: The Hangman's Daughter (Blu-ray)|last=Sullivan|first=Gordon|work=[[DVD Verdict]]|date=August 12, 2011|access-date=January 15, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130923141740/http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/fromdusktilldawn3.php|archive-date=September 23, 2013}}</ref>

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

== See also ==
* [[Vampire film]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{IMDb title|0120695}}

{{From Dusk Till Dawn}}
{{P. J. Pesce}}
{{Robert Rodriguez}}

[[Category:1999 films]]
[[Category:1999 direct-to-video films]]
[[Category:1999 horror films]]
[[Category:1999 Western (genre) films]]
[[Category:1990s Western (genre) horror films]]
[[Category:1990s supernatural horror films]]
[[Category:A Band Apart films]]
[[Category:American Western (genre) horror films]]
[[Category:American action horror films]]
[[Category:American direct-to-video films]]
[[Category:American supernatural horror films]]
[[Category:Buena Vista Home Entertainment direct-to-video films]]
[[Category:Dimension Films films]]
[[Category:Direct-to-video horror films]]
[[Category:Direct-to-video prequel films]]
[[Category:1999 English-language films]]
[[Category:Films about Pancho Villa]]
[[Category:Films set in 1913]]
[[Category:Films set in Mexico]]
[[Category:Films scored by Nathan Barr]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Robert Rodriguez]]
[[Category:From Dusk till Dawn (franchise)]]
[[Category:Troublemaker Studios films]]
[[Category:American vampire films]]
[[Category:Films directed by P. J. Pesce]]
[[Category:1999 American films]]
[[Category:American prequel films]]
[[Category:English-language Western (genre) horror films]]
[[Category:English-language crime films]]

{{Wikipedia attribution|original_title=From Dusk Till Dawn 3: The Hangman's Daughter|access_date=2026-03-03}}