From Dusk Til Dawn 3: The Hangman’s Daughter is possibly one of the the late ’90s tragically forgotten gems. Distributed during the height of the Rodriguez craze and a time when folks just we’re not paying attention to westerns, let alone a straight to video B horror like FDTD 3.
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Written by Robert Rodriguez’s cousin Álvaro Rodríguez from a story he and Robert came up with together and directed by P.J. Pesce. Starring Marco Leonardi, Michael Parks, Danny Trejo, Rebecaa Gayheart and yes even Orlando Jones. FDTD 3 is a prequel to the Robert Rodriguez’s 1996 cult classic From Dusk Til Dawn. The prequel film is set in Mexico in the early 1900s and begins with a lavish gunfight when Johnny Madrid (Marco Leonardi) escapes the gallows and kidnaps the hangman’s beautiful daughter. The duo quickly head deep into the desert of Mexico, where they fall into a den of vampires and mystical omens.
The Bottom Line – Weird Western Fun is in Full Effect
Strictly speaking from the perspective of a weird west enthusiast, the film is worthy of the genre. Filled with gory shootouts and gruesome vampiric killings, FDTD 3 delivers in a way that many weird westerns do not. Hangman’s Daughter is severely underrated, probably because most folks didn’t give it much thought after the second film didn’t deliver the goods.
Currently the film is available on Amazon in various formats.
