Seth Gecko Seth Gecko (
George Clooney) is the main
protagonist and brief
antagonist in the 1996 film,
From Dusk till Dawn and its 2001
spin-off video game of the same name. Seth Gecko and his brother Richie are two dangerous criminals on a wild crime spree. Compared to his violent brother, Seth is a more calm, rational individual, always intending to keep his word to release his hostages if they comply with his demands. He was hampered by his brother's more violent nature. After kidnapping a father and his two kids, the Geckos head South to a Mexican bar to hide out in safety. After they face the bar's vampire clientele, they're forced to team up with their hostages in order to make it out alive. In the spin-off video game, Seth has been condemned to death for the Titty Twister murders and is now in the Rising Sun high-security prison, a converted tanker floating off the coast of
New Orleans. Seth briefly appears in a photo cameo in the
black comedy Curdled.
Richie Gecko Richie Gecko (
Quentin Tarantino) is a deranged rapist and murderer who, along with his brother Seth, kidnaps a preacher and his two kids and flees for the safety of a remote nightclub in
Mexico. Unluckily for Kate Fuller (daughter of the preacher), she is the prime priority of Richie's intentions. He has
schizophrenia. It also appears that he only rapes those he thinks that want to have sex, for example, when he sees Kate Fuller he imagines her asking him "Richie, would you do me a favor and eat my pussy for me... please?" The Geckos later go to the nightclub which is full of vampires; Richie is murdered by dancer vampire Santánico Pandemonium, who bites him on the neck. Although it is believed he's dead, he comes back as a vampire. Seth is forced to kill him by jamming a pool cue into his chest. Richie briefly appears in a photo cameo in the
black comedy Curdled.
Jacob Fuller Jacob Fuller (
Harvey Keitel) and his two children, Kate and Scott, have been kidnapped by outlaws Seth and Richie Gecko. The Geckos demand that the family sneak the convicts across the border and into
Mexico using Jacob's
RV. After doing this, the Geckos force the family to join them at the Titty Twister, where the place turns out to be inhabited by the vampires. Jacob and his family are forced to team up with Seth in order to make it out alive. Jacob is bitten by Sex Machine but continues to help the others to battle the vampires until transforming. He then bites Scott before Scott kills him.
Kate Fuller Kate Fuller (
Juliette Lewis) is kidnapped, along with her father and brother, by the Gecko brothers. Immediately, Richie is smitten with her, albeit only with lustful intentions. When the vampires reveal themselves, Kate is quick to jump into action and help destroy the monstrosities. Apart from Seth Gecko, Kate is the only person to make it out of the Titty Twister alive. In the end, she is left with the camper (and money Seth gave her) after Seth refuses to take her with him to El Rey.
Scott Fuller Scott Fuller (Ernest Liu) is kidnapped, along with his father and sister, by the Gecko brothers. When his father Jacob turns, Scott hesitates to kill him and is mobbed by ravenous vampires. Kate shoots him to end his suffering.
Santanico Pandemonium Santanico Pandemonium (formerly known as
Esmeralda) (portrayed by
Salma Hayek in the first film and
Ara Celi in the third) is the 102 year old vampire queen and main attraction as an exotic and seductive dancer at the Titty Twister. She begins the vampires' feeding frenzy when she kills Richie Gecko in a spur-of-the-moment surge of bloodlust, triggered by his bleeding hand. She kills a second character in the Deleted Scenes section of the DVD. Santanico, in human form, sits on the lap of a dazed and wounded biker (portrayed by
Gregory Nicotero of KNB Effects). Holding his gaze for a moment, a second mouth that resembles a monstrous snake erupts from her mouth and bites his head off. She is killed by Seth Gecko, who shoots down a chandelier to impale her. In the third film, set 83 years before the first one, in 1913 Mexico, Santanico (born Esmeralda) is the 19 year old dhampir daughter of the local hangman, Mauricio and the vampire priestess, Quixtla who is the owner of a brothel. She gets kidnapped by Johnny Madrid, a local outlaw. In the climax, Quixtla reveals Esmeralda's heritage and her and Esmeralda's vampire grandmother turn her into a full fledged vampire princess renaming her as Santanico Pandemonium. Santanico then kills her grandmother and turns her father who then kills Quixtla by exposing her to sunlight while Santanico hides from the sunlight. While the entrance to the brothel is being closed, Santanico screams to the leaving Madrid not to leave her but unfortunately, the door closes on her. She then becomes the queen of the brothel which later becomes the Titty Twister and works as an exotic dancer, seducing patrons and feeding on their blood. Her personality as Esmeralda was a nice, young woman who was caring and gentle, but as Santanico, she's very cruel, seductive and inconsiderate, even planning to turn Seth into her slave.
Kelly Houge Kelly Houge (
Kelly Preston) is a newscaster who reports on the Gecko brothers' rampage. Preston also played the character in the
black comedy Curdled.
Earl McGraw Earl McGraw (
Michael Parks) is a
Texas Ranger who is killed by Richie Gecko in the opening scene of the film. After appearing, he has since made cameos in other films. His son Edgar McGraw appears in
From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money.
Sex Machine Sex Machine (
Tom Savini) is a biker. He is one of the patrons at the Titty Twister, and one of the few to fight back against the vampires initial attack on the customers, and also one of the few to survive. While staking vampirized customers, Sex Machine is bitten by one of them. Sex Machine hides his bite until he transforms into a vampire, and promptly infects Frost and Jacob and lets the vampires congregating outside into the Titty Twister. When the remaining survivors fight back against the vampires, Sex Machine is killed by Seth and transforms into a large, rat-like creature. Sex Machine tries to kill Seth, but is shot in the chest by Kate with a crossbow and tossed into a fire pit, setting him ablaze.
Frost Frost (
Fred Williamson) is a Vietnam veteran and one of the patrons at the Titty Twister. During the war, Frost was severely injured and scarred by an explosion during a
Vietcong attack that killed the rest of his platoon. The Vietcong assumed him to be dead and left him with the corpses of his platoon; eventually, Frost snapped and murdered the entire Vietcong squadron. Frost is one of the few patrons to fight back against the vampires during the attack, and is one of the few survivors as well. While he recounts his backstory to rally the other survivors, Sex Machine turns into a vampire and bites Frost in the throat. Frost knocks Sex Machine through the barricaded door, accidentally allowing the other vampires to enter; Frost then changes into a vampire himself. Frost is killed during the remaining survivors’ last stand when Jacob impales him with a shotgun.
Pete Bottoms Pete Bottoms (
John Hawkes) is a clerk who owns a shop which McGraw frequently attends. Seth and Richie hold Pete up, forcing him to act as if nothing is wrong for McGraw. Richie shoots McGraw under the (wrong) belief that Pete mouthed "help us" to him. Pete is non-fatally shot by Richie, but grabs a gun and engages in a shootout with the Geckos that ends with him being set on fire and burnt alive.
Razor Charlie Razor Charlie (
Danny Trejo) is the Titty Twister's vampire bartender. ==
From Dusk till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money==