The official synopsis for tonight’s installment: As Santanico tries to turn Richie to her cause, Freddie confronts Carlos about his destiny and the temple’s mysterious past. Seth, the Fullers and Sex Machine battle their way deeper into the temple, where they meet an unexpected ally.
Initially, Alvarez was approached by showrunner Robert Rodriguez to helm the big Titty Twister massacre episode – in which the bar’s dancers turn on their clients – but scheduling and travel prohibited this. Instead, Alvarez agreed to take on “La Conquista” which he knew “was crazy enough to have a lot of fun.”
Rodriguez and Alvarez first met up at SXSW in 2013 where Evil Dead had made its premiere. It was shortly after that time that Rodriguez had presented to Alvarez the idea of coming aboard From Dusk Till Dawn to tackle an episode. “I love the original film and there’s a lot of mythology to explore. The movie jumps right into the action and there’s so much more you can learn. And that last shot of the film – I remember my feeling being, ‘What’s that about? I want to know more.'”
“This show has a lot of action, gags, it’s bloody, it’s amazing what they get in in the time they have to shoot,” Alvarez says, reflecting on his jump to television. “They let me play with the script a bit to change some scenes. That’s a freedom you don’t usually get. Especially when it’s fast and furious like this set is. On film, you have a lot of time to second guess. With this television experience, there’s no time to take bigger risks – that’s what I loved about this experience.”
Now that the show is passing the mid-point of its season, the story is opening up to new revelations and, tonight, viewers will get a taste of Carlos’ back story (Carlos being played by Wilmer Valderrama, in case you need a refresher). “It was interesting to work with these characters especially the revelation that Carlos was a conquistador – that’s great for Wilmer. He was so excited about exploring his own past.”
Alvarez says he was allowed to give tonight’s episode its own look and bring his own aesthetic to the series. “Robert wanted to bring my own stuff to the table, the way I shoot, the humor, without having to ask if it was in line with the previous episodes. They let me do what I wanted but they didn’t have to worry I wasn’t going to change things too much. I used the same d.p. they had, so there was no friction in terms of style or anything like that.”
From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series airs Tuesday nights at 9pm on the El Rey Network. For more with Alveraz, follow this link.
