Seth Gecko
| Seth and Richie Gecko | |
|---|---|
| Tarantino/Rodriguez Universe character | |
| First appearance | From Dusk till Dawn |
| Last appearance | FDtD: The Series |
| Created by | Quentin Tarantino Robert Kurtzman Scott Spiegel Boaz Yakin |
| Portrayed by | George Clooney (films; Seth) Quentin Tarantino (films; Richie) Zane Holtz (TV series; Richie) D.J. Cotrona (TV series; Seth) |
| In-universe information | |
| Alias | The Gecko Brothers |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Criminal |
| Children | None |
Seth and Richie Gecko are two fictional characters from the From Dusk till Dawn portion of the Tarantino/Rodriguez Universe. They appear in the 1996 film and its 2001 spin-off video game of the same name. Alternate versions of the characters appear in the 2014 television series. They are portrayed by George Clooney and Quentin Tarantino in both the films and the video game and by D.J. Cotrona and Zane Holtz on television.[1] Seth Gecko is the main protagonist of the orignal film, described as a cool, suave, short-fused, sociopathic anti-hero.
He was originally in prison prior to the events of From Dusk till Dawn but was broken out by his younger brother (and partner in crime), Richie: A nerdy, obnoxious, even-shorter-fused, psychopath; that only a brother could stand. At the film's opening, they are being hunted by the police for: several murders, bank robberies and kidnappings. Despite being a hardened criminal, who robs and kidnaps without compunction, he's shown to have something of a code of honor, only killing when he feels necessary and promising to eventually release a woman he and Richie had taken hostage. He later becomes infuriated when Richie kills the woman instead, saying that Richie had made him break his promise to her.
Movie plot
In the original film, Seth and his deeply disturbed younger brother Richie have just robbed a bank, and taken one of its female employees as a hostage. When Seth briefly leaves the room, Richie rapes and kills the woman, for which Seth reprimands him. While on the run from the law, he and Richie meet Jacob Fuller and his two children, Kate and Scott. Seth immediately sees that Richie has designs on Kate, and reassures Jacob that she will be safe as long as they do as they're told. After crossing the border in to Mexico, they go to a bar called "Titty Twister", where Seth is supposed to meet Carlos, his contact. At the "Titty Twister", everything changed. At first what seemed like beautiful strippers, bartenders and bikers turn out to be vampires. Richie is turned into a vampire, forcing Seth to kill his own brother. At the end of the film, Carlos arrives and unknowingly rescues them by breaking the door and letting sunlight in, killing the vampires. He is one of the two only survivors, the other being Kate, Jacob's daughter. He offers her some of the cash from the bank robbery and he and the others go to El Ray, leaving Kate with her father's RV, because El Ray would be too dangerous for her.
Richie Gecko
'From Dusk till Dawn' tells the story of the Gecko Brothers right after their latest botched bank-robbery/kidnapping attempt. After fleeing to Mexico, they unexpectedly cross paths with a sect of vampires using a strip club as a feeding ground. Richie has a chance to bond with his brother, before his insane antics catch up with him and results in an untimely "death". Richie returns to life as an undead zombie-like blood sucker. Seth is then left with the task of putting his brother's evil-possessed carcass out of its misery.
Other appearances
The Gecko brothers are mentioned in From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money. Bo Hopkins references Edgar McGraw's cold demeanor and distracted nature: "Oh, them Gecko brothers killed his daddy." They briefly appear in a photo cameo in the black comedy Curdled. In additional, Katie Houge, news reporter from the first film, appears, again portrayed by Kelly Preston.
Video games
It is revealed that some time in between the film and spin-off video game, Seth is arrested and condemned to life in prison for the "Titty Twister" murders. In the video game, he is now shown as an inmate of the fictional Rising Sun high-security prison, a converted tanker floating off the coast of New Orleans. Vampires infiltrate the prison by posing as inmates. They murder the transport guards and the warden and begin a rampage. In the chaos, Seth gains a weapon and escapes his cell. Eventually, he manages to escape and survives.
Television series universe
In late 2013, it was reported that a parallel universe TV series had begun production.[2] Seth is played by D.J. Cotrona. Seth in the television series is shown to have a calmer temper and more of a conscience about killing people, but will not hesitate to murder if someone stands in his way.
Television series
Before the series begins, Seth has been broken out of prison by his older brother, Richie, and robbed a bank of $30 million. Seth is conversing with Carlos, a drug lord in Mexico, to help them cross the boarder. The series opens with them stopping at Benny's World of Liquor where rangers Earl McGraw and Freddie Gonzalez arrive and a bloody standoff ensues. Richie and Seth kill Earl and the owner of the liquor store and quickly flee the scene.
Seth and Richie plan on crossing the boarder to Mexico as soon as possible, but flashbacks show the brothers took a hostage (a bank teller named Monica) when robbing the bank and are keeping her bound and gagged in the trunk. Richie senses something while driving and forces Seth to pull over in a dangerous maneuver and exists the car to see Monica laying dead in a sandlot, but it is revealed to be an illusion. Seth and Richie release their growing frustrations with each other in a fist fight which neither wins. Seth realizes they must stop to properly rest or else more complications will arise.
They check into the Dew Drop Hotel and Seth leaves Richie with Monica to pick up food. At The Big Kahuna Burger, Seth is actually meeting Vanessa, his ex-wife who he was married to for a short period before the series began. The two have sex in the bathroom and it is shown she is suppose to go with the brothers and she and Seth planned to fly to Cancun and begin their romantic relationship again, but Seth says they must travel separately because he is worried for her safety and gives her money to travel alone and meet with him at a later date. Vanessa pretends to be ecstatic at first, but is furious and believes Seth is treating her like a whore, saying she does not want the money, but wants to be with Seth instead and says they should fly to Cancun to open the bar they always dreamt of. Seth says he cannot leave Richie, Seth admits Richie protected him from their abusive father a lot as children and when their father burnt their house down on accident (by falling asleep with a lit cigarette) and incidentally killed himself, Richie carried a sleeping Seth from the fire, saving his life. Vanessa admits she secretly had a neighbor who works with mental patients check Richie over which infuriates Seth to the point of leaving her, denying Richie's possible insanity. Vanessa, in temporary insanity, attacks Seth's car with a crowbar, smashing the windshield in and Seth officially breaks off their relationship.
Seth orders food for him and Richie, but accidentally pulls out bullets along with the money to pay. A police officer in line behind him sees this and prepares to pull his gun on Seth, but Vanessa puts a gun to the officer's head, preventing him from pulling his own gun, and instructs Seth to leave. He returns to the hotel to find Richie has murdered Monica and mutilated her body, carving out her eyes and forcing them into holes in the palms of her hands. Seth, terrified by Richie's actions, reprimands him and Richie says 'This is me' and Seth argues that Richie might ruin everything they have worked for. Both brothers and afraid of what is happening to Richie and hug each other saying everything is okay and will get better once they get to Mexico.
Seth needs to calm down and leaves the hotel room and is almost hit by Kate Fuller in her family's RV. The Fullers, who have just checked into the Dew Drop Hotel, consider Seth to be a 'weirdo' because he originally would not move out of the way for them to continue. Seth discovers their hotel room number and he and Richie hold Jacob and Scott Fuller at gunpoint while Kate is at the hotel's pool. Seth prepares to go find her, but is worried Richie will kill Jacob and Scott if left alone with them (like he did to Monica), so he sends Richie to find her instead. Jacob realizes who Seth and Richie are and that they are using his family and their RV to cross the boarder. Jacob pleads with Seth to let Kate and Scott go, believing the situation is his punishment for his sins, but Seth refuses. Richie brings Kate back up and Seth plans how to get everyone out of the hotel without looking suspicious. When Jacob, Richie and Scott have left the room, Seth questions Kate if Richie did anything to her down at the pool. She says that he only scared her and Seth responds with "you're not the only one".
As they leave the room, they see Freddie Gonzalez again, who has been following them since they killed his partner in the liquor store. Richie comes back to help his brother and take Kate to the RV where her father and brother are waiting. Seth and Freddie dodge each other's bullets until both run out and fall on top of the RV, where Seth defeats Freddie and knocks him off the RV. They hit a few mishaps on the trip (such as Scott pulling a hidden gun on Richie in an attempt to protect his family, but being too scared to shoot him; Jacob hitting a car at the check-point and being forced to knock the driver unconscious when he tries to get a police officer and Scott having to drive the man's car to avoid suspicion; Gonzalez showing up and attempting to stop them but Carlos stopping him) the five successfully get across the boarder and arrive at the Titty Twister.
At the Titty Twister, Seth believes they made a mistake coming there, while Richie believes otherwise. Outside, a man named Narciso saves Seth from a biker gang attack led by the bar's bouncer. Gonzalez escapes the cartel and arrives at the bar, just in time for Carlos to introduce Santanico Pandemonium's show. Richie recognizes her as the woman in his visions that led him there.
Santanico performs a sultry dance for the audience before climbing onto the Geckos' and Fullers' table. Gonzalez uses her dance as a distraction to pin Richie's hand to the table with a knife. This causes Santanico and others to transform into serpentine vampires. They attack most everyone in the bar, as Carlos and the blood cult members briefly watch then move to a back room. The Geckos and Fullers survive the attack, but know there will be more when they find the bar sealed shut. Professor Tanner, known there as "Sex Machine", informs them of the mythology of the bar/temple. Meanwhile, in the back room, Carlos and Santanico dispose of the nine cult members who call them "slaves". Santanico returns to the bar for Richie and another attack begins.
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.
Venturing further into the temple below the bar, everyone mostly gets separated from each other. Scott helps Carlos in a fight with Gonzalez, after Carlos turns Scott. Richie gets turned by Santanico but must help Seth pass a "survival test", wherein they reenact the robbery that led to Seth's imprisonment. During the test, Seth learns Richie killed their father, when they were kids, by setting him on fire. Tanner helps Katie through the temple, after she witnesses her mother overdosing on sleeping pills. (Jacob would wreck while rushing her to the hospital.) Tanner leads Katie to a sacrificial room, hoping to appease the culture he has studied all these years.
Gonzalez realizes Tanner is a cult fanatic and saves Katie by killing him. Alone with Scott, Jacob cannot bring himself to kill his son who has turned, while Scott bites his father, hoping Jacob will see that being a demon serves a better purpose. Katie must kill her father before he turns. The Geckos survive their test, but Richie swallows the serpent containing Santanico's blood, making him her prince. Carlos betrays her by siding with Narciso and the Nine Lords. He kidnaps Richie, wanting Seth to bring him the $30 million in oil bonds. A final battle ensues, before the sun rises to cleanse the bar/temple of its cult. Gonzalez is allowed to return to his family, Richie and Santanico head for the States, Carlos is welcomed into the Nine, and Seth and Katie ride off together.
