Truly Dreadful Film

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?

Richard Stanley's second film after his android-on-the-loose debut HARDWARE is a disturbing, over-long tale of a magical serial killer on the loose in Namibia. To be fair, it's an original concept, and Africa isn't exactly the place you think of when it comes to horror films. The use of the isolated desert landscapes (just like in WALKABOUT) is good, and the artistic nature of the film is also a major plus.However, once again Stanley gives us a bunch of uninteresting, unlikable characters, and we don't really have too many feelings about them. The film is also far too long, and there's not a lot going on to retain interest, apart from repeated artistic scenes and images, which to be fair are nice to look at but there's not much depth. There is a lot of mumbo-jumbo involving witch doctors and the like. Robert Burke brings a certain level of complexity to his character, but the final revelation is somewhat disappointing. Chelsea Field is a tough heroine but never makes us feel for her character, while Zakes Mokae is rather good as the policeman investigating.There are a number of gory shocks along the way, such as a dream where the policeman has his internal organs pulled out by a burnt skeleton, or the severed fingers, or the moment where the hitch-hiker's head literally explodes, in a scene worthy of Cronenberg's SCANNERS. If you're into arty films like this then you'll probably enjoy DUST DEVIL, but I'm afraid they're not really my cup of tea. There can be no understating the disturbing nature of the film, however, and it played on my mind afterwards.

Since the beginning of time strange creatures known as "shape-shifters" have taken human form and fed on the life-essence of human beings prior to passing on to another dimension. This movie begins with such a creature nicknamed "Texas" (Robert John Burke) who can harness the wind over the desert terrain to form what the natives of Namibia call a Dust Devil. Yet while he certainly has great power the fact that he is trapped in human form gives him certain weaknesses which native witch doctors are able to understand to a certain degree. This valuable information is passed on to a police detective named "Ben Mukurob" (Zakes Mokae) who is witnessing first-hand the bloody destruction which Texas leaves in his wake as he devours one human being after another. Now rather than reveal any more of this movie I will just say that for a horror film it had great potential. Unfortunately, there were some parts which moved much too slowly and involved quite a bit of mumbo-jumbo but failed to adequately explaining anything. It was almost like they were making stuff up as they went along. So essentially viewers have no choice but to simply watch what happens next and try to figure everything out for themselves. That said, although I thought the special effects were good and I liked the presence of Chelsea Field (as "Wendy Robinson") I still felt that the movie overall needed some improvement and as a result I have rated it accordingly. Slightly below average.

This is a review of the final cut.Richard's Stanley's follow up to Hardware (his feature debut) is a feast of sights and sounds which bridge the gap between horror and art film. A truly eccentric and imaginative film. Hardware itself was fairly impressive visually, but here, Stanley offers us a story, which feels less brain dead. This one is deeper and more subtle and also orchestrated to be almost hypnotic. Pretty good for an extreme B-movie, which is too degrading a classification for something like this. It'll offer a treat for anyone who is curious.The curtain rises on a dusty golden world of desert. A voice of god narration tells us we are in Africa. there is an ancient evil wandering the Namib desert, in human form. He preys on souls, most of whom he hitches a ride from on the desert highway. Wendy has recently left her husband in South Africa, she hits the road with nothing but the clothes on her back. (No points for guessing who she runs into on her trip.)I may offer a few points for guessing what happens to her, but there are times in fact when the plot is not all that predictable. Dust Devil, is a fairly original story even though there are a couple of road movie clichés. It would be wrong and too bias to look at Dust Devil as a road movie, it plays out like one for a while, but it's impossible to label it as one genre. It's part road movie, part horror, part fantasy, and part surrealism. An odd mix, yes but it all comes together effectively. the film is not without fault though. There is a voice of god narration from one of the film's less important characters. It is badly scripted and feels unnecessary. The ending though, not terrible is anti-climactic. Perhaps it's different in another cut of the film, but I doubt it. There is much more worth being said about Dirt Devil, but I don't want to over sell it. If you feel sick of the regurgitated mass of b-movie horror material, Here is a change of pace, a film that is worth checking out. (If you can find it that is). It's a rare one.

A mesmerizing look into African lore and ghost stories, Richard Stanley's Dust Devil is an ingeniously crafted piece of cinematic marvel. A Sergio Leone western imbued with supernatural horror and surrealism it is a self-destructive journey filled with sorrow and regret.Loosely based around the stories of a Namibian serial killer "Dust Devil" is the supernatural tale of a creature, ancient as the earth itself. He takes many forms, wandering throughout the deserts, searching not for salvation but for Death. He is attracted to those (if only subconsciously) wishing, praying for their own demise. Hungry for souls he can only offer his prey a less painful death. The true gruesomeness comes afterwards, the flesh is torn, the body severed, some parts eaten, the blood is drained and used for what it seems a ritual, the whole act after the death is a ritual. That thing caring the disguise of a man (John Robert Byrke), that Dust Devil as the people of the Namib had named him, takes a finger from his victim as a souvenir and leaves, searching for the next one. On his trail is a broken-down police detective tortured by his own inner demons. He chases the Dust Devil refusing to believe that maybe he is dealing with something supernatural. A woman, runs away from her husband, she travels past the SAR border and into Namibia. The dying town of Bethany is where she first crosses paths with the creature. There will be some romance, beliefs will be put to the test, there will be regret and there will be blood."Dust Devil" has this gloomy mystical atmosphere like a "High Plains Drifter" or a "Once Upon A Time in The West", whichever you prefer. The way the story is told, through small hints rather than a complete explanation about everything, it leaves room for interpretation. The way the tension builds up from the opening introduction to the Dust Devil legend and with every bit of information we learn about him after wards until the culmination. There isn't an explosion, and the tension doesn't leave after the credits start rolling, it stays with you for sometime.Surreal imagery combined with what looks like an Italian western. Marvelously shot. The scenery combined with the Leone-sque camera-work, the least to say is that it's beautiful. The lifeless desert becomes a character of its own, brought to life thanks to Richard Stanley's stylistic choices. Simon Boswell's grim score is a perfect match to the movie's feel, endless torment for those involved in the plot.Stanley's choice for a small cast is a good one, not just for financial concerns. The trio leading characters are fleshed out, whether likable or not, when the final confrontation comes you know you've learned everything you need to learn about them. The acting is sort of a mish mash, there some things that could've been done better I suppose but still overall pretty good stuff."Dust Devil" is what "High Plains Drifter" would have been had Eastwood pumped up the supernatural factor. It's a horror movie with superb atmosphere and griping plot, shot brilliantly. A forgotten masterpiece, Richard Stanley crafts artistic terror equal to some of the greatest classics in the horror genre.