Dust Devil (1992)

[Plain Old Tele]

Discuss.

[The Stingray]

To come across a film you know nothing about is a rare occurrence in this day and age, which is why I was delightfully surprised when I discovered Dust Devil on the telly a few weeks ago.

 

Dust Devil is the story of a mysterious hitchhiker, in a duster and cowboy hat, who stalks the barren roads of the Namibian deserts. It is an unusual, stylish and quite artful blend of serial killer thriller, black magic horror and Spaghetti Western, with a dreamlike and evocative tone, striking images and a beautiful Ennio Morricone-inspired score. It is a movie that, in my opinion, should have become a cult classic.

 

8.5/10

 

PS: The movie was apparently butchered by the studios on release, resulting in an 87-minute cut. The version I checked out, dubbed "The Final Cut", runs at 108 minutes and is the closest thing to the director's original vision.

 

PS 2: Scriptwriters shouldn't be allowed to use the phrase, "There is a storm coming", anymore.