Dust Devil (1992)

A woman on the run from her abusive husband encounters a mysterious hitch-hiker.

Director:

Richard Stanley

Writer:

Richard Stanley

Stars:

Robert John Burke, Chelsea Field, Zakes Mokae

4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert John Burke	...	Dust Devil (as Robert Burke)
Chelsea Field	...	Wendy Robinson
Zakes Mokae	...	Ben Mukurob
John Matshikiza	...	Joe Niemand
Rufus Swart	...	Mark Robinson
William Hootkins	...	Capt. Cornelius Beyman
Terry Norton	...	Saartjie Haarhoff (as Terri Norton)
Russell Copley	...	Cpl. Dutoit
Andre Odendaal	...	Cpl. Botes
Luke Cornell	...	Soldier 1
Phillip Henn	...	Soldier 2
Peter Hallr	...	Marist Monk
Robert Stevenson	...	Rifle Boy
Stephen Earnhart	...	Camper Driver
Marianne Sägebrecht	...	Dr. Leidzinger

Storyline

A shape shifter (Burke) comes from the desert in search of victims, a spirit the locals call "The Dust Devil". He prays on the lonely and the unloved, those who have already lost everything but life itself. Wendy (Field) has broken up with her husband and wanders aimlessly in her car. She picks up a stranger and begins having misgivings about picking him up when strange things begin to occur. Meanwhile a local police officer (Mokae) tracks the killer. Aided by a shaman's admonishments about witchcraft he sets off to try and stop the beast before it can complete its grisly task.

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Plot Keywords:

murder of a nude woman | hitchhiking | policeman | motel | hitchhiker | 

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Taglines:

The hitch-hiker from hell!

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller | Western

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence and sexuality, and for language

Details

Country:

South Africa UK

Release Date:

16 April 1993 (UK)

Also Known As:

Le souffle du démon

Filming Locations:

Namibia

Box Office

Budget:

£4,300,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Screen Productions, Channel Four Films, Miramax

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min (Final Cut) 115 min (Workprint Version) 103 min (director's cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Carl McCoy, lead singer of goth-rock band Fields of Nephilim, was originally offered the male lead in the film, but had to turn it down.

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Goofs

When Wendy slams on the brakes of her VW Beetle, she doesn't touch the clutch, but the car stops without stalling.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Joe Niemand: Back in the first times, in the time of the red light; the desert wind - Soo-oop-wa - was a man like us. Until, by mischance, he grew wings and flew... like a bird. He became a hunter, and like a hawk, he flew to seek his prey; taking refuge in those far corners of the world where magic still lingers in the earth. But having once been a man, so does he still suffer the passions of a man. The people of the great Namib - me and my ancestors before me - we have another name for those ...

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Crazy Credits

The producers would especially like to thank the government and people of Namibia for their help in the making of this film.

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Alternate Versions

'Dust Devil' has surfaced in about four different versions. The original cut runs at 120 minutes, yet its post-production was never finished. The UK video release runs at 105 minutes, being the final director's cut. Stanley has personally presented it at various film festivals. The film suffered greatly in hands of the US distributor, Miramax. The US 87 minutes VHS and laserdisc, both in pan&scan, were re-dubbed and had a new voice-over. According to Stanley, an even shorter stateside version was released, with a running time of a measily 68 minutes. The original and the final cut are said to be the only ones sharing most of the scenes and the general storyline.

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Connections

References Stalker (1979)

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Soundtracks

Rude Boy Soldier
Written by Patrick Barrett (as P. Barrett) and Angus Sylvester (as (A. Sylvester)
Performed by Tony Rebel

User Reviews

A worthy viewing for discriminating viewers.

"Dust Devil" is an intriguing, moody little genre film, marked by very fine acting and the kind of atmosphere one can only get in practical locations. In this case, the setting is the Namibian desert, and that adds a lot to the story and presentation. The ambiance is practically overwhelming; writer / director Richard Stanley ("Hardware") nicely captures on film a world that not that many of us get to see. Aided by a truly haunting music score by Simon Boswell, he does an excellent job at keeping the viewer uneasy yet interested in everything that happens on screen. The surrealism is top notch, and Stanley keeps the special effects work at a minimum. Overall, this is actually a better film than "Hardware", if not entirely satisfying; the script is indeed somewhat muddled. The characters are worth watching, with likable protagonists and a creepy antagonist.

The under-rated Robert John Burke stars as the title character, a spirit trapped in a human body who must kill in order to gain access to another realm. He makes the acquaintance of Wendy (Chelsea Field), who was unhappy in her marriage and has run away. Tracking Wendy is her concerned husband Mark (Rufus Swart), while The Dust Devil is pursued by haunted cop Ben Mukurob (the late, great South African actor Zakes Mokae, whom you may recognize as the villain from Wes Cravens' "The Serpent and the Rainbow".

Adding even more intrigue to Stanley's tale is the fact that he based it on the case of a real- life serial killer in the area who was never caught, or even identified, leading to speculations about a possible supernatural origin. The director blends African mythology with the serial killer and otherworldly elements, not to mention a love for the Western genre, to great effect. The fact that Wendy and Ben are such sad people adds much pathos; if Ben can be considered a hero, then he's definitely a tragic one. It's easy for the viewer to feel sympathy towards this character. Field and Mokae beautifully perform their parts, and Burke is deliciously sinister. Adding solid support is another departed great character actor William Hootkins, who'd acted in "Hardware" and appears here as Bens' superior. Delivering the exposition in an entertaining way is John Matshikiza, who's magnetic as Joe.

The heavily edited American release of "Dust Devil" really did it no favours; the subsequent reviews then motivated American distributor Miramax to put little effort into promoting it, which further prevented this film from reaching the audience that it deserved. If you are able, track down the multi disc Subversive DVD release (which also includes a few Stanley documentaries, the work print of the film, and the soundtrack on CD); you can then see this offbeat effort the way it was intended.

Seven out of 10.