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

6 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:

hitchhiking | motel | hitchhiker | sex scene | murder of a nude woman | 

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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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Originally Stanley had Kerry Fox in mind for the character of Wendy. The film's financiers weren't satisfied with her and the same went for Stanley's second suggestion, Stacey Travis, who starred in Stanley's previous feature, Hardware (1990). The decision to cast Chelsea Field was a last-minute compromise.

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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

The UK 108 minute version released in 1993 is the most complete version of the film seen by the general public. The differences between the UK 108 minute and the US 87 minute versions are: The character of Ben, the cop, has a back story about his child dying. The longer cut goes into greater detail about this and fleshes out the character more. The sex scenes are longer and more erotic. The US cut removes the beginnings of both of these of these scenes. The violence in the US cut has been removed. When the Dust Devil kills his first victim, he snaps her neck before slicing her to pieces. In the UK cut a loud "cracking" noise is heard when he breaks her neck. The sound effect is absent in the US version. In the UK cut, when a character is beheaded by a shotgun blast, the entire incident occurs in slow motion, with the head exploding and the body falling to the ground. The US cut has the exploding head, but then cuts to the body on the ground. The conclusion has also been altered for the US version. In the UK cut, the film ends with the silhouette of the dust devil devil character crossing over the horizon and disappearing. In the US cut, the film concludes with Joe Nieman, the drive-in operator, looking up at the sky as he narrates. After the end credits, the final shot of the dust devil crossing the horizon is shown. It is not known why Miramax chose to instigate these cuts and completely delete scenes.

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Connections

Referenced in Beyond the Grave (2010)

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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

Very atmospheric and visually impressive horror film.

The titular Dust Devil is an evil demon that preys only on those who have lost the reason to live.This includes Wendy,who has broken up with her husband and is now making her way aimlessly across the South African desert.Feeling lonely,she picks up a stray by the name of Hitch and the nightmare begins...Richard Stanley's "Dust Devil" re-interprets the true story of a South African serial killer,known among locals as "Nhadiep".Bizarre ritualistic murders took place in the town of Bethany.The killer who inspired Dust Devil preyed on migrant workers and railways workers."Dust Devil" is a creepy and hypnotic horror film.Richard Stanley of "Hardware" fame relies on the magical elements of the legend of Nhadiep,invoking tribal rituals,witchcraft and Namibian mysticism.There is also a good amount of gore splashed on screen.The cinematography of Namibian desert is absolutely fantastic and there are some striking visuals.A must-see for horror enthusiasts!

Details

Country:

South Africa UK

Release Date:

16 April 1993 (UK)

Also Known As:

Dust Devil

Filming Locations:

Namibia

Box Office

Budget:

GBP4,300,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Screen Productions, Channel Four Films, Miramax

Technical Specs

Runtime:

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

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1