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.Written by
Ed Sutton <esutton@mindspring.com>
Richard Stanley's first cut of the film was 120 minutes long. US distributors Miramax hated it and produced its own 87-minute version without Stanley's permission or cooperation. This cut removed all references to the supernatural and almost completely disposed of the nominal hero's role (played by Zakes Mokae). It was released in the European market, however Stanley has never seen this version. Stanley came to an agreement with the producers over a 95-minute compromise cut. At this point the film's British backers, Palace Pictures, went bust, making it increasingly unlikely that the film would ever see the light of day in a UK cinema. Then after about a year of frantic searching, Stanley discovered that the original negative was being held by PolyGram. He went to the film's original investors, Channel 4 and British Screen Finances, which were naturally keen to see what had happened to their investment. PolyGram was obliged to hand over the negative, which Stanley re-cut to his own specifications, and with his own money. See more »
Goofs
When Wendy slams on the brakes of her VW Beetle, she doesn't touch the clutch, but the car stops without stalling. See more »
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 ...
See more »
Crazy Credits
The producers would especially like to thank the government and people of Namibia for their help in the making of this film. See more »
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. See more »
I first saw this in the mid 90s on a vhs.
Revisited it recently.
The film is about a shape-shifting demon (Robert John Burke)
who gains power through ritual murders n has to keep moving to work the rituals mainly targetting only those who have nothing to live for. Of course he does get to sleep with attractive females, including Chelsea Field.
This film has a very creepy feel throughout n the desert roads along with the house where the first murder takes place has a very isolated n eerie feel.
The director did a fantastic job. This film has awesome photography of the desert.
17 of 19 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful to you?
| Report this
I first saw this in the mid 90s on a vhs. Revisited it recently. The film is about a shape-shifting demon (Robert John Burke) who gains power through ritual murders n has to keep moving to work the rituals mainly targetting only those who have nothing to live for. Of course he does get to sleep with attractive females, including Chelsea Field. This film has a very creepy feel throughout n the desert roads along with the house where the first murder takes place has a very isolated n eerie feel. The director did a fantastic job. This film has awesome photography of the desert.