Review of Dust Devil (1992) by Xgary X — 11 Aug 2009

A young woman running from an abusive marriage through the deserts of Namibia picks up a mysterious stranger on the highway to find that he is a shape shifting serial killer. I loved this film when it came out, but on revisiting it, its flaws are rather more apparent.

Stanley's direction and script show some of the irritations common to films of the late 80s and early 90s; he gets a little too carried away with his own visual trappings and the trippy dream sequences are definitely a product of seeing Twin Peaks one too many times.

The first third of the film is intriguing and the ending satisfying and memorable, but in the middle it loses its way with some stilted dialogue; the supernatural elements that are often mentioned are never fully explained.

But by far the biggest weakness is in the performances. Robert Burke does not have the enigmatic intensity to pull off the role of the Devil and Chelsea Field has the range of a TV chef. Far better are William Hootkins as the local Police Chief and John Matshikiza as the local witch doctor, but their parts barely qualify as cameos.

As a whole it still has some striking images and enough interesting ideas to make it worth watching, although more as a curiosity than a classic.