the audience applauded

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

I've seen people recommending this movie for years... it turns up on many 'best horror' lists. For whatever reason, though, I'd never watched it. Partially because of the cover image I think, it just didn't grab me. Anyway, I finally broke down and watched it (and YES, I watched the 'final cut' version)... and didn't really like it at all. It's just not a very good movie. Really, this is just about a blandly attractive but uninteresting guy who happens to be an evil spirit... he hooks up with a blandly attractive woman who is selfish and dumb... and they drive a round a while till stuff happens. Along the way there is a lot of important sounding blather delivered in a ponderously dramatic manner... but it all adds up to not much. Mostly I blame the writing and the directing... though the guy playing the Dust Devil is just straight up dull. Pretty, but dull. It's far from the worst movie I've ever seen... but it might be one of the most over-hyped, at least in horror fan circles.

"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.

I decided to write this because I watched this movie after seeing all the positive reviews and praise for it on here. Very disappointing movie. The imagery and development at the beginning sort of suggested a much dreamier movie, and I was really really hoping for a nuanced allegorical take on post-colonial politics or something.. Alas just some TV-movie supernatural junk that was just enough to keep me watching til the end; I felt like I didn't need to.. and I like supernatural horror, I like moody atmospheric stuff, etc. This was neither psychedelic nor subtle. There are so many much better movies to be found, I'd say don't bother with this one.

Very unknown and definitely very under appreciated early 90's horror film, revolving around a particularly unique idea, and a particularly unique villain at that. The film is definitely a slow-burner, Richard Stanley's final cut clocking in at around two hours long. Not saying that is an entirely bad thing, but there are moments when the film drags its feet.The film is slightly sparse on the dialogue, giving way to let the haunting musical score do most of the talking. The visuals speak on their own terms as well, the African sunset to an abandoned movie theater in the middle of the desert filled with sand, the film comes off as some kind of bizarre western. The acting isn't anything to brag about, but it is definitely of a very high caliber for horror movies, although 'Dust Devil' is so ripe with slow-moving action, I would almost not even consider it horror at all. Inspired probably by 'El Topo' and probably did inspire films like Larry Fessenden's 'Wendigo' just a little bit, 'Dust Devil' has a very unique story behind it, which is probably the film's strongest point.Zekes Mokae is probably most notable as the detective, and he definitely outshines Chelsea Field, and Robert John Burke as the 'Dust Devil' himself. All in all, recommended for the horror buff who can tolerate slow-moving melodrama and a good story to back up their thrills.DUST DEVIL -----7/10.