Dust Devil (1992)

Who payed the critics

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

This comment is related to the director's cut of "Dust Devil", one of the biggest film disappointments I have had in recent years, in part due to the story surrounding its release: it creates expectation and anticipation, making one think that this is another case of American distributors ravaging a fine work. Perhaps the 87 minutes version produced by Miramax is execrable (if -as they say- everything supernatural was cut, and the role of policeman Ben Mukurov was reduced), but I can understand the reaction they had. No one can justify damaging a work, but at least we can understand the intention to "fix" what was seen as bad. Later director Richard Stanley was able to rescue the negatives and finish the film as he wanted. Unfortunately the result is not good. Starting with the casting, there is actor Robert John Burke as a villain that is more repellent that frightful, wearing a long coat, perhaps to make a connection to Sergio Leone's westerns: considering that this is a demon conceived in African soil, the entity had a bad wardrobe consultant in Hell, as he looks like a product of globalization, a Texan by way of an Italian costumer. Then you have a female character (played by Chelsea Field) that alternates between being a nasty, racist, promiscuous woman, and being plain dumb: even by the standards of horror film, what young woman would give a ride twice to an entity that, when she picked it up the first time, literally vanished from her moving car, and who was nowhere to be found when she got off? But this lady does, and by minute 59 she is seduced by the entity, dances with the dust demon and then they have sex, anticipating the ending of this silly tale even to a spectator who is a non-expert in demonic possession. However "Dust Devil" has the visual virtue to make you feel that you are watching something magnificent: besides the splendid locations in Namibia, Stanley deserves an applause for introducing pseudo-mythic elements -very nicely evoked by late John Matshikiza, as a film projectionist, in dreams as well as in what is left of a drive-in cinema in the desert; or proposed by Marianne Sägebrecht, as a forensic surgeon- that create an atmosphere of terror associated with the ancient religions that had good and evil divinities related to Nature. On the other hand, there is an interesting subplot pointing at political and social unrest. But in the end this is an underdeveloped aspect of the story that makes little contribution to the story, and that seems as "local color", comparable to the camera flourishes (including aerial shots or travelings in and back) that add to nothing. The key character of Mukurov (Zakes Mokae), the only one who seems to have a strong purpose and a credible dark past, gets lost in all the mumbo jumbo and dusty events, until the film reaches its predictable end.

allstarvideo blogspot Dust Devil is that rare movie that is both art film and genre piece. It is beautifully shot and wonderfully put together. And yet, it is in that strange unmarketable space of being strange and creepy, but doesn't have the scares or gore needed to draw a horror audience. Not surprisingly, the distributor (Miramax) hated it. Stanley originally brought in the film at 120 minutes, and Miramax cut it to 87 minutes without his permission or cooperation. The version they cut removed all supernatural elements of the film and cut out nearly all of Zakes Mokae's scenes, as he was a non-traditional hero, ie: African Zulu. The studio, Palace Pictures, went broke and the film disappeared, never finding any kind of wide release. Stanley hunted down the negative, which was being held by the investors, and he personally paid for his own cut of the film. Subversive Cinema has now released Stanley's final cut of the film. The film centers on three major characters: Ben Mukurob (Zakes Mokae), who is a Zulu policeman who has been hunting the Dust Devil (Robert John Burke) and Wendy (played by Chelsea Field, who you might know better as the flight attendant in Commando "Don't wake my friend, he's dead tired" or Teela in Masters of the Universe -Dolph Lundgren!). The Dust Devil is a supernatural evil, called a Nagtloper. He is a drifter who kills and feeds off the life-force of those who have lost the will to live. As the narrator tells us, he can smell towns and people that are dying. He ritualistically cuts people apart and then keeps their fingers, as we are later told, "there is a whole lot of power in fingers." Mukurob has dedicated 15 years of his life to the hunting of this man, this serial killer, this Nagtloper. His room is plastered in newspaper stories linked to this devil. Wendy walks out on her abusive husband and decides to just drive, with no sense of hope. Wendy ends up picking up the drifter and giving him a ride. Mukurob continues to hunt, but is caught in the politics and mire of South Africa, which is in the midst of civil unrest and racial tensions are high. Wendy gets involved with the Devil, and becomes his next target. She escapes and he chases her into the desert. Mukurob follows them into the wasteland, where there is surreal showdown in a deserted city sunken in the sand. At one point, Mukurob tells Wendy to wait, saying: "I know what I'm doing. I'm a cop." Wendy replies, "That Won't Help." Mukurob, "I know." Exactly right. The film was shot in Namibia, and sand dominates every inch of it. It can be seen in the hair and teeth of every actor. It blows constantly and seems to cover every surface. The color temperature and film stock give the film an almost Aussie exploitation look. It feels all the more epic with the giant sweeping helicopter shots and long wide takes. Simon Boswell's Morricone-ish soundtrack adds another dimension to the moody, atmospheric feeling of the film. All the elements of a Western seem to come to the fore after the soundtrack really finds it's place near the end of the film. I originally heard about Richard Stanley when I read his wonderful essay, "Dying Light: an obituary for the great British horror movie," in a book a friend loaned me (thanks Tom!), British Horror Cinema. In it, he discussed The Scala cinema in the King's Cross neighborhood of London. The cinema had originally been London's first Primatarium (an ape house). His love for the theatre and his description of the programmers and projectionists at the theatre made a deep connection. Unfortunately, the Scala is now closed, and I feel a bit mournful for a place I will never know. But, it is from there that he met the people from Palace Pictures and how we now have Dust Devil.Set Yourself Up: The film's pacing is slow and moody, so set the lights correctly. Don't have the fluorescent overheads on. Get some Tyson Chicken Fingers and a few cans of Castel, put them in your basement and let a small layer of dust form over them.-J. Moret, www.allstarvideo.blogspot.com

After rowing with her husband and deciding enough is enough, Wendy Robinson takes off into the African sun. Picking up a hitch-hiker, she finds herself strangely drawn to him, unaware that he is a travelling serial killer. When police detective Ben Mukurob arrives on the scene it becomes apparent that her companion is something far worse than a killer, he is a shape shifting demon who steals the souls of his victims.....Richard Stanley's Dust Devil has a well documented troubled history. Briefly, Stanley's original cut of 120 minutes was trimmed to 110 and US distributor Miramax held the rights to re-edit an American release if they so wished. Stanley still hoped his longer cut would thrive in Europe, however Palace Pictures in Britain had a 95 minute cut of the film that was test screened once before Palace Pictures went bankrupt afterwards. Thus this meant the post-production of a "European" version was shut down and Stanley lost control of the film. With Miramax chopping away in the states it now meant that Dust Devil was floating around in cuts that ranged from 110 minutes to a staggering 68 minutes. In 1993 Stanley managed to buy back the print from Miramax, and the cut material, and using his own money, set about restoring the film to something like his original vision. The result is that now a widely available DVD box set has two cuts of the film to view, The Final Cut and the {rough} Work Print.With so many versions of the film around over the years, it's hard to gauge what a true weighted rating Dust Devil has. I feel sure that if judged solely on it's Final Cut version the film would be highly regarded and rated far better than its internet ratings suggests. That's not to say it's a perfect film, for it's not, some problems exist, and the flow of the film, even by Richard Stanley's own admission, is far from fluent these days. However, Dust Devil is one hell of a fine movie, technically stunning with a horror story of deep cranial worth. Starring Robert Burke {Devil}, Chelsea Field {Wendy} and Zakes Mokae {Ben}, Dust Devil has three interwoven character plots dovetailing together towards an apocalyptic finale. Along the way we are treated to much dialogue cloaked in haunting mysticism, with dashes of grim horror that assault the senses. The film is one that begs revisits to truly appreciate the complexity of it, never mind that the visuals alone are worth seeing time and time again. It will remain a divisive film, of that I don't think there is any doubt. But I would urge any genre fan who hasn't seen it to give it a go. You may not be as impressed with it as myself and its fans are, but one feels you are unlikely to forget having ever seen Dust Devil. Mesmerising, haunting and even lyrical, it's hoped that the film in its final form will find a more appreciative audience. 9/10

After leaving her abusive, purple-track-suit-wearing husband, Wendy (Chelsea Field) encounters a mysterious hitchhiker (Robert Burke). She invites him along for the ride, but realizes her mistake when strange things begin to occur after he joins her. Meanwhile, a police officer (Zakes Mokae) asks the help of a local shaman to find the hitchhiker, who is more than he appears to be.Review: The film was not at all what I expected. Reading the synopsis and hearing nothing of it beforehand, I had assumed something like a supernatural version of 'The Hitcher'. . . with that same tone to it. While I do prefer 'The Hitcher' to this film, 'Dust Devil' does not deserve to be entirely passed up. It's beautifully shot with a strange, but interesting, story about the myths in the real world. It is rather slow-moving for quite some time, but during the times it picks up, it's rather frightening and gory. The performances are fantastic, as is the written dialogue. My major gripe would have to be, again, with the pace. Not so much that it's slow, but that its spikes are so high and brutal that when it reaches its lulls, it feels boring in comparison. However, if you're one simply for the visuals, for the landscapes, for the cinematography. . . you will very much appreciate the beauty of the film. Who knows. . . it might've been great in one of the sliced-up editions. But the 'final cut' edition I viewed was, simply, just good.Final verdict: 7.25/10.