Dust Devil (1992)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Richard Stanley

Writer:

Richard Stanley (written by)

Release Date:

8 August 1992 (Japan)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller | Western

Tagline:

He's not a serial killer. He's much worse.

Plot:

A woman on the run from her abusive husband encounters a mysterious hitch-hiker.

Plot Keywords:

Desert | Shape Shifter | Dust Storm | Woman's Neck Broken | Stranded

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

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. Beyman
Terri Norton	...	Saarke Haarhoff
Russell Copley	...	Cpl. Dutoit
Andre Odendaal	...	Cpl. Bates
Luke Cornell	...	Soldier 1
Philip Henn	...	Soldier 2
Robert Stevenson	...	Rifle Boy
Peter Hallr	...	Marist Monk
Stephen Earnhart	...	Camper Driver
Marianne Sägebrecht	...	Dr. Leidzinger
Isaac Mavimbella	...	Farmhand
Crystal Dobson	...	Mrs. Beyman
Mickey Wenk	...	Checkpoint Soldier
Stephanus Titus	...	Barman
Philip Notununu	...	Man in Bar
Andre-Jacques Van der Merwe	...	Tourist Husband
Marietjie Vaughn	...	Tourist Wife
Ursula Peveling	...	Tourist Daughter
Erle Vaughan	...	Tourist Son
Jaco Espach	...	Truck Driver

Directed by
Richard Stanley

Writing credits
Richard Stanley		(written by)

Produced by
Stephen Earnhart	....	associate producer
Daniel Lupi	....	associate producer
Nik Powell	....	executive producer
JoAnne Sellar	....	producer
Paul Trijbits	....	executive producer
Bob Weinstein	....	co-executive producer
Harvey Weinstein	....	co-executive producer
Stephen Woolley	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Simon Boswell

Cinematography by
Steven Chivers

Film Editing by
Paul Carlin
Jamie Macdermott
Derek Trigg

Casting by
Callie Bristow
Jory Weitz

Production Design by
Joseph Bennett

Art Direction by
Michael Carlin
Graeme Orwin

Set Decoration by
Eva Strack

Costume Design by
Michele Clapton
Ruy Filipe

Makeup Department
Lisa Boni	....	hair stylist
Lisa Boni	....	makeup artist
Chris Cunningham	....	senior artist (as Chris Halls)
Little John	....	special makeup effects supervisor

Production Management
Daniel P. Collins	....	unit manager (as Daniel Collins)
Carol Hickson	....	production manager: South Africa
Daniel Lupi	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Alan Breton	....	second assistant director
Stephen Earnhart	....	second unit director
Immo Horn	....	second unit director
Gary Huckabay	....	third assistant director
Guy Travers	....	assistant director

Art Department
Dirk Buchmann	....	property master
Immo Horn	....	muralist
Graham Humphreys	....	storyboard artist
Emilia Roux	....	set dresser
Ina Roux	....	production buyer
Joel Van Bavel	....	construction coordinator

Sound Department
Laura Evans	....	assistant sound editor
Pauline Griffith	....	foley artist
Robin Harris	....	sound mixer
Kate Hopkins	....	sound editor
Daryl Jordan	....	assistant sound editor
Jenny Lee Wright	....	foley artist
Dominic Lester	....	sound re-recording mixer
James Mather	....	sound editor
Jonathan Miller	....	sound editor
Robin O'Donoghue	....	sound re-recording mixer
Richard Rhys Davies	....	supervising sound editor
Aad Wirtz	....	sound re-recording mixer

Special Effects by
Rick Cresswell	....	special effects

Stunts
Debra Deats	....	stunts
Roly Jansen	....	stunt coordinator
Neville Strydom	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Greg Copeland	....	additional photographer
Liam Daniel	....	still photographer
John Gaeta	....	camera operator
Liam Longman	....	still photographer

Editorial Department
Keith Mason	....	first assistant editor

Other crew
David Ball	....	financing
Jaco Espach	....	location manager
Graham Humphreys	....	titles
Mark Kermode	....	post-production propaganda: final cut
Sheila Fraser Milne	....	production coordinator
Richard Stanley	....	post-production financing: final cut
Antoinette van Speyk	....	script supervisor
Dan Zeff	....	runner

Production Companies

• British Screen Productions
• Channel Four Films
• Palace Pictures
• Shadow Theatre Films

Distributors

• Miramax Films (1992) (USA) (theatrical)
• C/FP Video (1993) (Canada) (VHS)
• Look Filmes (Brazil) (VHS)
• Paramount Home Video (2001) (USA) (VHS)
• Subversive Cinema (2006) (USA) (DVD) (director's cut)

Other Companies

• Varèse Sarabande  soundtrack publisher

Runtime:

103 min | France:87 min | Italy:87 min | USA:87 min

Country:

South Africa | UK

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

UK:15 (re-rating) (2006) | UK:18 (original rating) | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | France:-12 | Germany:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Namibia

Company:

British Screen Productions

Trivia:

Producer 'Joanne Sellar' got lost in the desert while out scouting for locations.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Wendy slams on the brakes of her VW Beetle, she doesn't touch the clutch, but the car stops without stalling.

Quotes:

Ben Mukurob: [wakes up from a terrible dream] Was it a dream?
Joe Niemand: No my friend that was reality... You are dreaming now.

Movie Connections:

References C'era una volta il West (1968)

Soundtrack:

Ramblin' Man

off-beat horror flick from Africa is well worth seeing

Subversive has now released Dust Devil on DVD, and along with the movie comes a disc with an alternate version, two discs containing documentaries, and another with the soundtrack to Dust Devil. Wow. All I really cared about is the movie itself, but I'll at least check out the documentaries, which are (according to the box art) "controversial", my favorite word. ANYWAY if you've never seen Dust Devil then you will be in for a treat, because this is quite the unique horror film as it's made mostly in the Namibian desert. Think it's hard to get scared in broad daylight? Guess again. A woman getting away from her husband (because they've quarreled) is headed for the seashore to get her head straight, but manages to pick up this hitch hiker, the titular character, of course, who looks (usually) just like a regular guy except for the long coat he wears. In the frigging' desert. It seems he's something ancient and something quite bad, actually, a shape shifter of sorts who is seeking souls, and he drifts through the desert, killing rather randomly. And now he's got this lovely young woman giving him a ride.....but he spares her "because he gets lonely sometimes". Horny, would probably be the word, but perhaps he's a very P.C. shape-shifter. The scenery in this is amazing and the desert locales make for a very unique and yes, even a bit eerie, setting. Well worth seeing if you're not familiar with it. 8 out of 10.