But the review of Lost Soul was super-complementary of Stanley, claiming him to be a "visionary director." Few filmmakers get that title (even in the exaggeration-prone blogosphere), so I figured I'd have to check some of his stuff out. But it appears that his bad experience on Moreau chased him away from feature films - he's directed a few documentaries, and recently seems to be getting back into the saddle by directing shorts, but the other than Moreau (which he is uncredited for) and Dust Devil, he only has 1990's Hardware to his credit. Which is a shame - judging from Dust Devil Stanley is certainly a unique voice in a filmmaking landscape that needs more of them.
And it looks like Dust Devil had it's own behind the scenes issues too. I ended up watching Dust Devil: The Final Cut-Working Print, which was introduced by Stanley himself. Apparently, he lost control of the final edit, and many different cuts were shown all over the world. (The U.S. got an 87 minute one, most of Europe a 105 - this Stanley approved cut is 114). Unfortunately, the only remaining footage of the cut scenes was on VHS - so on this DVD you've got about 10-15 minutes of footage sourced from a VHS tape - often without finished sound. It's a bit distracting but the content certainly adds a lot to the movie. It's also interesting to see what didn't make it (and I couldn't help but notice the notorious Weinstein name in the credits) - most of the supplementary characters backstory was removed. Many of the cuts centered around the Namibian cop working the case. So it's kind of sad - even when it's set in Africa, the distributors must have figured people still would only want to see the white part of the story.
Our story starts with a man (Robert John Burke) in full drifter mode - duster jacket, cowboy hat, giant satchel - hitchhiking along a desolate road in Namibia. A woman picks him up and takes him back to her big isolated house, where they promptly have sex - and then he snaps her neck mid-act. So yeah, you know right away he's bad news. He paints some weird ritualistic stuff around the room, sets the house aflame, and steals her car to continue across the desert. In the meantime, both Sgt. Ben Mukurob (Zakes Mokae) of the local police and a seemingly unrelated South African woman named Wendy (Chelsea Field) get some weird, breathy phone calls. Both Mukurob & Wendy have their own issues - Mukurob is constantly having nightmares about his wife (who left him after their son was killed while serving in the military) and Wendy is having marital problems that she solves by driving to Namibia. Ultimately, both will cross paths with our drifter - Mukurob is assigned to the murder case, and Wendy will be the next to pick up him up.
While Wendy and our drifter are making their way across the country, Mukurob goes to the local holy man with pictures of the strange drawings the drifter left on the walls of the last victim. The holy man begins to tell a tale of a shape-shifting demon from the spirit-realm, who seeks out those who have no will to live and kills them. Obviously we begin to see our drifter is more than a mortal serial killer... he is the Dust Devil!
What I liked
This movie just had such a unique vibe to it. It style to spare - more than you usually see in movies period, much less horror movies. The feverish dream sequences. A lot of really clever framing of shots and good use of lighting and camera movement. The huge-in-scope tracking shots of the desert. I'm sure some people would level claims of "too artsy" or "pretentious" at Dust Devil. But I just see a movie that takes itself seriously - and I think that's a good thing. It reminded me of The Shining in that way - the filmmaker's took what could just be a standard genre flick and treated it with respect. You still have the hallmarks of a horror film, but with the extra craftsmanship on display it elevates it to something more than the sum of it's parts. Dust Devil is truly affecting, psychedelic, and thought-provoking.
Philosophically, there is a lot going on. The spirit only goes after people who have given up on the world. There is this idea put forth by the Dust Devil that there is no good and no evil - just those moving towards the light and those moving away from it. If one has truly lost the will to live, then what is the point of hanging around? Of course, he kills his fair share of innocent bystanders too, so he may not have a valid argument re: good and evil. But the evil that men do is also highlighted - the brutality of not only the government but the Namibian citizens is on full display. It's rough to watch at times, but adds another layer to the story. And the good vs. evil argument is muddied by the social upheaval that is happening in the region. You've got the effects of colonialism, racism, and revolution to deal with, in addition to a shape shifting demon.
The setting does wonders for the film too. The themes of loneliness and isolation in the story are amplified by the barren (and fantastically shot) surroundings of Namibia. One of our characters listens to whale calls in his car - we are treated to a probably 30 second sweeping shot of the desert, set to the whale call soundtrack. It's an awesome shot - I could literally watch that for 15 minutes. It was soothing but terrifying at the same time, comparing the vastness of the desert with the ocean.
Honestly, this is the first movie since this little project started that I feel like I'm having trouble writing about. There's just a lot going on, and it really probably deserves another viewing (or more) to really figure out what to say about it. But I sent back the DVD to Netflix and had to watch The Howling 3: The Marsupials.
Oh, and if you like the violence, Dust Devil is good there too. The gore is not the point - it honestly almost seems out of place in a movie this good - but there are several pretty nasty shots to keep this firmly in the horror category.
What I didn't like
Nothing, really. If you're in for a sort of heady horror flick I don't think you could do much better. I wish we had a finished version of this cut - the VHS scenes (complete with the running timer at the bottom) are a bit jarring, but it is what it is. You can't stop progress.
Ultimately
I would heartily recommend this film.
Our story starts with a man (Robert John Burke) in full drifter mode - duster jacket, cowboy hat, giant satchel - hitchhiking along a desolate road in Namibia. A woman picks him up and takes him back to her big isolated house, where they promptly have sex - and then he snaps her neck mid-act. So yeah, you know right away he's bad news. He paints some weird ritualistic stuff around the room, sets the house aflame, and steals her car to continue across the desert. In the meantime, both Sgt. Ben Mukurob (Zakes Mokae) of the local police and a seemingly unrelated South African woman named Wendy (Chelsea Field) get some weird, breathy phone calls. Both Mukurob & Wendy have their own issues - Mukurob is constantly having nightmares about his wife (who left him after their son was killed while serving in the military) and Wendy is having marital problems that she solves by driving to Namibia. Ultimately, both will cross paths with our drifter - Mukurob is assigned to the murder case, and Wendy will be the next to pick up him up.
While Wendy and our drifter are making their way across the country, Mukurob goes to the local holy man with pictures of the strange drawings the drifter left on the walls of the last victim. The holy man begins to tell a tale of a shape-shifting demon from the spirit-realm, who seeks out those who have no will to live and kills them. Obviously we begin to see our drifter is more than a mortal serial killer... he is the Dust Devil!
What I liked
This movie just had such a unique vibe to it. It style to spare - more than you usually see in movies period, much less horror movies. The feverish dream sequences. A lot of really clever framing of shots and good use of lighting and camera movement. The huge-in-scope tracking shots of the desert. I'm sure some people would level claims of "too artsy" or "pretentious" at Dust Devil. But I just see a movie that takes itself seriously - and I think that's a good thing. It reminded me of The Shining in that way - the filmmaker's took what could just be a standard genre flick and treated it with respect. You still have the hallmarks of a horror film, but with the extra craftsmanship on display it elevates it to something more than the sum of it's parts. Dust Devil is truly affecting, psychedelic, and thought-provoking.
Philosophically, there is a lot going on. The spirit only goes after people who have given up on the world. There is this idea put forth by the Dust Devil that there is no good and no evil - just those moving towards the light and those moving away from it. If one has truly lost the will to live, then what is the point of hanging around? Of course, he kills his fair share of innocent bystanders too, so he may not have a valid argument re: good and evil. But the evil that men do is also highlighted - the brutality of not only the government but the Namibian citizens is on full display. It's rough to watch at times, but adds another layer to the story. And the good vs. evil argument is muddied by the social upheaval that is happening in the region. You've got the effects of colonialism, racism, and revolution to deal with, in addition to a shape shifting demon.
The setting does wonders for the film too. The themes of loneliness and isolation in the story are amplified by the barren (and fantastically shot) surroundings of Namibia. One of our characters listens to whale calls in his car - we are treated to a probably 30 second sweeping shot of the desert, set to the whale call soundtrack. It's an awesome shot - I could literally watch that for 15 minutes. It was soothing but terrifying at the same time, comparing the vastness of the desert with the ocean.
Honestly, this is the first movie since this little project started that I feel like I'm having trouble writing about. There's just a lot going on, and it really probably deserves another viewing (or more) to really figure out what to say about it. But I sent back the DVD to Netflix and had to watch The Howling 3: The Marsupials.
Oh, and if you like the violence, Dust Devil is good there too. The gore is not the point - it honestly almost seems out of place in a movie this good - but there are several pretty nasty shots to keep this firmly in the horror category.
What I didn't like
Nothing, really. If you're in for a sort of heady horror flick I don't think you could do much better. I wish we had a finished version of this cut - the VHS scenes (complete with the running timer at the bottom) are a bit jarring, but it is what it is. You can't stop progress.
Ultimately
I would heartily recommend this film.
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