Dust Devil
Dust buster
When you think of horror-producing
parts of the world, Africa usually doesn't top the list. Most people
think of the United States and Japan, with a sprinkling of European
nations, Canada, and Australia. You would think more horror would be
based in Africa with it's unique landscapes and regional legends.
With movies being made via smartphones and the ease of distributing
entertainment on the internet, perhaps Africa will be the next
hotbed for horror in the near future.
Dust Devil a 1993 horror movie set in
the African nation of Namibia and stars Robert John Burke (Thinner,
Good Night and Good Luck) as the title character. Dust Devil is a
“naghtloeper” or shapeshifter that possesses human beings. He is
trapped in this world and must kill in order to free himself. He
focuses on those without any hope and with nothing to lose. Dust
Devil walks down an empty road and receives a ride from a woman named
Saarke. In the act of making love, he snaps her neck and mutilates
her body, using her blood to draw symbols around her house before
burning it down. At the same time, a woman named Wendy Robinson
(Chelsea Field, Masters Of The Universe, Flipper) leaves her abusive
husband Mark and sets out in her car for the coast. Sgt. Ben Mukurob
(Zakes Mokae, The Serpent And The Rainbow, Vampire In Brooklyn) heads
the investigation into Saarke's death. Ben enlists the help of Joe
Niemand (John Matshikiza), a Sangoma, or healer, who informs Ben that
the symbols were part of a strange witchcraft ritual. On the road,
Wendy picks up a hitchhiker who turns out to be Dust Devil. During
the ride, Dust Devil disappears from the car, much to Wendy's shock.
That night, Wendy almost kills herself with a razor, but decides
against it. The next morning, she goes to her car and finds Dust
Devil sitting inside. Despite being initially scared, Wendy agrees to
drive with him. Meanwhile, Mark has set out after Wendy. Ben's
investigation continues, revealing that there have been a string of
similar murders dating back almost 100 years. Speaking to Joe, Ben
learns about Dust Devil and his black magic, but refuses to believe.
Wendy and Dust Devil have sex and he tries to kill her afterward. She
knocks him out with a lamp and escapes, but gets into a car accident.
Dust Devil pursues her into the desert of Namibia. Will Ben be able
to stop Dust Devil before he kills Wendy?
Grrrrrrr....
Interesting is probably the best word
to describe Dust Devil. The movie mixes philosophy and abstract ideas
and tries to make a coherent story out of it. Unfortunately, it is an
intellectual overload that focuses too much on expanding our minds
and not on entertainment. A horror movie can be existential, but
there has to be a ceiling to keep things from getting too weird.
Using a narrator is hit or miss for movies, but it worked for Dust
Devil because we would have had no idea what was going on if not for
narration. Perhaps there is something lost in the cultural
translation, but I had a difficult time understanding just why Dust
Devil kills people. There's something about being trapped and killing
people out of necessity to free himself. If that's the case, he
should have been a more sympathetic character, perhaps showing
remorse or regret for having to kill people. There is some good
violence and gore, but not nearly enough to keep my interest.
Despite my lack of interest, the movie
is incredibly well made. Director Richard Stanley (Hardware, The
Island of Dr. Moreau) gets the most of his locations with sweeping
aerial shots that capture Namibia's unique landscape. While the
intellectuality of the movie didn't entertain me, it did allow for
some pretty cool scenes. Robert John Burke is good as Dust Devil,
combining charm with viciousness, though we never see the full extent
of this evil spirit. Chelsea Field is fine in her role, though the
writing for her character should have been much stronger. We never
see her in full despair leading up to her almost-suicide which is a
shame because it would have drawn more sympathy to the character.
John Matshikiza was very good as Joe and the narrator, his voice
carrying weight and meaning to all of the existential thoughts and
ideas.
Good times!
Dust Devil is an ambitions, thoughtful
horror movie that gets mired in it's own thoughts. There is not
enough action and very little horror to speak of. Not once was I
afraid and entertainment is scarce. There should have been far more
character development. The mixture of occult and western is
interesting, but not exciting. I don't particularly like voodoo-based
horror movies and Dust Devil was very similar to that genre. The
movie looks very good and the Namibian setting was certainly unique
in the world of horror. It's not that Dust Devil is a bad movie,
because it's not. Something just gets lost in translation along the
way and never really recovers. I would suggest that if you are
interested in seeing Dust Devil, see it for yourself. Maybe you'll
enjoy it more than me.
5/10
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