About the film
- Directed by
- Richard Stanley
- Released
- July 11, 1992
- Certification
- R
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Starring
- Robert John Burke, Chelsea Field, Marianne Sägebrecht, William Hootkins, Zakes Mokae
More credits
- Language
- English
- Origin
- GB
- Studios
- British Screen Productions, Palace Pictures, Shadow Theatre Films, Channel Four Films
- Written by
- Richard Stanley
- Produced by
- JoAnne Sellar, Nik Powell, Paul Trijbits, Stephen Woolley
- Cinematography
- Steven Chivers
- Music
- Simon Boswell
- Also starring
- John Matshikiza, Rufus Swart, Russell Copley, Andre Odendaal, Luke Cornell
- Budget
- $8,000,000
In the Namibian desert, a serial killer believes he is something older than human: a shapeshifting spirit who must murder to cross between worlds, drawing power from the act itself.
DUST DEVIL (1992) follows Wendy Robinson, played by Chelsea Field, as she flees an abusive marriage across the Namib and stops for a hitchhiker, played by Robert John Burke. She offers him a ride, not knowing he is the killer the police and a local detective, played by Zakes Mokae, are hunting. Joe Niemand, a sangoma played by John Matshikiza, understands what the hitchhiker really is, even as the authorities chase an ordinary explanation.
Richard Stanley wrote and directed the film, grounding its supernatural horror in the landscape and folklore of post-independence Namibia, shot by Steven Chivers with a score by Simon Boswell.
The film was cut down and reworked by its distributors against Stanley's wishes, a fight that became part of its legend.
How to see Dust Devil (1992)
Streaming
United States
Also available internationally
Stream
Stream
Source: JustWatch
Physical media
More editions
Movies they don’t want you to see
Related movies only streaming in other territories
Movies we wrote about
35 commentsHardware (1990)
2 commentsPhotographing Fairies (1997)
35 commentsPhenomena (1985)
Haunted (1995)
50 commentsThe Company of Wolves (1984)
5 commentsLost Highway (1997)
Films scored for your taste
We have to talk…
Godzilla Minus Zero (2026)Not quite as good as the first, but the best monster mash Godzilla movie for sure.
Capturing Bigfoot (2026)Honestly one of the best documentaries I've seen. That sounds like hyperbole, but it was a…
Velvet Goldmine (1998)There was something sedate and family friendly about this film that didn't ring true to me…
The Social Reckoning (2026)A little preachy and sanctimonious - maybe. But I wonder if that's just the climate we're…
Man Bites Dog (1992)That movie is subversive and hilarious.
Zeta One (1969)Malcolm
Three Colors: Red (1994)Agreed, though Red is my favorite.
The Devil Rides Out (1968)What this film did was ti show what a good "hero" Christopher Lee made. In many…
Moontrap (1989)https://youtu.be/ifbAGNdqLeM?is=-mGvNTNkb1Tm04Jz
The Battle of Algiers (1966)Outstanding movie. Studied it at the Naval War College.
Godzilla Minus One (2023)He put more on the screen, for a fraction of the budget, than all the later…
Dr. Caligari (1989)The first time i saw this was tripping on acid with a double feature of Liquid…
Stanley, sadly no longer with us. Believe he is related to the chap from “Dr Livingstone I presume”
Yob Tva he’s alive.
Robbie Hamilton obviously rumours of his death were premature….
Andreas Gabriel
One of my favs!!
Just has such a great nasty vibe!
Much better than Hardware.
And Yes Richard Stanley is still alive and directing.
I was the key grip on Dust Devil
Jurie Geldenhuys how did you like the final product the studio put out vs what the vibe on set was? Any cool production stories?
Luke Ramsay Steve Chivers, the dop had wooden disks in his earlobes and sported a mohican hairstyle. Not popular with the conservative locals in Kukis pub.Stanley always wore a long coat and black hat. Even in the desert heat. Carrie Fsher was the camera op and his father was a famous dop in London. Years later Carrie called me in SA and told me he had lost both legs in the USA in a car crash.
Luke Ramsay I tried to Google the crew credits and they are incorrect. Jacob Espach was a unit manager and Sparkey was in the lighting dept . If someone can find the true credits list it will be great
We had weeks of niteshoots with huge lighting setups in the desert
Dust devil directors cut
Loved this movie and Richard Stanley the director was a gloriously unhinged maverick.
I love Color Out of Space, do you know if there is a director’s cut of this?
Robert John Burke great in his Hal Hartley collaborations
This is a great, creepy AF film.
A friend and I recently recorded a fan commentary for HARDWARE, and hope to cover DUST DEVIL next year. Matshikiza was especially good.
Masterpiece.
A superb movie.
Love it..
She picked up a hitch-hiker…
NOW WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG??
Good film 😃👍
Love that film
Probably on Top3 list of my favourite horrors
Dust Devil was really entertaining and thrilling
Zakes Mokae was amazing in The Serpent and the Rainbow