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.