After rowing with her husband and deciding enough is enough, Wendy Robinson takes off into the African sun. Picking up a hitch-hiker, she finds herself strangely drawn to him, unaware that he is a travelling serial killer. When police detective Ben Mukurob arrives on the scene it becomes apparent that her companion is something far worse than a killer, he is a shape shifting demon who steals the souls of his victims.....

Richard Stanley's Dust Devil has a well documented troubled history. Briefly, Stanley's original cut of 120 minutes was trimmed to 110 and US distributor Miramax held the rights to re-edit an American release if they so wished. Stanley still hoped his longer cut would thrive in Europe, however Palace Pictures in Britain had a 95 minute cut of the film that was test screened once before Palace Pictures went bankrupt afterwards. Thus this meant the post-production of a "European" version was shut down and Stanley lost control of the film. With Miramax chopping away in the states it now meant that Dust Devil was floating around in cuts that ranged from 110 minutes to a staggering 68 minutes. In 1993 Stanley managed to buy back the print from Miramax, and the cut material, and using his own money, set about restoring the film to something like his original vision. The result is that now a widely available DVD box set has two cuts of the film to view, The Final Cut and the {rough} Work Print.

With so many versions of the film around over the years, it's hard to gauge what a true weighted rating Dust Devil has. I feel sure that if judged solely on it's Final Cut version the film would be highly regarded and rated far better than its internet ratings suggests. That's not to say it's a perfect film, for it's not, some problems exist, and the flow of the film, even by Richard Stanley's own admission, is far from fluent these days. However, Dust Devil is one hell of a fine movie, technically stunning with a horror story of deep cranial worth. Starring Robert Burke {Devil}, Chelsea Field {Wendy} and Zakes Mokae {Ben}, Dust Devil has three interwoven character plots dovetailing together towards an apocalyptic finale. Along the way we are treated to much dialogue cloaked in haunting mysticism, with dashes of grim horror that assault the senses. The film is one that begs revisits to truly appreciate the complexity of it, never mind that the visuals alone are worth seeing time and time again. It will remain a divisive film, of that I don't think there is any doubt. But I would urge any genre fan who hasn't seen it to give it a go. You may not be as impressed with it as myself and its fans are, but one feels you are unlikely to forget having ever seen Dust Devil. Mesmerising, haunting and even lyrical, it's hoped that the film in its final form will find a more appreciative audience. 9/10