Being a big fan of HARDWARE, Richard Stanley's previous film, I really wanted to see DUST DEVIL for some time now. Having heard all the bad press about it did not diminish my interest in seeing it because HARDWARE got a lot of bad press and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Well, after watching DUST DEVIL, I have to say that the bad press was on the mark. DUST DEVIL is a total misfire. I know there's a so-called uncut version out there but even an uncut version couldn't change the fact that the acting is terrible, the story is extremely weak and predictable and the whole concept is badly executed. Nothing feels right. While HARDWARE was pitch perfect with its techno noir Apocalyptic mood, everything in DUST DEVIL is totally off kilter. It's an embarrassing film, with every little detail wrong, from the awful soundtrack to the editing to the camera-work, giving the movie a super cheap, low budget feel that makes Roger Corman films look like BEN HUR.
What's remarkable about how bad DUST DEVIL is is how quickly I realized it sucked. From the first frame, everything went wrong because of one thing: the narration. The narration is extremely intrusive, pointless and annoying. The voice-over keeps telling us what's going on. You know a movie is in trouble when it needs a voice-over to explain to the viewers the very predictable story and character motivations. Then we see the evil man taking pictures of his soon-to-be victims with a polaroid instant camera. I mean, come on! What a freaking lame and clichéd idea. There's absolutely no thought or imagination put in the evil being's ways. A polaroid? Everything went downhill after that. I mean, REALLY downhill.
DUST DEVIL is terrible. I can't claim it's a botched masterpiece like many reviews here seem to say because most of it is lame to start with. Needless to say, as bad as DUST DEVIL is, I still think HARDWARE is amazing.
What's remarkable about how bad DUST DEVIL is is how quickly I realized it sucked. From the first frame, everything went wrong because of one thing: the narration. The narration is extremely intrusive, pointless and annoying. The voice-over keeps telling us what's going on. You know a movie is in trouble when it needs a voice-over to explain to the viewers the very predictable story and character motivations. Then we see the evil man taking pictures of his soon-to-be victims with a polaroid instant camera. I mean, come on! What a freaking lame and clichéd idea. There's absolutely no thought or imagination put in the evil being's ways. A polaroid? Everything went downhill after that. I mean, REALLY downhill.
DUST DEVIL is terrible. I can't claim it's a botched masterpiece like many reviews here seem to say because most of it is lame to start with. Needless to say, as bad as DUST DEVIL is, I still think HARDWARE is amazing.