Dust Devil (Rel. 1992)

Dust Devil was the direct result of Hardware's financial success. Stanley was now considered a truly delivering filmmaker, both financially and artistically. He was even offered the Judge Dredd project, which had been in the making since the mid-80's. Instead of making another 2000AD adaptation, Stanley went way back to a project he had begun while still in South Africa. It was the story of a Namibian serial killer, Nhadiep.

In Dust Devil, The Walking Man, a figure that has always intrigued Stanley, is incorporated into the myth of Nhadiep, making the character "not a serial killer. Much worse". The film is also said to have its share of influence from the Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovski.

Dust Devil has surfaced in about five (!) different versions. The original cut runs at 120 minutes, yet its post-production was never finished. The UK video release runs at 105 minutes, being the final director's cut. Stanley has personally presented it at various film festivals.

The film suffered greatly in hands of the US distributor, Miramax. The US VHS and laserdisc, both in pan&scan, run at 87 minutes, devastating the film. According to Stanley, an even shorter stateside version was released, with a running time of a measily 68 minutes. An Italian version, dubbed Demoniaca runs at 82 minutes. The original and the final cut are said to be the only ones sharing most of the scenes and the general storyline.

The Final Cut has been released by three different companies, Laser Paradise, Optimum Releasing and Subversive Cinema. Click here for a breakdown between the different versions.