Embarking on a journey of self-discovery in the remote stretches of the Mojave desert, photographer Alex (Kai Lennox) hopes to return to his roots by capturing images of urban decay and crumbling civilisation. His work, black-and-white pictures of run-down factories and disused industrial spaces, will be familiar to anyone who’s stumbled across its ilk on Facebook or Instagram.
To Renny (Zachary Ray Sherman, channeling Bill Moseley in The Devil’s Rejects), it’s poverty tourism, plain and simple. Following a disagreement between the two men, Alex disappears. Wife Sam (Sarah Lind) is on the case, and hires private detective Harold (David Yow) to investigate. As he follows in Alex’s footsteps, a troubling mystery unfolds.
This gritty thriller by Joshua Erkman blends Hitchcockian mystery with the urbanoia chills of a Texas Chain Saw Massacre or Deliverance. Its story plays out slowly, snatching glimpses of darkness as Harold investigates. To invoke ‘Lynchian’ as an adjective (as the film’s marketing and prior buzz have done) ultimately does the film a disservice, as its story isn’t really that odd, its vision of the Mojave no Twin Peaks.
Instead, A Desert comfortably inhabits the dusty landscape of the Mojave, using the same structures which so fascinate Alex to house the disturbing surprises it does have in store.
A DESERT hits digital platforms on November 24th.
