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‘A Desert’ Review: Joshua Erkman’s Debut Feature Is an Intriguing but Murky, Horror-Adjacent Mystery
The Mojave swallows unwary visitors whole in Joshua Erkman's 'A Desert,' a slow-burn indie thriller that never quite catches fire.
He’s using antiquated camera equipment to photograph such abandoned sites in hopes of rekindling the excitement that greeted his first published collection of images two decades ago, “Death of the New West.” It’s a solo trip, though he calls Los Angeles each day to update wife Samantha (Sarah Lind) on his progress. There is consistent visual interest in Jay Keitel’s cinematography, which echoes the desolate desert aesthetic of Alex’s still imagery, while indie rock veteran Ty Segall contributes an attractively diverse, sparely applied score played by his Freedom Band. “A Desert” does have its share of diverting quirks, notably the inevitable late-night-TV horror excerpt that turns out to be James Landis’ 1963 cult favorite “The Sadist,” with Arch Hall Jr. as another trashy young psychopath haunting the backroads of Southern California.
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