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A Desert

Play trailer 1:39 Poster for A Desert 2025 1h 42m Horror Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
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83% Tomatometer 40 Reviews Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
A past-his-prime photographer heads out on a road trip across the American Southwest to recapture the magic and success of his previous work. Instead, he finds himself thrust into the dark and chaotic underbelly of America and unwittingly drags his wife and a shady private detective down into this nightmare world with him. A DESERT is a sun-bleached neo-noir horror film about time, the chaos of our world, and the relevance of images in the cultural desert we are faced with today.

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A Desert

A Desert

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Critics Consensus

A metatextual meditation on cinema made with inventive style, A Desert's cerebral frights are enough to satisfy anyone parched for thoughtful horror.

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Critics Reviews

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Jamie Graham Empire Magazine Dec 1
4/5
For a movie that opens in an abandoned cinema and possesses a strong meta dimension throughout, it’s only fitting that A Desert proves so potent, its mood and meanings impossible to shake. Go to Full Review
Leslie Felperin Guardian Nov 18
3/5
It’s perhaps not a very profound message, but the visual and editing styles are swoony and most bewitching. Go to Full Review
Simon Abrams RogerEbert.com 05/02/2025
2/4
There’s only so much room for mystery in a movie whose surreal ambiguity only says so much. Go to Full Review
Emilie Black Cinema Crazed Mar 31
Some will love it, but for this viewer it was one of those misses where the film is neither good nor bad; it just is, and there is no greater cinematic sin than a bland film. Especially when it had potentially to be so much more. Go to Full Review
Caitlyn Downs ScaredSheepless.com Mar 27
4.5/5
Joshua Erkman's methodical thriller rewards audience investment with an accomplished assault on the senses. Go to Full Review
Bee Delores B-Sides & Badlands Mar 27
3.5/5
A Desert subverts expectations. It doesn't follow any sort of playbook, but instead, it invents its own rules. Joshua Erkman leaves a searing mark on horror, indicating that he has plenty more to say. He just needs time to say it. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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tm11999 M @tm11999 23h yeah....uhhhh.....no splaining in this story. who's the bald guy in one scene?is the motel guy in on it? nobody can find his car, and the PI gets fooled and drugged by the devil people? the devil girl at the end is still alive? so desert communities don't have police or forensics? where does sam end up? don't watch this, EVER!!! go get a new pair of work boots, a nice pair of keens or red wings instead. See more Les N @Vegas628 1d Great movie. Surely no woman is that useless? See more ELB E @Mulholland Apr 6 This film definitely leaves a stamp on the soul. Several reviewers have complained that it is ‘murky’ or ‘bewildering.’ But this is the kind of film that I really appreciate. No easy answers, much left unsaid and unshown. But I see this as quite a strong point of the storytelling. There is more than enough plot framework and character development here. A sense of place resonates with increasing dread as the story unfolds. The ‘loose ends’ are far more intriguing and satisfying to me than a film that spells everything out and spoon feeds the viewer. If you enjoy David Lynch’s work (and I do) you will see quite a lot of him here - particularly ‘Lost Highway.’ This is a tense, horrifying, mystifying film - bold and dark, unsettling, sure-footed and grimly brilliant. See more Stoner J. @Stoner Mar 19 2 stars because it was done well. But absolutely nothing is explained or makes sense. A waste of an hour and 40 minutes. It’s also extremely long and boring despite a decent runtime. See more Tim B. @SlimTim0707 Feb 27 A Desert aims to be primarily character and event driven, and while uneven with both, it's just original enough to recommend. See more Phil S. @Xenothos Jan 17 The movie had a good story but it was too slow. Would not classify this as a horror movie. See more Read all reviews
A Desert

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Movie Info

Synopsis A past-his-prime photographer heads out on a road trip across the American Southwest to recapture the magic and success of his previous work. Instead, he finds himself thrust into the dark and chaotic underbelly of America and unwittingly drags his wife and a shady private detective down into this nightmare world with him. A DESERT is a sun-bleached neo-noir horror film about time, the chaos of our world, and the relevance of images in the cultural desert we are faced with today.
Director
Joshua Erkman
Producer
Hugues Barbier, Joshua Erkman, Justin Timms, Joe Yanick
Screenwriter
Joshua Erkman, Bossi Baker
Distributor
Dark Sky Films
Production Co
Capes and Fog, Yellow Veil Pictures
Genre
Horror, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
May 2, 2025, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
May 29, 2025
Runtime
1h 42m
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)