A Desert

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A Desert

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1h 43m

Horror

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

79%

Tomatometer

29 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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Simon Abrams

RogerEbert.com

There’s only so much room for mystery in a movie whose surreal ambiguity only says so much.

Rated: 2/4

May 2, 2025

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Calum Marsh

New York Times

It’s a strange film, but it works, and feels grounded, because of its ensemble cast.

May 1, 2025

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Alexandra Heller-Nicholas

AWFJ.org

A Desert should be best celebrated as a Choose Your Own Adventure film for sickos. It has so many dynamic moving parts that are all meticulously and soulfully orchestrated.

Jun 11, 2024

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Nadine Whitney

AWFJ.org

Philosophical and ruminative, but also suddenly and viscerally violent: A Desert is entirely unforgiving, much like the desert itself. Erkman and co-writer Bossi Baker set familiar rhythms and then blow them apart… an immensely cinematic work.

Rated: 4/5

May 14, 2025

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Jonathan DeHaan

Nightmare on Film Street

A grimy neo-noir nightmare that has its roots in classic cinema. A real tug of war between subgenres, and a surprisingly unpredictable movie for what initially looks like a real straightforward road trip thriller.

Rated: 83%

May 7, 2025

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Erik Reeds

Spectrum Culture

The main purpose of A Desert seems to be not merely to scare, but to unnerve.

May 6, 2025

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B P

Dusty Neo-Noir Collides with Unpredictable, Violent Horror

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

05/13/25

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Joshua Erkman

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A Desert: Trailer 1

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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
Runtime: 1h 43m
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)