Film4 FrightFest 2013 Review – The Desert (2013)

What makes The Desert so interesting for the sub-genre is that there only two zombies in the entire movie as the focus is on its three core characters; happy go lucky Jonathan (William Prociuk), inquisitive Ana (Victoria Almeida) and the despondent Axel (Lautaro Delgao). They have a decent set-up to protect them and a certain set of rules to abide by so they can survive, all of which they document by recording themselves Big Brother diary room style. It’s these scenes that give us our best look at their character journeys and, more importantly, their relationships.

Just how long can three relative strangers survive mentally when the only four walls you know are the ones that trap you? And with a 2 boy, 1 girl dynamic, how does this affect their natural urges? What do you do to keep yourself sane when you’re seemingly the only people left alive? These are just some of the questions Behl dives into in The Deserts‘ gripping narrative and the three central performances are absolutely outstanding in getting all of these questions answered.

The most important dynamic in the movie is the love-hate relationship between Ana and Axel, which really drives the movie’s plot forward. Both Almerida and Delgao give outstanding performances and their “relationship”, so to speak, is told poetically without fault. Delagao in particular is marvellous as a man who feels more trapped than the others because he’s not in a relationship and Almerida is incredibly sweet as the girl who can’t bear to see the world die. Wanting to get out, Axel tattoos flies all over his body (a theme of the movie) with the idea being that once he is completely covered, he’ll leave. This narrative device really adds to the flow of the movie as it serves in telling the audience the progression of time through a visual medium. Little touches like this are what really make The Desert so spell-binding outside of the superb performances.

Anyone who wants to make a zombie movie should watch The Desert as it’s a film that gets what the genre has always been about – the characters rather than the action. This may be one of the greatest zombie movies of all-time and it features little to no undead set pieces. Everything is told visually and the cinematography is first class.

The Desert is beautiful, touching, moving, gripping and simply outstanding. You’ll fall in love with these characters and its simple set-up will keep you engaged right up until the end and for the next few weeks. The term “masterpiece” is bounded around a lot as a form of hyperbole, but The Desert is one of those films where the word is justified in its use. The Desert is a masterpiece.

Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★

Luke Owen is one of Flickering Myth’s co-editors and the host of Flickering Myth’s Podcast Network. You can follow him on Twitter @LukeWritesStuff.