10 Underappreciated 90s Horror Movies

One of the great tragedies of 1990s cinema, particularly for horror fans, was the brief rise and spectacular fall of writer-director Richard Stanley. After getting off to a very promising start, the South African filmmaker crashed and burned big time on 1996's infamous The Island of Doctor Moreau, from which he was fired after only a few days of filming.

Before this, however, Stanley was responsible for two of the most unique and striking genre films of the decade, of which 1992's Dust Devil was the second. Drawing on folk tales from the director's homeland, the film centres on an enigmatic hitch-hiker (Robert Burke) who preys on vulnerable women driving through the desert.

We know straight away this guy's bad news, following an eye-opening early scene in which he breaks a woman's neck whilst having sex with her. But while he may seem your standard serial killer, there may be something more other-worldly about him.

Dust Devil blends relatively standard slasher motifs with surreal imagery and overtones of occultism. The result is a hypnotic, spell-binding movie of far greater emotional resonance than your average serial killer flick. It also helps that Stanley makes the most of the awe-inspiring landscapes of Namibia, where the movie was shot on location.