Dune Drifter

The Frightfest festival is renowned for offering the best in independent genre cinema and this virtual edition is well worth a visit if you're in England. We were able to discover about twenty of the films that will be proposed from October 21st to October 25th. Some of them have already been programmed as part of the Canadian Fantasia Festival for which our media was press accredited. Certainly, Dune Drifter is one of the most successful and original films. For its sixth film after Colin (2008), Maggie (2013), Zombies next door (2015), Nightshooters (2018), A fistful of lead (2018) passes rather unnoticed, Dune Drifter should bring it a real recognition and worldwide visibility. After having caused a media sensation at FrightFest 2008 with his zombie film COLIN for a derisory budget, Marc Price is back, with a slightly larger budget and to direct a film divided into two distinct parts.

The first part of the film is devoted to a battle of a group of rookie space fighter pilots against an armada of unbeatable enemy ships. One can feel the important influence of Star Wars on this part and the great care given to special effects rather successful despite a budget that one feels very limited. The director knew perfectly how to take advantage of the means in his possession and can rely on convincing actors but also effective dialogues.

After this devastating orbital space battle begins the second part of the film in which the survivor of a crashed starfighter must navigate through the hostile environment of a desert planet to save herself before her livelihood is exhausted and above all will have to face multiple extraterrestrials. This second part proves slightly less convincing. The young pilot will have to survive in a hostile environment in a natural setting and show a strong thirst for survival to get rid of this hostile environment.

Dune Drifter shows once again that British cinema is always able to surprise us and to offer us an independent cinema based on many excellent ideas and a mastered realization, if not to be able to impose itself by really striking special effects. We can only advise you to discover this film.

Dune drifter
Written and directed by Marc Price
Produced by Michelle Parkyn
Starring Phoebe Sparrow, Daisy Aitkens, Simon Dwyer-Thomas, Alastair Kirton, Richard Corgan, Marcus Shakesheff, Charlotte Mounter
Music by Adam Langston
Cinematography: Noel Darcy
Edited by Marc Price
Release date: October 24, 2020 (UK)
Running time: 98 minutes

Viewed on October 18, 2020 (screener press)

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