Tremors meets Dawn of the Dead meets Alien in writer-director Sandra Sciberras’ sci-fi horror The Dustwalker.
In this Aussie film, one by one the residents of a small isolated town become infected, turning into brutal, bloodthirsty zombie-like creatures that are on a mission, spread the infection, or kill everyone they come in contact with, including loved ones. Those who are struggling to survive look to Joanne Sharp (Jolene Anderson), the local chief of police for guidance along with her right-hand man, Luke (Richard Davies).
Things go from zero to sixty fast. The blood starts being shed in the first few minutes. Once the chaos begins, there are bodies and blood everywhere. And while the hints that something otherworldly involved pop up bit by bit once the big twist is revealed it’s all-out war.
The villain in this tale is a clever combination of imagination, sci-fi, and science. One of the key elements to the infection takes inspiration from nature, the Ophiocordyceps Unilateralis fungus, to be exact. With this very real fungus, the insects infected basically become zombies. The fungus changes the insect’s behavior, making it abandon its home and life, find a leaf, die, and then the fungus spreads via spores to the next victim, beginning the cycle again. That’s pretty much how the zombies act in the film, but add homicidal tendencies to the pot. However, that’s not the big twist, oh no. It’s a doozy. Aliens are part of the chaos and not those cute little grays, but a huge ugly critter whose involvement is out of left field (in a good way).
I was really impressed with the special effects which are mostly realistic and are well done. And the creature design is fantastic. The big creature is unique, with a great look and nice movement.
As for the story, I think the combination of all the elements in the plot actually combines really nicely, which is kind of crazy. If someone would have told me that I was about to watch an alien/zombie/fungus movie I would have never have thought it would work. Luckily, it does.
If you’re looking for a fun flick that doesn’t take itself too seriously, The Dustwalker is definitely worth a watch. It’s an entertaining gore-filled romp that you have to see to believe.
Watch The Daywalker, released in 2019, now on Amazon Prime, Hulu, and Tubi.
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