Released in 2019, Dust Walker is a film full of SF tropes that still manages to be fun . . .for the most part. Jolene Anderson plays the part of a small town sheriff, Joanne Sharp, who finds herself pitted against an alien that crashes to Earth on a meteor. The creature is much like a virus, spreading itself through the population of the town taking over its residents and turning them into violent killers.
As Joanne and her deputy scramble to stop the virus and save those they can, the two of them discover that another alien creature, which appears scorpian shaped and travels underground like a worm from Tremors, has also arrived on Earth. By the end of the movie, the mysteries of the two creatures have been revealed and Joanne finds herself in an unlikely alliance to save her town.
Watching Dust Walker feels like watching a zombie film and is quite enjoyable at its beginning but things soon go sideways as it becomes much more. The arrival of the second alien isn’t expected and its strange actions towards those that are infected by the first alien are likely to leave some viewers wondering what is going on. However, more jaded SF viewers will almost instantly recognize the trope at play.
Despite being predictable in some ways, Dust Walker manages to provide an almost Critters’ style thrill ride of SF action. The cast provides stellar performances that help add a hint of realism to the story’s fantastic events but Dust Walker’s conclusion may feel anticlimactic considering the amount of build up it but does offer proper resolution to the film’s plot and ties things up nicely.
