Dry and Arid, by Reed Lackey

Death in the Desert is an odd little movie. It had all the potential of a genuine cult indie thriller in the overall tone, visual style and musical score. But it is hindered by a multitude of sizable problems.

Supposedly based on the true story of the murder of a tycoon in the outskirts of Las Vegas, the movie tries very hard to establish an ominous quality to its narrative and for the most part, the tone is where it should be. But early promise never quite becomes anything more than that.

For starters, the script feels so sparse and by-the-numbers that I wouldn’t be surprised to discover if it was mostly improvised. However, rather than being full of moments of clever and organic moments, each scene feels like the actors were simply told before the cameras rolled, “OK, here’s where you have to be mad at the gambling commission” or “Here’s where you talk about the stash of silver.” There isn’t a single trace of subtext anywhere in any of the scenes. Everything is exactly as its surface dictates.

What’s even more puzzling is the largely disjointed narration provided my Madsen. Through the first 20 minutes, I was wondering if there was a deeper mystery that would unfold through these disparate anecdotes and observations. But past that point, I began to wonder if the voice-over track hadn’t been on a CD somebody accidentally set to shuffle. There is little to no progressive build in what I can only presume is intended to be a complex and haunting monologue from the star.

Speaking of Madsen, although he is clearly the pro in this cast, even his acting feels painfully forced and uneven. The remainder of the cast seems downright undirected at times. The lead actress, Shayla Beesley, has flashes of nuance and intention to her performance towards the beginning of the movie, but such flashes are quickly suffocated by objectifying her character and in the process. I’d complain that none of the characters really have any degree of an arc to their performances, but the script doesn’t give them really any opportunity for one.

Ultimately, Death in the Desert feels like a trial run at filmmaking, one where there are some touches of talent in the director’s general ability to establish and maintain a mood which promises something worthwhile in the end. Unfortunately, the movie never delivers on that promise, and will likely leave viewers scratching their head on what it all amounts to and why they stuck around so long to watch it. Not to mention that the death that the title refers to doesn’t happen until far too late for us to care about how it happened or who might have caused it.