Movies: A Desert (2024) by Joshua Erkman: Echoes in the Wasteland: When a Road Trip Becomes a Haunting Hunt
- dailyentertainment95
- Sep 15
- 5 min read
Lost Photos and Stranger Shadows
A Desert is the feature debut of director Joshua Erkman, co-written with Bossi Baker. The film follows Alex Clark (Kai Lennox), a photographer trying to reignite a stalled career. He drives into the American Southwest, exploring ghost towns, deserted motels, and abandoned theaters in search of visual inspiration. But his road trip takes a sinister turn when he meets Renny and Susie Q, a volatile sibling pair, whose presence drags Alex, then his wife Sam (Sarah Lind), and a crooked detective Harold Palladino (David Yow) into a nightmare. Shot in English with atmospheric visuals by Jay Keitel and score by Ty Segall, A Desert premiered at Tribeca 2024 before a limited U.S. theatrical release in May 2025. Runtime is approximately 1h 42m.
Why to Recommend Movie: Beauty, Tension, and an Unnerving Mystery
Striking visual and auditory landscape — The film uses the wide, empty expanses of the Southwest, abandoned structures, and long shadows to build atmosphere. The cinematography captures desolation so well it becomes a character in itself, and the haunting score enhances this uneasy mood.
Horror-noir hybrid with unpredictable turns — It isn’t pure slasher or supernatural horror; instead, it leans into suspense, ambiguity, and dread. You don’t always know what’s real, or what danger is coming next, which makes the journey captivating and uneasy.
Strong ensemble that ground the weirdness — Kai Lennox as Alex and David Yow as Harold bring depth, weariness, and credibility. Their performances provide emotional anchors in a story that sometimes drifts into surreal or symbolic terrain.
Themes of image, memory, and what we chase — The film cares about why people search: what we photograph, what we remember, what we try to recapture. As Alex tries to relive or re-see moments of his past, A Desert asks whether returning to those images is possible — or dangerous.
These strengths mean A Desert will appeal to viewers who love films that unsettle without showing everything, that trust mood and symbol over plot, and that leave more questions than answers in a good way.
Where to watch: https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/a-desert (US), https://www.justwatch.com/fr/film/a-desert (France), https://www.justwatch.com/es/pelicula/a-desert (Spain)
Link IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt32139458/
About movie: https://yellowveilpictures.com/a-desert/
What is the Trend Followed: Psychological Road Horror & Existential Weirdness
A Desert is part of a recent wave of films that combine the road-trip genre with horror, using isolated, liminal spaces (motels, deserts, abandoned theaters) to explore existential dread.
Films like this often focus less on overt scares and more on psychological disorientation, making the journey itself the horror.
There’s a rising interest in horror that interrogates image, memory, and how we use art or photography to try to hold onto meaning.
Ambiguity, minimal exposition, and slow pacing are embraced rather than avoided, letting viewers linger in uncertainty.
Director’s Vision: Dread in Frame, Mystery in Silence
Erkman constructs each scene with a painter’s sense of composition: abandoned theaters, dusty motels, landscapes at dusk — he uses setting to communicate loss and memory.
He resists explaining every twist; characters’ motivations are often opaque, forcing the audience to fill gaps. This both frustrates and rewards.
His sound choices (ambient noise, brittle silence, bursts of discomfort) are just as critical as what we see; Erkman uses what isn’t said or shown to build tension.
Themes: Searching, Disappearance, and the Weight of Images
Art and desperation — Alex’s quest to recapture what was once successful becomes a desperation rather than creative joy. The film asks: what happens when art becomes obligation or haunt?
Isolation and identity — Traveling through empty spaces mirrors internal emptiness; characters are untethered, unsure of who they are without their past or profession.
Violence lurking in neglect — The visitations by Renny and Susie Q, the decaying locations, and the desert’s indifference all emphasize hidden threats in overlooked spaces.
Memory vs reality — Photographs, abandoned movie houses, fading memories—Erkman contrasts what beauty we try to preserve with how decay, time, and unspoken horrors intrude.
Key Success Factors: Where the Film Truly Shines
Atmosphere and design — The film’s production design, cinematography, and sound build a powerful sense of place. These details make much of the horror feel tactile and immersive.
Performance anchoring — Despite slow pacing, the leads’ emotional commitment allows us to stay with the discomfort. Lennox’s Alex, in particular, conveys frustration and longing, making his decisions believable even when the plot becomes strange.
Commitment to ambiguity — Erkman doesn’t offer pat answers. This makes A Desert feel riskier, more original, especially for a debut.
Visual symbolism — The ruined theaters, the mirrors, the intermittent breaks in the narrative structure all reinforce themes about how image and perception shape identity and fear.
Awards & Nominations: Debut Distinctions
A Desert has been selected and shown in several genre and film festivals (Tribeca, FrightFest, Sitges). It has not become a major awards-season contender yet, but its festival presence and critical attention give it a strong start for Erkman as a new voice in psychological horror.
Critics Reception: Beauty & Frustration Intertwined
RogerEbert.com observed that Erkman shows promise: the visuals and dread work, but the characters and plot feel thin and the ambiguity occasionally undercuts investment.
Alliance of Women Film Journalists commended the film’s capacity for mood and the performances of Lennox, Lind, and Yow, noting the film “burns with invisible heat” across its frames.
MovieHooker said A Desert leaves you feeling the emptiness of its landscapes — that the film is as much about what is missing as what is shown.
Overall summary: critics agree A Desert has much of its strength in style and atmosphere, less so in clarity or character depth. Those who accept its cryptic puzzles tend to appreciate its psychological pull; those seeking concrete plot may feel restless.
Reviews: Mirages, Moments & Missed Connections
Strengths: Stunning cinematography; immersive sound and design; daring to let ambiguity stay ambiguous; strong performances that sell the mood.
Weaknesses: Thinly drawn secondary characters; pacing that lags; narrative turns that feel unpredictable for unpredictability’s sake rather than emotional necessity; some viewers want more emotional payoff.
Overall: A Desert is a film that demands patience. Its rewards are in lingering images and unsettled feeling, rather than final answers.
Movie Trend: The Road Trip That Haunts You
The film follows the trend of horror-noir road movies where the journey itself becomes the horror. It connects with a genre of films where physical landscapes reflect emotional or moral decay, and where the past haunts the present as much as any antagonist.
Social Trend: Our Obsession with Image, Isolation & Decay
A Desert taps into contemporary anxieties: the relationship people have with photography and memory; what we do to try and preserve beauty; loneliness in an era where connection is often mediated by screens. It also reflects a fascination with abandoned America, decay, and what forgotten spaces say about us.
Final Verdict: Beauty, Horror, and the Price of Questions
A Desert is not for everyone — if you want your horror neat, your characters explicit, your answers clear, you may leave unsatisfied. But if you appreciate film as mood, if you’re ready to sit with unease, mystery, and the unsettling hush of deserted buildings, this is a haunting debut. Erkman may not resolve everything, but the terrain he maps is both beautiful and terrifying, and worth traversing.
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