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Dune Drifter (FrightFest 2020) review – low budget action sci-fi that made me want more

Following a rookie starfighter pilot into battle and out again in a simple story that delivers plenty of action and excitement with its modest resources.

Several years ago, the horror film festival world fell for Colin , the micro-budget zombie film. Last year, Nightshooters had us jumping and laughing equally. This year, Marc Price brings us something different again, in a sci-fi film full of fighting – amongst the stars and on the ground – and survival: Dune Drifter .

Dune Drifter is a simple story in that the only background is in a couple of brief allusions: a war between “us and them” has clearly been going on for some time, and the cause or reason is irrelevant. The location is irrelevant too, except that it is a long, long way from home.

The film starts off introducing a group of starfighter pilots, engaging in banter, both nervous and lighthearted, as they head out to join the action. They’ve not had much experience yet, so fortunately they’re being brought in towards the end of what is expected to be a fairly easy battle. It turns out to be different when they arrive, apparently just in time to make up some numbers, as nothing has gone to plan. The battle is extremely exciting, full of action, explosions, many, many spaceships, and a surprise or two.

Just as we are getting to know and feel for these pilots, the film takes a turn and follows just one small ship as it crash lands on the nearby planet. The second half of the film follows Adler (Phoebe Sparrow), caring for her wounded mate, managing alien terrain, and doing her best to get what she needs to make it home with finite life support… and with an opponent who apparently has similar goals.

Adler, like the rest of the group she was part of, is a very believable character: pragmatic for the most part, though with flickers of pain when tough memories arise, and very human frustrations, such as stray hair in her helmet. Sparrow has been on our TV screen a few times and I trust this role will show the range she can handle.

Dune Drifter is ostensibly a low budget sci-fi action flick with space ships and blasters aplenty (though granted a significantly higher budget than, say, Colin ). The special effects are excellent, especially sound effects and miniatures work, creating an almost Star Wars feel to the first half. When the low budget does occasionally show itself, it doesn’t matter in the slightest: it’s so easy to get into the fun spirit of the film.

The ever-resourceful Price has shown he can deliver an exciting space drama, but there are still one or two issues with Dune Drifter . The key thing missing here was originality, but I guess that’s only to be expected when the writer-director is drawing from a lifetime of sci-fi fandom. The other issue was the way the pace slowed down towards what felt to me like a too-open ending. I wanted to know what happened next, and I wanted to know the wider context of the war. Sure, these things indicate I was well engaged with what I had seen, but it felt a little tantalizing.

Dune Drifter has its world premiere at FrightFest, October 2020.

Article by Alix Turner

Alix joined Ready Steady Cut back in 2017, bringing their love for horror movies and nasty gory films. Unsurprisingly, they are Rotten Tomatoes Approved, bringing vast experience in film critiquing. You will likely see Alix enjoying a bloody horror movie or attending a genre festival.

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Eye For Film >> Movies >> Dune Drifter (2020) Film Review

Dune drifter.

Reviewed by: Jennie Kermode

One of the best science fiction films of the year, Dune Drifter is an object lesson for all low budget filmmakers. The plot may be simple, the effects work in the opening section may look a bit rough, but the acting is superb and director Marc Price creates a powerful atmosphere. The result punches well above its weight.

We open with a battle. Adler (Phoebe Sparrow) is one of several people flying small, two person spaceships on what is supposed to be a straightforward mission, but when they are ambushed by the enemy, chaos ensues. Crash landing on a nearby planet, Adler manages to set up an emergency survival tent and drag her injured colleague into it, but they have limited oxygen supplies and changing military manoeuvres may lave them without hope of rescue. The only hope comes from an enemy ship which has crashed a few miles away. If Adler can obtain a part from it, she might be able to repair her own ship - but the enemy are bigger, stronger and famously difficult to hurt, and she has virtually nothing to work with.

From the outset, Sparrow's work is gripping, even though she has to do most of her acting through a visor. We really feel her despair and understand the desperate nature of her situation. Distressing though this is, Adler's determination to keep on fighting for the slenderest of chances makes it impossible not to root for her, and even though familiar genre conveniences are present - from humanoid aliens to guns that miss at all the right times - she makes it easy to suspend disbelief. Price stays close to her throughout so that we never get a break from the struggle, never get a moment to reframe the situation - not that it's easy to find any solutions other than the ones she pursues.

With the odds stacked against Adler at every turn, Dune Drifter will keep you on the edge of your seat. Adam Langston's score is orders of magnitude better than what one would normally expect from a small genre film, and significantly enhances the action. Price makes fantastic use of a bleak, gravelly landscape, using simple effects and smart shot choices to make it look genuinely alien.

The spaceship design follows in the footsteps of Alien : mechanical, practical, with no flashy design elements - built to last. This is a film that will resonate as well in 30 years' time as it does today.

Today, few directors seem to know when stripping back and paring down their films will give them greater impact. Dune Drifter is a lean and hungry piece of work. it's a fantastic calling card for Price and Adler and the success it has enjoyed on the festival circuit is well deserved. If you have any love for genre work at all, or if you're a filmmaker yourself, you should make certain not to miss it.

Director: Marc Price

Writer: Marc Price

Starring: Phoebe Sparrow, Daisy Aitkens, Simon Dwyer-Thomas, Charlotte Mounter

Runtime: 98 minutes

Country: UK

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Dune Drifter (2020) Film Review: Movie Completionist #009

By: Author Eric Mortensen

Posted on November 24, 2020

Categories Entertainment , Movie Completionist , Movies , Review , Sci-Fi

This year has arguably not been a great year for sci-fi movies. Much of this can be blamed on the pandemic shutting down theaters so most blockbuster sci-fi movies have been delayed. As a big fan of sci-fi this has lead me to checking out some of the smaller budget movies from the genre that have come out this year. This brings me to the movie I am checking out today Dune Drifter. Dune Drifter is a smaller budget British sci-fi film that had a pretty interesting premise in my opinion. Instead of huge space battles and tons of action sequences, the movie is based around survival on an alien planet after a crash landing. Dune Drifter may not have the budget of most sci-fi movies, but it uses its budget well to tell a compelling and unique sci-fi story.

In Dune Drifter humanity has been in a longtime war against an alien race. A group of rookie space fighter pilots have been called in to provide support for a large battle, but are ambushed by a far superior force. One of the ships is shot down and crash lands on the nearby planet. The pilot is mortally wounded while the gunner is left alone to try and find help. With only two days left on her life support she needs to try and fix her ship and rejoin the fleet still in battle above the surface. When an alien ship also crash lands on the surface, she must fight to survive while also finding a way to leave the planet.

Dune Drifter is kind of odd as it kind of feels like two different movies that got blended together. At first Dune Drifter feels like your typical sci-fi movie. You can tell that the movie took a lot of inspiration from other sci-fi movies as it is shot in a similar way. In particular the early space battle reminds me a lot of the original Star Wars trilogy. I will say that it is scaled down a little mostly because of the budget, but these elements are pretty impressive for more of an indie film. In a way the early parts of the movie kind of feel like an homage to other movies from the genre.

Where Dune Drifter differentiates itself is that the space battle is not a major element of the movie. In most sci-fi movies the heroes slowly but surely eliminate the evil threat and go on to win the battle. Things go a little different in Dune Drifter as around a third to a fourth of the way through the movie the main character’s ship is shot down and they crash land on a neighboring planet. Instead of focusing on the major space battle, the movie instead focuses on trying to survive after a crash. I am not sure I have ever seen a sci-fi movie that mostly focuses on a spaceship after it has been shot down.

I thought this was a really interesting premise for a sci-fi movie. Instead of a ton of action sequences the film is more focused on surviving on a harsh planet. Dune Drifter has a decent amount of action sequences, but they are spaced out. The movie has a much greater emphasis on the main character just surviving. This means that character development plays a big role in the movie. I think this is one of the film’s greatest strengths. While most of the movie features only one character, I thought the character development was good. The plot is compelling and is well written in my opinion. The movie does a good job telling an interesting story about trying to survive on an alien planet.

When watching Dune Drifter you can tell pretty early on that the film was made on a smaller budget. IMDB estimates that it was made for a little over $1 million. That might seem like a lot, but it really isn’t when compared to most sci-fi movies. Blockbuster movies can regularly cost over $100 million. A small or large budget doesn’t necessarily make a movie good or bad. I mostly bring this up because I was genuinely impressed with how well the movie uses its limited budget. There are times in the movie where you can tell it was shot in a particular way in order to lower the cost. I thought this was smart as it allowed the movie to stretch its budget farther. Instead of relying heavily on CGI Dune Drifter relies on a lot of practical effects. When it does use CGI it looked quite a bit better than I was expecting as well. The movie couldn’t directly compete with large budget sci-fi movies, so instead it decided to focus on creating an interesting story of survival. I thought this emphasis was to the benefit of the movie.

I would say that the biggest issue that I had with Dune Drifter is that the pacing can be a little off at times. Simply put Dune Drifter is not your typical action packed sci-fi movie. Part of this is due to the budget, but I think it also has to do the the overall premise of the movie. A movie about survival on an alien planet wasn’t going to be filled with action. The movie has its moments, but there are times where it can be a little slow. The movie isn’t overly long at 101 minutes, but I think it could have been streamlined a little better at times.

When most people see Dune Drifter they will probably think that it is just another generic sci-fi movie. In some ways it is as you can tell that it was inspired by other movies from the genre. Where the film differentiates itself is that instead of focusing on your typical space battle, a large majority of the movie is about trying to survive after crash landing on an alien planet. In a lot of ways Dune Drifter is as much a survival film as a sci-fi film. This works in Dune Drifter’s favor as it does a good job in this area. The character development is quite good and the plot is interesting. At times you can tell that the movie was made with a smaller budget, but it is still impressive what was able to be made as it uses its budget well. The movie does have some occasional slow points though where it drags a little.

My recommendation for Dune Drifter comes down to how much you like sci-fi and whether you think the premise sounds interesting. If you either dislike sci-fi movies or prefer action packed movies, Dune Drifter might not be for you. Fans of sci-fi that think the premise sounds interesting though will probably enjoy the game quite a bit and should check it out.

We would like to thank Dead Pixel Productions and 4Digital Media for the screener which was used to write this review.

Dune Drifter releases on Digital, DVD, and VOD on December 1st, 2020.

Rating: 3.5/5

Recommended For: Sci-fi fans that think the premise of trying to survive after crash landing on a strange hostile planet sounds interesting.

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Movie Completionist is our never-ending movie review journal where the ultimate goal is to watch, write about, and curate as many movies (both new and old) as humanly possible. For more information on this post series and a list of shows already covered, see this post .

#008 Jiu Jitsu <– Movie Completionist Introduction Post and List of Movies Covered –> TBA

FrightFest 2020: DUNE DRIFTER Review – A Harsh And Brutal Journey To Another World

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Starring Phoebe Sparrow, Daisy Aitkens, Marcus Shakesheff, Simon Dwyer-Thomas, Richard Corgan

Directed by Marc Price

While there won’t be any Star Wars movies premiering at FrightFest anytime soon, those who attended the UK’s biggest horror festival this year were treated to Dune Drifter , an ambitious slice of outer space action which should satisfy fans of both the horror and sci-fi genres. Phoebe Sparrow stars as Adler, a pilot stranded on a bleak and desolate world known as Erebus after her ship crash lands. With no hope of rescue, Kate needs to fend for herself in order to make it home and to survive against the relentless mutants known as the Drekk. First and foremost, this is a story of survival, and a damn effective one and that.

Although we were shown a visually impressive space battle and a colourful wormhole sequence in the opening act, the vast majority of Dune Drifter takes place in a cold and grey environment where everything looks bleak and hopeless. Filmed on the rocky slopes of Iceland, this is clearly not a visually inviting film, although the desolate landscapes only add to the overall desperation we feel for Adler as she struggles to survive. Actress Phoebe Sparrow does a great job of capturing Adler’s fear and desperation as she fights against both the elements and the Drekk, but as she was on her own throughout the majority of the film, you’ll need to excuse the fact that Adler keeps talking to herself.

We weren’t given a huge amount of backstory to the galactic war which has been going on in the universe of Dune Drifter , but we do know that humanity has been at war with the race of mutated warriors known as the Drekk for the past several years. Wearing black combat suits with gas masks and wielding fierce-looking assault rifles, these assailants look remarkably similar to the Helghast from Guerrilla’s Killzone series, and they are also seemingly impossible to kill, as Kate learns the hard way when she encounters them up close. And regardless of the fact that they lacked any real personality and only spoke in an indecipherable alien language, the Drekk no doubt proved to be an incredibly creepy and menacing group of antagonists who we would certainly not want to be stranded on a hostile planet with.

But what makes Dune Drifter so memorable is how human it felt. Although it clearly takes place beyond the stars, director Marc Price clearly still wanted to make us aware of the pain and struggles people experience in this universe, and the result was bone-chilling. During the space battle in the first act, we were shown an uncomfortably long sequence where one of the pilots screamed and begged for help as her ship was shot down, making us hope the ship would explode to end her suffering. And when Adler crash lands on Erubus, she needs to care for her critically wounded passenger for a prolonged period before she eventually succumbs to her injuries, and these sequences were so hard-hitting they were almost hard to watch. The poor woman even begs Adler to kill her to end her unbearable suffering. Even though Adler refuses, we know that euthanasia would probably be the best course of action in this situation.

Dune Drifter was clearly made for a tiny fraction of the budget of more mainstream sci-fi movies, and while this was clearly evident in some places, the filmmakers still clearly made the most of the resources they had, and the result is one of the most memorable sci-fi horror hybrids we’ve seen in quite some time. Despite its barren landscape, Erebus is a planet you will need to visit when Dune Drifter receives a general release.

Despite not having a Hollywood budget, Dune Drifter still managed to impress with some first-grade effects and a dedicated lead performance, making it essential viewing for both sci-fi and horror fans.

Categorized: News Reviews

Dune Drifter

Mulder's Review

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)

Mulder's Mark:

DUNE DRIFTER

by  Marc Price

After a devastating orbital space battle, the survivor of a crashed star-fighter must navigate the harsh environment of a desolate planet to save herself before her life support expires.

more about: Dune Drifter

Review: Dune Drifter

British director Marc Price marries the lo-fi aesthetic of Roger Corman with a fast pace and several twists which, while not very original, keep our attention   

05/11/2020 | Trieste Science+Fiction 2020

Sci-fi enthusiasts set to enjoy the Trieste Science+Fiction Festival in person and online

The biggest Italian sci-fi event will unspool between 29 October and 3 November, both in Trieste and online, showcasing Archive , Mortal , Skylin3s and the series SF8    

23/10/2020 | Trieste Science+Fiction 2020

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Dune Drifter

• After a devastating orbital space battle, the survivor of a crashed star-fighter must navigate the harsh environment of a desolate planet to save herself before her life support expires.
• During an ongoing battle for humanity, a group of rookie space fighter pilots is sent to join the battle against an armada of unbeatable enemy ships. When the trainee pilot and her gunner are shot down, they manage to crash land on a nearby planet. With the gunner mortally wounded and her own life support only set to last two days, our pilot's only option is to fix her ship. The sudden appearance of an enemy craft offers the answer, but as the pilot looks for parts to use on her own ship she is horrified to spot another survivor; an enemy alien soldier who has no intention of letting her escape.

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Back in the day, the two big counterculture sci-fi novels were the libertarian-division Stranger in a Strange Land  by Robert Heinlein, which made the word “grok” a thing for many years (not so much anymore; hardly even pops up in crossword puzzles today) and Frank Herbert ’s 1965 Dune , a futuristic geopolitical allegory that was anti-corporate, pro-eco-radicalism, and Islamophilic. Why mega-producers and mega-corporations have been pursuing the ideal film adaptation of this piece of intellectual property for so many decades is a question beyond the purview of this review, but it’s an interesting one.

As a pretentious teenager in the 1970s, I didn’t read much sci-fi, even countercultural sci-fi, so Dune  missed me. When David Lynch ’s 1984 film of the novel, backed by then mega-producer Dino De Laurentiis , came out I didn’t read it either. As a pretentious twentysomething film buff, not yet professional grade, the only thing that mattered to me was that it was a Lynch picture. But for some reason—due diligence, or curiosity about how my life might have been different had I gone with Herbert and Heinlein rather than Nabokov and Genet back in the day—I read Herbert’s book recently. Yeah, the prose is clunky and the dialogue often clunkier, but I liked much of it, particularly the way it threaded its social commentary with enough scenes of action and cliff-hanging suspense to fill an old-time serial.

The new film adaptation of the book, directed by Denis Villeneuve from a script he wrote with Eric Roth and Jon Spaihts , visualizes those scenes magnificently. As many of you are aware, “Dune” is set in the very distant future, in which humanity has evolved in many scientific respects and mutated in a lot of spiritual ones. Wherever Earth was, the people in this scenario aren’t on it, and the imperial family of Atreides is, in a power play we don’t become entirely conversant with for a while, tasked with ruling the desert planet of Arrakis. Which yields something called “the spice”—that’s crude oil for you eco-allegorists in the audience—and presents multivalent perils for off-worlders (that’s Westerners for you geo-political allegorists in the audience).

To say I have not admired Villeneuve’s prior films is something of an understatement. But I can’t deny that he’s made a more-than-satisfactory movie of the book. Or, I should say, two-thirds of the book. (The filmmaker says it’s half but I believe my estimate is correct.) The opening title calls it “Dune Part 1” and while this two-and-a-half hour movie provides a bonafide epic experience, it’s not coy about connoting that there’s more to the story. Herbert’s own vision corresponds to Villeneuve’s own storytelling affinities to the extent that he apparently did not feel compelled to graft his own ideas to this work. And while Villeneuve has been and likely remains one of the most humorless filmmakers alive, the novel wasn’t a barrel of laughs either, and it’s salutary that Villeneuve honored the scant light notes in the script, which I suspect came from Roth.

Throughout, the filmmaker, working with amazing technicians including cinematographer Greig Fraser , editor Joe Walker , and production designer Patrice Vermette , manages to walk the thin line between grandeur and pomposity in between such unabashed thrill-generating sequences as the Gom Jabbar test, the spice herder rescue, the thopter-in-a-storm nail-biter, and various sandworm encounters and attacks. If you’re not a “Dune” person these listings sound like gibberish, and you will read other reviews complaining about how hard to follow this is. It’s not, if you pay attention, and the script does a good job with exposition without making it seem like EXPOSITION. Most of the time, anyway. But, by the same token, there may not be any reason for you to be interested in “Dune” if you’re not a science-fiction-movie person anyway. The novel’s influence is huge, particularly with respect to George Lucas . DESERT PLANET, people. The higher mystics in the “Dune” universe have this little thing they call “The Voice” that eventually became “Jedi Mind Tricks.” And so on.

Villeneuve’s massive cast embodies Herbert’s characters, who are generally speaking more archetypes than individuals, very well. Timothée Chalamet leans heavily on callowness in his early portrayal of Paul Atreides, and shakes it off compellingly as his character realizes his power and understands how to Follow His Destiny. Oscar Isaac is noble as Paul’s dad the Duke; Rebecca Ferguson both enigmatic and fierce as Jessica, Paul’s mother. Zendaya is an apt, a better than apt, Chani. In a deviation from Herbert’s novel, the ecologist Kynes is gender-switched, and played with intimidating force by Sharon Duncan-Brewster . And so on.

A little while back, complaining about the Warner Media deal that’s going to put “Dune” on streaming at the same time as it plays theaters, Villeneuve said the movie had been made “as a tribute to the big-screen experience.” At the time, that struck me as a pretty dumb reason to make a movie. Having seen “Dune,” I understand better what he meant, and I kind of approve. The movie is rife with cinematic allusions, mostly to pictures in the tradition of High Cinematic Spectacle. There’s “ Lawrence of Arabia ,” of course, because desert. But there’s also “ Apocalypse Now ” in the scene introducing Stellan Skarsgård ’s bald-as-an-egg Baron Harkonnen. There’s “ 2001: A Space Odyssey .” There are even arguable outliers but undeniable classics such as Hitchcock’s 1957 version of “The Man Who Knew Too Much” and Antonioni’s “Red Desert.” Hans Zimmer ’s let’s-test-those-subwoofers score evokes Christopher Nolan . (His music also nods to Maurice Jarre ’s “Lawrence” score and György Ligeti’s “Atmospheres” from “2001.”) But there are visual echoes of Nolan and of Ridley Scott as well.

These will tickle or infuriate certain cinephiles dependent on their immediate mood or general inclination. I thought them diverting. And they didn’t detract from the movie’s main brief. I’ll always love Lynch’s “Dune,” a severely compromised dream-work that (not surprising given Lynch’s own inclination) had little use for Herbert’s messaging. But Villeneuve’s movie is “Dune.”  

Opens in theaters on October 22nd, available on HBO Max the same day. This review was filed on September 3rd in conjunction with the world premiere at the Venice Film Festival.

Glenn Kenny

Glenn Kenny was the chief film critic of Premiere magazine for almost half of its existence. He has written for a host of other publications and resides in Brooklyn. Read his answers to our Movie Love Questionnaire here .

• Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides
• Rebecca Ferguson as Lady Jessica
• Oscar Isaac as Duke Leto Atreides
• Josh Brolin as Gurney Halleck
• Stellan Skarsgård as Baron Vladimir Harkonnen
• Dave Bautista as Beast Rabban
• Sharon Duncan-Brewster as Liet Kynes
• Stephen Henderson as Thufir Hawat
• Zendaya as Chani
• Chang Chen as Dr. Wellington Yueh
• David Dastmalchian as Piter De Vries
• Charlotte Rampling as Reverend Mother Mohiam
• Jason Momoa as Duncan Idaho
• Javier Bardem as Stilgar
• Golda Rosheuvel as Shadout Mapes
• Denis Villeneuve
• Jon Spaihts

Writer (based on the novel written by)

• Frank Herbert

Cinematographer

• Greig Fraser
• Hans Zimmer

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Arrow Video FrightFest October 2020: ‘Dune Drifter’ review

A group of rookie space fighter pilots are sent to partake in a space battle to protect humanity. The battle takes a turn and all of the rookies are taken out except for Adler (Phoebe Sparrow) and her gunner Yaren (Daisy Aitkens), who crash land on a nearby planet. With Yaren mortally wounded, it’s up to Adler to fix their ship so they can safely return home. As she hunts for parts, Adler discovers an enemy soldier on the planet who will stop at nothing to kill her.

‘Dune Drifter’ is the latest film from Marc Price and it’s an impressive achievement for an independent film. Price has previously shown he can work on a miniscule budget with his 2008 film ‘Colin’ and with ‘Dune Drifter’ he proves that not even a budget can stop him from bringing an ambitious idea to life. While ‘Dune Drifter’ has a more substantial budget than ‘Colin’, it’s still pretty small by today’s standards but that makes the film all the more impressive.

Opening with a ‘Star Wars’ like high-energy shoot-out, the film introduces the viewer to the different rookies, jumping from ship-to-ship. It perhaps lingers on this part of the story a little longer than necessary, especially as you don’t really need to know much about any of them apart from Adler and Yaren, but it’s a visually impressive start nonetheless. Once Adler and Yaren are stranded on a nearby planet, the high-energy of the opening is replaced by a tense race against time as Adler is wearing a suit with a finite amount of oxygen supply.

This aspect of the story is one of the strongest parts and the second half of the film brings to mind ‘Star Trek: Beyond’ and to a lesser extent ‘Alien’. The viewer is as in the dark as Adler is as to what’s going on, and who the enemy soldier is that’s trying to kill her, which makes the film very gripping. It’s up to Phoebe Sparrow as Adler to shoulder the majority of the film and she’s brilliant. At times she plays the character calm and controlled, as you would expect from a rookie in her position, but you can see the pressure building as time starts to run out and she suspects she may not make it out alive.

Perhaps where the film could have been a little stronger is enabling the viewer to better understand who the antagonist is. There are hints and clues but there’s nothing particularly concrete other than the two are from different sides. That may be enough for some viewers but I would have liked to dig into that a little bit more.

‘Dune Drifter’ is an ambitious and strong film from Marc Price. It may not be perfect but when you look at the ideas he brings to the table and the way they’re executed, it’s very, very impressive. ‘Dune Drifter’ also highlights the beauty of independent film, where film-makers such as Price have to be creative to achieve their vision. When the end product is as good as this, you can’t help but think there are bigger things to come for Price in the future.

Cast: Phoebe Sparrow, Daisy Aitkens, Simon Dwyer-Thomas, Alastair Kirton, Richard Corgan Director: Marc Price Writer: Marc Price Certificate: 18 Duration: 98 mins Released by: Dead Pixel Productions

[rwp-reviewer-rating-stars id=”0″]

• Alastair Kirton
• Arrow Video FrightFest
• Daisy Aitkens
• Dune Drifter
• Phoebe Sparrow
• Richard Corgan
• Simon Dwyer-Thomas

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Dune Drifter Reviews

• 1 hr 38 mins
• Science, Suspense, Science Fiction
• Watchlist Where to Watch

After she and her mortally wounded gunner are shot down during a devastating space battle, a lone survivor must fight against the unforgiving elements of a desolate planet to save herself before her life support runs out.