As someone who watches a lot of horror movies and TV shows, it’s rare for a film to truly terrify me. While pulse-pounding scares and creepy premises still make me feel something while watching various movies, those feelings often fade over time. However, A Desert has stuck with me for days since I first saw it, with the horror-thriller procuring a story that kept me entranced with terror, even when I wanted to look away. Rarely has a film in the genre been able to do something like that to me, exceeding in its purpose with horrifying satisfaction.
A Desert follows pH๏τographer Alex Clark (Kai Lennox, Green Room), who is pursuing a project inspired by his first pH๏τo book, seeking both a spark of creativity and monetary success. He travels across the Western US without a phone or GPS to recapture old feelings of isolation and getting lost. But when he encounters a man named Renny (Zachary Ray Sherman) and his sister, Susie Q (Ashley B. Smith), his adventure takes a dark turn. But this 2025 horror movie offers much more than just the typical terror expected of a story set in rural America.
A Desert Builds Compelling Characters That Tie Into Its Terror
Alex & Renny’s Dynamic Is Unsettling To Watch
From the beginning, A Desert presents itself as a deliberately paced story, focusing mostly on Alex’s pH๏τography and his struggles to feel happy with the work he’s doing. However, the movie quickly establishes Renny and Susie Q as core parts of the story, offering a subtle look into their psyche before they even meet Alex. It’s an unsettling presentation that builds up to their convergence, making it all the more disconcerting when the pH๏τographer comes face-to-face with the pair. It aids in the psychological horror elements explored through their off-putting interactions.
This is especially the case for Alex and Renny, whose conversations are some of the most engaging parts of the film. A Desert highlights how the pair’s conversations flow well with one another, despite the pH๏τographer’s clear discomfort at multiple points throughout the movie. His meek atтιтude heavily contrasts with the more confident Renny, with Lennox and Sherman offering standout portrayals because of how well they contrast each other. The writing also flows realistically, with Joshua Erkman and Bossi Baker providing engaging dialogue that increases the tension of every interaction.
These moments are emphasized by the directing, with the film being an impressive debut as Erkman’s first feature-length movie. Long sH๏τs of isolated areas are contrasted with тιԍнтer sH๏τs during moments between characters. While it emphasizes the open space of the setting itself, it also highlights a feeling of being trapped, especially as the plot progresses. By embodying camerwork that elevates moods of both isolation and of being caged, the presentation makes it feel like there’s nowhere for Alex to escape despite the open space surrounding him.
A Desert’s Second Half Keeps Up The Momentum Despite Not Being As Strong
There’s Something Missing From The Movie’s Latter Half
Through the acting, camerawork, and overall presentation of the movie, The Desert had me hooked on its premise right from the beginning. As the story unfolded and more was revealed, though, I did feel like the second half of the movie had more weaknesses compared to the first. After one of the major characters makes a shocking decision, it causes more pieces of this odd puzzle to get unearthed, widening the scope of the story. It also adds different layers to what’s happening, some of which don’t feel as interesting as the first half.
[T]he latter part is where some of the scariest moments in the movie happen, leaving me in shock as new, uncomfortable events unfolded.
However, the latter part is where some of the scariest moments in the movie happen, leaving me in shock as new, uncomfortable events unfolded. This includes one horrifying moment that stuck with me long after the credits rolled, playing into how isolation impacts the overarching story. It’s the continuation of the movie’s themes, no matter how the story evolves, that makes A Desert such a terrifyingly memorable experience. Even at times when the story doesn’t feel as strong as other parts, it still manages to drum up terror thanks to its focused purpose.
A Desert is the scariest movie I’ve seen all year. Not only does it provide interesting character dynamics and a memorably terrifying figure in Renny, but the film also embarks on an exploration of an isolated location and the terror of being far from known civilization. It’s the kind of approach that makes the movie unique among other horror releases in 2025, relying on both the events unfolding and paranoia to bolster itself in the genre. The film is a worthwhile experience in the genre, offering a uniquely scary approach that makes the viewer feel just as isolated as Alex.
