Although Dust Up begins as a somewhat spirited satire about outcasts bonding far from civilization, it eventually becomes a witless, grotesque revenge story straining for laughs between acts of rape and cannibalism. Aaron Gaffey stars as Jack—a one-eyed former marine trying to atone for wartime violence—who lives alone in a desert trailer, meditating and earning his living as a handyman. Jack's neighbor and friend is a wannabe Indian named Mo (Devin Barry), with whom Jack talks about living “hectic” days of not doing very much at all. But things change when new mother Ella (Amber Benson) asks Jack to repair some faulty plumbing in her home. Before long, Jack is helping to protect Ella's drug-addicted husband (Travis Betz) from his pathological supplier, Buzz (Jeremiah Birkett), a bar owner and grandiose cult leader whose crazy followers will do anything—including eating the sheriff, after Buzz barbecues him in a fit of annoyance. Writer-director Ward Roberts eschews all limits during the third act, when Jack decides he has to embrace bloodletting once again to protect Ella and her baby. For a would-be exploitation film send-up, there unfortunately isn't much here in the way of redeeming wit or style. Not recommended. (T. Keogh)
Dust Up
Breaking Glass, 92 min., not rated, DVD: $24.99, Nov. 13 Volume 28, Issue 1
Dust Up
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
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