Directed by Joshua Erkman, in A Desert a past-his-prime photographer (Kai Lennox) heads out on a road trip across the American Southwest to recapture the magic and success of his previous work. Instead, he finds himself thrust into the dark and chaotic underbelly of America and unwittingly drags his wife (Sarah Lind) and a shady private detective (David Yow) down into this nightmare world with him.
A Desert is a sun-bleached neo-noir horror film that THN first caught when it debuted at TriBeCa in 2024. Joshua Erkman’s movie then toured the festival circuit with high-profile screenings at both FrightFest and Sitges amongst others. A Desert is a true love letter to cinema, lost spaces, and the filmmaking process, with care and attention put into every aspect. In our review we praised the film for being “free-form, loose, and unpredictable in all the best ways.” Having performed well with the festival crowds A Desert is finally accessible to viewers in the UK as it is now available on Digital HD.
Ahead of A Desert’s digital release, THN were able to sit down with Joshua Erkman as well as actor Zachary Ray Sherman. In A Desert, Zachary Ray Sherman plays Renny, one half of a maniacal couple that photographer Alex encounters on his road trip. Those that have seen Zachary Ray Sherman in indie movie Who’s Watching or caught his stint on 90210 will know that the actor can play strange and intense perfectly, but here he dials it up to maximum. Our conversation dived into A Desert’s creation, the method behind capturing the heat of the locations on screen, what draws Zachary Ray Sherman to these darker characters, and exactly why A Desert is a film that should not be missed.
A Desert is available to watch on Digital HD in the UK.
