Crash Reports: TEARS IN THE DUST

When is a horror film not a horror? When it’s based in reality and exploits genuine fears. Sure, Tears in the Dust is loaded with independent British horror actors, such as Dean Sills, Steve Pollard, and William Marshall, but in the perpetual decline of the western world, its story rings true.

Tears in the Dust stars Dean Sills as Trevor Wallis, a man who loses his job, home, wife – everything. Now, as low as he go, how can he soldier on when he has no money, prospects, or perceived value?

Imagine if you were Trevor Wallis. For me, losing it all is one of the most frightening things I can think of happening to me. At one point in my life, I was so financially destitute, I thought I’d have to live out of my truck. With little money for food, I ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches three times a day, and I lived in a boarding house for men that was creepier than the set of Psycho. I can honestly say I would have enjoyed living with Norman’s dead mother than the guys who survived at this place. Even so, that was short-lived, and I crawled back home to sleep on my parent’s couch till I got my life back together. But we all know many people have it worse, far worse. As for Sills’ character, he may have clothes on his back, but the mental torment and the fear that accompanies it may be insurmountable.

Written and directed by Steve Call, whose previous feature, the comedy, A Total Thug Up, will soon be available on DVD. Marshall appeared in 2014’s Legacy of Thorn, and both Sills and Pollard worked together in this year’s Blaze of Gory and The Eschatrilogy: Book of the Dead. For Tears in the Dust, cameras will soon roll in Yorkshire, England where the rest of the cast, including Terry Dalloway, Kuljit Singh, Wayne Phillips, and Dawn Hills, will bring Call’s dramatic feature to light.