Dust Devil is a 1992 British horror film written and directed by Richard Stanley. The film stars Robert Burke as Hitch, a mysterious man who wanders the deserts in Namibia and is wanted by the police in connection with the death of a woman whose blood was used in a supernatural ceremony. It is believed by a local sangoma that Hitch is a "Dust Devil", a supernatural creature that can change its form. Hitch encounters Wendy, played by Chelsea Field, who drives with him along a highway as she is pursued by her estranged husband. As police begin investigating the murders, they seem to trace back to Hitch and Wendy discovers the man has supernatural powers.

Dust Devil was shot in Namibia after March 1990, when Stanley presented his script to producer JoAnne Sellar, whom he had previously worked with on his first film Hardware (1990). Sellar was able to secure 2.8 million pounds for Dust Devil. The script was then sent to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in Namibia for approval. Sellar was also able to use South African personnel and equipment for the production, making the film's crew a combination of British, American, South African and Namibian people.

After finishing filming, Dust Devil experienced a difficult post-production, with several different cuts being released in the United Kingdom, the United States and select areas in Europe, where the film was released in a much shorter version titled Demonica. In 1993, the film was released in United Kingdom following the demise of Palace Pictures under an end credit of Dust Devil: The Final Cut. It was released in the United States by Miramax with a shorter running time than the British version.

In Namibia, a Sangoma named Joe Niemand recites a story about Dust Devils—anthropomorphized desert winds that roam the highways to hunt and kill humans.

One Dust Devil kills a woman who had picked him up for sex, then burns her house and leaves her corpse in the car. Meanwhile, in the town of Bethanie, Sgt. Ben Mukurob receives a phone call with strange voices speaking, as does Wendy Robinson in Johannesburg, South Africa. In the morning, the man burns down Saarke's house and leaves in her car. In Johannesburg, Wendy's husband Mark accuses her of cheating on him, leading her to leave him and drive to Namibia. Investigating the scene, Sgt Ben Mukurob and Captain Beyman find strange pictographs on the wall. Joe tells him that they are magic symbols, but Mukurob is skeptical. The Dust Devil is picked up by Wendy, a woman who had left her husband after he accused her of infidelity. When he sees another of his kind hitch-hiking, Dust Devil tells Wendy to drive past him, then disappears from the car. Meanwhile, two police officers find human remains in a camper near where Wendy picked up Dust Devil.

With Dust Devil secretly watching, Wendy stops at a small motel for the night and tries to commit suicide but stops herself. Wendy goes to her car the next morning and finds Dust Devil inside, who tells her that she fell asleep the day before. Meanwhile, Beyman gives Mukurob documents about similar murders dating back to 1908. Wendy and Dust Devil reach the Fish River Canyon, as Wendy's husband Mark arrives in Namibia and begins his search for her. Joe tells Mukurob that the murders are the work of the "naghtloper", a shape-shifting demon who gains power over the material world through ritual murder. The naghtloper must keep moving to work the ritual, but if he is tricked into stepping over a kierie stick, he will be bound to one spot, and his power can be taken. Joe gives Mukurob a kierie and a sacred root to burn to prevent the naghtloper from possessing him after it is killed.

When Wendy discovers human fingers among Dust Devil's belongings, he tries to kill her, but she escapes. Mukurob and Mark pursue them, but Dust Devil causes them to crash the car in a dust storm. Mukurob leaves Mark at the car and heads into the storm, telling him that he has a chance since the naghtloper only takes those who have nothing to live for. He finds Wendy reaches the abandoned town of Kolmanskop but is stabbed by Dust Devil. Mukurob blocks Dust Devil's path with the kierie, and Wendy uses Mukurob's shotgun to kill Dust Devil as he proclaims his love for her. Wendy walks into the desert past Mark and the car, lies on the road, and pulls over a fleet of army Casspirs. Joe believes she has been possessed by the Dust Devil.

Richard Stanley's previous film Hardware was made for £1 million, and grossed over $5.7 million world-wide. Stanley stated that Hardware was made to prove to producers that he could make a commercial film after finding that he was rejected by producers for his first scripts. Dust Devil was shot entirely on location in Namibia and re-interprets the story of a South African serial killer known as Nhadiep. The story of Nhadiep had previously been the inspiration for the British film Windprints (1989) by David Wicht. Dust Devil was made from a previous work of Stanley's, an unfinished 16mm student short film shot in 1984 about bizarre murders taking place around the town of Bethanie. The authorities never caught the serial killer, which led to locals believing the killings were caused by a supernatural force. The police eventually returned to the town with the body of a man they believed was the killer; however, the body was without a head, which made identification with locals impossible. The man was later buried in a town with a grave marked "Nhadiep".