An incurable disease. A subterranean, flesh-eating monster. A stoic loner in tune with the natural world. A goofy, money-hungry city-dweller. “Dust” is brimming with movie clichés. And yet, in its roughly 27 minute run time, the short film employs its troupes with far more purpose and smarts than most of this summer’s blockbusters.

The film, directed by Mike Grier, was funded through a Kickstarter project that managed to raise over a $100,000. With this budget, the film manages to create a product that surpassed my fairly low expectations for a movie available for free on Vimeo.

“Dust” begins with a prologue of sorts, where the movie’s fantasy world is explained. Though similar to Earth, the world of “Dust” is one where evolution happens much quicker, resulting in an ever-changing diversity of plants, animals, and diseases. Nature’s constant alterations are observed and studied by Trackers, though their way of life is dying as people flock to the safety of walled cities.

In the midst of all of this is Irezumi (Masashi Odate), a tracker who moves to the city in the aftermath of a familial tragedy. But when a medicine seller (Michael Evans Lopez) enlists his help in finding a cure for a deadly disease called “Dust”, Irezumi must return to the now abandoned countryside to find the source of the virus and save the world (still another cliché).

Though the film is pure fantasy, the allegory it presents– that we should not shun nature’s beauty for the comforts of society– is a timely one in the digitally connected world in which we live. We, as a society, might do well to care about nature as much as the Trackers do.

In its brevity, “Dust” makes a valiant attempt at world-building, though there’s obviously much to be desired. I did find the premise intriguing enough, though, to perhaps be turned into a feature-length film one day. This isn’t uncommon in Hollywood– “Napoleon Dynamite” and “Evil Dead” are two well-known examples of feature films adapted from short ones.

Whether or not, that happens to “Dust”, the story packs a big narrative punch as is with an engrossing storyline and a likeable lead in Irezumi. In 27 minutes, I cared far more about what happened to Irezumi than say, the cast of Suicide Squad.  

Perhaps even more impressive than “Dust”’s story, though, is its visuals. Ember Labs’ special effects blend seamlessly with the Japanese forests in which the production was filmed. Despite its small budget, “Dust” looks just as stunning as movies spending 1,000 times that amount. As a film that is literally inventing plants and animals, this is especially impressive.

However, one area in which “Dust”’s low budget is evident is its cast. While Odate plays Irezumi with a dedication necessary for such a complex role, Lopez gives cringey, half-performance that added nothing to the film. The inclusion of Lopez’s dopey urbanite was probably to foil Irezumi’s lonely, world-weariness, yet he seems rather out of place in the otherwise serious film.

Despite a few key weaknesses, “Dust” holds up well for a movie its size. I never would have thought that a movie weaned off Kickstarter dollars could turn out as spectacularly as “Dust” does. And yet, somehow, that’s exactly what happened. Four and a half out of five stars.

“Dust” is available for free on Vimeo.