This is a no-holds-barred adaptation of Jack Ketchum’s notably harsh novel, from producer Lucky McKee and MAY editor-turned-director Chris Sivertson (whose latest flick, I KNOW WHO KILLED ME made it into cinemas while The Lost, a much better film, had to wait almost three years to find distribution.
At the outset, narcissistic young Marc Senter, who has impeccably gelled hair and is fond of eye make-up, shoots a pair of lesbians for kicks. One of them (played by Erin Brown aka Misty Mundae) dies at the scene, the other hangs on a life support machine for years after.
Four years later, Senter is the assistant manager of his mom’s Bates-ish “Starlight Motel”, where 60 year old local cop Ed Lauter’s spunky young girlfriend works as a housekeeper. The self-consciously suave, cocky Senter was questioned and suspected by police at the time of the crimes but never convicted, while his friends, who were present at the murder scene, have remained quiet. A persistent detective in the mould of PSYCHO’s Arbogast snoops around the motel, quoting Robert Shaw in JAWS while Senter scores with as many women as possible, becoming aggressive when turned down. In the face of an unprecedented wave of rejection, he finally snaps and becomes the out-of-control psychopath that has been brewing inside him for years.
Filmed in mono and distinctively shot – Sivertson favors sped-up film, grainy visuals and jump cuts – to give a cool, downbeat 70’s vibe, THE LOST has been brought to the screen as a grim TAXI DRIVER-inspired study of an ordinary young man driven to extreme violence when the world doesn’t go his way. Employing a deceptive amount of humor to capture the small town USA ambience, Sivertson instills the movie with an escalating sense of threat as a bittersweet ensemble piece turns into a massacre and the good-looking protagonist (superbly played by Senter) becomes a monster.
Ironically chosen songs and pop culture references are neatly employed – one masturbation scene is intercut with a famous moment from NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD – while only an excessive running time occasionally works against the movie’s intensity. The final rampage, with strong echoes of everything from the Charles Whitman killings to the Manson cult’s infamous home invasion, is directed with startling ferocity. The closing reels deliver a terrifying extended burst of callous violence, with likeable established characters and strangers gunned down with equal abruptness. It culminates with a moment of hideous brutality – aping the Manson clan’s killing of Sharon Tate – that, although depicted discreetly off-camera, tips the movie into the realm of the truly harrowing.
This raw movie has a fine soundtrack, plenty of nudity from its great-looking female cast and cool casting for horror fans (though Dee Wallace, as a grieving mom, doesn’t share any screen time with her one-time CUJO co-star, Lauter). It’s those final scenes, however, that will haunt you long after the credits roll.
The non-rated DVD features audio commentary with novelists Jack Ketchem and Monica O’Rourke, as well as footage of the cast auditioning for the roles in the film, outtakes and storyboard sequences.
-Steven West
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
