The Lost — The Lost( Blu Ray)
The Lost is a teen serial killer film set in small-town USA. The early 2000’s film mixes drama, and cop investigation, with moments of brutal violence and female nudity. It features an impressively moody-to-darkly intense lead, as well as a fair bit of darting/ shifting editing and soundtracking. Here from Ronin Flix is a recent Blu-Ray release of the film- featuring a new 2k scan, and a good selection of new & archive extras.
The Lost is from the year 2007 and is based on the 2001 Jack Ketchum novel of the same name. Both novel & film are rough based on the case of Charles Schmid- who killed four people in the mid-60s. It was directed by Chris Sivertson- who has eight features to his name- these go from horror thriller I Know Who Killed Me (2007), comedy horror All Cheerleaders Will Die (2011), and mystery thriller Monstrous (2022).
The film is rather set in a rather indistinctive period- at points it feels like it might be the 80s, at others the 90’s- and our lead often feels like he staggered from out of the 50’s, with his gelled back hair, clothes and mannerisms.
We kick off with an on-screen quote- talking about how the film's lead character stuffing crushed-down cans in his boots to make him seem taller- this at least is based on the real-life killer Schmid. We then see our lead Ray(Marc Senter) a skinny, dark-haired, and cowboy-booted figure walking through some woods. He comes across a wooden outhouse- the door swings open, and out steps, a totally naked woman- the pair briefly talk. She heads back to her nude sunbathing girlfriend. He meets up with his nearby friends Tim(Alex Frost) a younger teen with an under-shaved mullet and dark T-shirt, and the slightly older Jenifer(Shay Astra).
Fairly soon the three are looking over where the two women have set up a fire- with Ray convinced they are lesbians. Things escalate fairly quickly, with Ray pulling out a gun to shoot at the two- one is killed outright, and he just stares in fascination at the other half-alive woman. Both of his friends are panicking- but he’s as cool as a cumber- telling the pair to go and pick up a shovel to bury the bodies. They head off he starts tidying up the camp- he goes back to where the dying woman was- she’s gone- he gives chase, and just as she is within reach she staggers into the road to be met by an oncoming car.
We then flash forward four years- and in a bar we see two cop friends talking- there’s the slightly tubby & moustached Detective Charlie( Micheal Bowen), and the skinny shaved head in his early 60s Ed played by Ed Lauter- who was one of the few members of the cast I recognised- over the years he racked up an impressive two hundred eight roles, appearing in the likes of King Kong(1976), Magic (1978), and Cujo (1983). They are talking about how the woman who survived Ray’s attack has just died after being in a bad state since then- with the killer remaining still uncaught
We then get to meet Ray properly, who is now nineteen. He works part-time at his mother's motel, and she often belittles him/ gives him the shitty jobs- though says he is the assistant manager. He’s still friends with both Tim & Jenifer- both are still very much under his control, with him leading on the latter by telling her he loves her deeply while trying it on with every woman possible.
As the film unfolds Detective Charlie keeps a close eye on Ray, as he’s sure he was the culprit of the killings. As Ray quickly falls for new-to-town busty brunette Katherine (Robin Sydney).
The film is bookended with fairly gruelling moments of violence- with certainly the resolve featuring some quite nasty stuff. The rest of the film is a mix of drama, character study, and cop investigation.
It runs at just under the two-hour mark- and I found it a decidedly mixed affair. On the positive side, Senter is excellent as the strutting trying to be a big man sociopath, and towards the end of proceedings, he goes off the rails wonderfully. Both Frost and Astra convincing as the manipulated friends. And lastly, on the positives- you are largely held until the film's end to see how it all resolves.
On the less positive side- it’s at least half an hour too long. A lot of the other actors in the film are very mixed, and at points so bad/ amateurish that it takes you away from the film. The whole thing is overloaded with way, way too much music- this often is jarringly cut between 50’s Rock ‘n’ Rock, and punk/ metal music. They throw in sudden grain effects & camera tricks- which detract from what’s on screen, instead of enhancing it.
The film has been sold as somewhat of an extreme film- yes the beginning is fairly nasty, and the resolve even more so. But you have to be ready for the largely more drama-focused centre of the film. All in all, The Lost is ok- I just wish it had been trimmed up a bit, and the intensity of the whole thing had been notched up.
This recent Blu-Ray takes in a good selection of both new & old extras. On the new side, we get a commentary with writer/director/producer Chris Sivertson and producer Lucky McKee. This is an ok director/ producer track, and you learn a fair bit. They start by discussing the open steady cam shot, and point out the snow on the ground as the nude actress runs by. They talk about how the film came about- how the original book impacted the director, and how it rather brought to mind the characters in River’s Edge(1986). They touch on the original true crime case the book was based on, and other films that have been influenced by the case. We find out that the original script ran several hundred pages, with the first cut of the film running at three & a half hours. They talk about how they wanted the town to feel out of time, and that Jack Ketchum has a cameo as a barman in the film. They comment on how good the new print of the film looks. We find out they went out way over budget on the film stock- as they filmed so much. Later on, they talked about how it was difficult to set up some of the in-car shots and discuss some of the film's locations.
Otherwise, on the new side, we get a selection of on-camera interviews with key actors. Becoming The Devil ( 11.36) with lead actor Marc Senter. This Is So Real (19.51) with actress Robin Sydney. A Tale Of Survival ( 20.32) with actress Shay Astar.
On the archive side, we get a commentary track with novelist Jack Ketchum moderated by writer Monika O’Rourke. Storyboard Sequence. Outtakes. Audition Tapes and Jack and Jill Featurette.
The Lost largely sits in the more drama/ character study side of the serial killer genre- yes there are some extreme moments to be found, but that’s far from the focus here. It’s nice to see the film getting reissued- with this Blu-Ray serving up a good selection of worthy/ interesting extras.