Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Lost After Dark

Collapse
X
Collapse
  •  
    Ian Jane
    Administrator

  • Lost After Dark



    Released by: Anchor Bay Entertainment
    Released on: September 1st, 2015.
    Director: Ian Kessner
    Cast: Robert Patrick, David Lipper, Alexander Calvert
    Year: 2014
    Purchase From Amazon

    The Movie:

    Directed by Ian Kessner, who co-wrote with Bo Ransdell, 2014's Lost After Dark is an 'homage' to the eighties slasher films that are so near and dear to many of our hearts. The story introduces us to a young woman named Adrienne (Kendra Leigh Timmins) as she talks to her father (David Lipper) about her plans to go to the school dance and then head off to visit her sister for the weekend. She hits the dance where she meets up with friends Laurie (Sarah Fisher), Marilyn (Eve Harlow), Jamie (Elise Gatien), Johnnie (Alexander Calvert), Tobe (Jesse Camacho), Wes (Stephen James) and Sean (Justin Kelly). After a run in with their militant principal, Mr. Cunningham (Robert Patrick), they sneak out and hotwire a school bus to get out of town.

    Along the way they drink and they smoke and they listen to eighties music… and then they run out of gas. Stuck in the middle of nowhere they head to a nearby house completely unaware that a guy who looks like Rob Zombie with bad teeth referred to as Joad (Mark Wiebe) roams the grounds with a penchant for murder and mayhem. He starts stalking and slashing while, back in the city, Adrienne's father and Mr. Cunningham try to figure out what happened to the kids.

    That's about it. There's ZERO character development here so when the movie starts knocking off its cast of characters about forty minutes in, you don't really care too much. They're all basically interchangeable and while the script tries to give us different eighties stereotypes (Tobe is the fat kid, Heather is the rich bitch, Marilyn is the outsider goth chick and Johnnie is the jock/asshole) it's not enough to really help us differentiate between them. The whole thing is predictable and while that's often part of the charm of older slasher movies, here it's just not that interesting because it doesn't do anything to make itself stand out. The performances don't help things either. The cast members are all attractive enough but they don't manage to infuse their characters with anything much in terms of personality. It's all well and good that they're named after iconic horror movie actors, actresses and directors but that doesn't make them interesting or relatable.

    On top of that, the filmmakers not only opt to put fake print damage overtop of the digitally shot feature to make it look 'retro' but they even rip off the 'missing reel' gag that was used in Planet Terror. That's not cute. That's not original. That doesn't make your movie an effective take on what once was and it doesn't make your movie good, at least not without other qualities for viewers to latch onto.

    So is there anything here for viewers to latch onto? Well, the locations are nice. This was shot in Sudbury Ontario - home of the Big Nickel - and nearby Perry Sound, Ontario and the movie, once it moves out into the sticks, has a nice atmosphere of isolation that helps things a bit. The old house and surrounding farm buildings are creepy enough and they work quite well. On top of that, the murder set pieces are typically pretty solid. There's some obvious use of CGI here and there but it's infrequent and most of the gore is done the old fashioned way, the kind that horror fans in particular will appreciate. That's not really enough to make this one worth tracking down though…

    Video/Audio/Extras:

    Anchor Bay presents Lost After Dark in an AVC encoded 1080p high definition transfer framed at 1.78.1 widescreen and aside from the aforementioned 'print damage' it looks good. The detail you'd expect is there and as it was shot digitally the only damage or dirt present is the fake stuff that the filmmakers layered on digitally. Colors are well reproduced and black levels look good. The disc is free of compression artifacts and yeah, it looks just fine.

    Audio chores are handled by a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track. This is a pretty decent mix with some impressive directional effects used in the more active scenes. The 'eighties era' score has good dynamics and range while the dialogue remains clean, clear and well balanced. There are no problems with any hiss or distortion. Optional subtitles are provided in English only.

    There are a few previews for unrelated Anchor Bay properties that play before the main menu loads, but outside of that, well, we get chapter stops, so that's something.

    The Final Word:

    Lost After Dark has a few pretty cool kill scenes going for it and it occasionally offers up some impressive location photography but the story itself is completely lacking in both originality and character development. If bloody kills and a high body count are enough, jump right in - but those looking for something more will doubtlessly leave this one disappointed.

    Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!























    • Newt Cox
      #1
      Newt Cox
      Senior Member
      Newt Cox commented
      Editing a comment
      Just finished watching this. And totally agree. It felt generic and kind of boring.
    Posting comments is disabled.

Latest Articles

Collapse

  • Dead Silence (Shout! Factory) UHD/Blu-ray Review
    Ian Jane
    Administrator
    by Ian Jane


    Released by: Shout! Factory
    Released on: March 28th, 2022.
    Director: James Wan
    Cast: Ryan Kwanten, Amber Valletta, Donnie Wahlberg, Henry Walker, Laura Regan
    Year: 2007
    Purchase From Amazon

    Dead Silence – Movie Review:

    Made for Universal Studios after the success of their 2004 film Saw for Lionsgate, director James Wan and writer Leigh Whannell’s 20007 picture, Dead Silence, begins in the apartment of Jamie Ashen (Ryan Kwanten)
    ...
    03-27-2023, 05:13 PM
  • Hitman Hart: Wrestling With Shadows (Canadian International Pictures) Blu-ray Review
    Ian Jane
    Administrator
    by Ian Jane


    Released by: Canadian International Pictures
    Released on: March 28th, 2023.
    Director: Paul Jay
    Cast: Bret Hart, Vince McMahon, Steve Austin, Blade Hart, Helen Hart, Julie Hart, Owen Hart, Stu Hart
    Year: 1998
    Purchase From Amazon

    Hitman Hart: Wrestling With Shadows – Movie Review:

    Directed by Paul Jay and released in 1998, Hitman Hart: Wrestling With Shadows takes us back to 1997 where Vince McMahon and the WWF were still the top
    ...
    03-17-2023, 05:55 PM
  • Calvaire (Yellow Veil Pictures) Blu-ray Review
    Ian Jane
    Administrator
    by Ian Jane


    Released by: Yellow Veil Pictures
    Released on: March 28th, 2023.
    Director: Fabrice du Welz
    Cast: Laurent Lucas, Brigitte Lahaie, Jean-Luc Couchard, Jackie Berroyer, Philippe Nahon
    Year: 2004
    Purchase From Amazon

    Calvaire – Movie Review:

    Belgian filmmaker Fabrice Du Welz's debut feature length film is, at its core, a very basic story but by the time the movie ends this deceptively simple tale will likely have your head spinning
    ...
    03-17-2023, 05:48 PM
  • Thrust! (Culture Shock Releasing) Blu-ray Review
    Ian Jane
    Administrator
    by Ian Jane


    Released by: Culture Shock Releasing
    Released on: February 14th, 2023.
    Director: Victor Bonacore
    Cast: Erin Brown, Allison Egan, Linnea Quigley, Roni Jonah, Michael Shershenovich
    Year: 2022
    Purchase From Amazon

    Thrust! – Movie Review:

    Directed by Victor Bonacore, who co-wrote with actress Erin Brown (formerly known as Misty Mundae) and Hannah Neurotica, 2022's Thrust! is set in a drugged out post-apocalyptic urban setting ruled
    ...
    03-10-2023, 06:25 PM
  • Three Between The Sheets (Severin Films) Blu-ray Review
    Ian Jane
    Administrator
    by Ian Jane


    Released by: Severin Films
    Released on: April 25th, 2023.
    Director: Bud Townsend, Claude Mulot, Hubert Frank
    Cast: Tiffany Bolling, Frank Luz, Julie Newmar, Josephine Jacqueline Jones, Helga Line, Montse Bayo, Sonja Martin
    Year: 1984/1983/1986
    Purchase From Amazon

    Three Between The Sheets – Movie Review:

    Severin Films offers up a trio of softcore classics from the heyday of the era in their aptly titled Three Between The Sheets
    ...
    03-10-2023, 06:23 PM
  • The Pact (Saturn’s Core Releasing) Blu-ray Review
    Ian Jane
    Administrator
    by Ian Jane


    Released by: Saturn’s Core Releasing
    Released on: February 14th, 2023.
    Director: Brad Sykes
    Cast: Dawn Soleri, Brett Edenton, DeAnna Day, Jack Wareing
    Year: 1995
    Purchase From Amazon

    The Pact – Movie Review:

    1995’s The Pact opens with a prologue where a troubled young woman walks the beach and takes solace in a partially finished house where she talks to herself about her problems. When she mentions she'd rather die than deal
    ...
    03-10-2023, 06:18 PM
Working...
X