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Released by: Saturn’s Core Releasing
Released on: February 28th, 2023.
Director: Joel D. Wynkoop
Cast: Joel D. Wynkoop, David Bardsley, David Lurry, Christine Schearer, Bill Sims, Melissa
Year: 1992
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Lost Faith – Movie Review:
Joel D. Wynkoop got his start in the movie industry acting in a few Tim Ritter movies, his turn in the infamous Truth Or Dare: A Critical Madness being arguably his best remembered roll. 1992’s Lost Faith marks his first work as a feature length director (he did contribute a segment to the 1985 anthology film Twisted Illusions). He also wrote, edited, produced and starred in the film - so it's safe to say that this bizarre low budget story of a man out to reconcile things with a higher power and safe his wife from a white slavery ring was a personal project. That shines through in every frame and it can often be Lost Faith's saving grace.
The story begins when a chesty blonde lass is chased through the wilds of Florida by some bad guys. They catch her and bring her to The Master (David Bardsley), a big guy with a moustache who laughs a lot. His whole thing is that he kidnaps chesty blonde lasses and forces them into a porno movie ring or something. The cops, led by an officer named Shields, are consistently coming up with nothing despite the fact that The Master has been kidnapping chesty blondes lasses left right and center. When it comes time for his next kidnapping, however, The Master makes a mistake - he and his cronies abduct a woman named Donna Nekoda, a woman who just so happens to be married to Steve. That's right, Steve Nekoda.
Wait. Who?
Steve Nekoda, that's who. Get used to that name because if you watch it with your wife or your girlfriend, odds are pretty good she's going to call it out (loudly) the next time you make sweet, sweet love to her.
Played by Wynkoop himself, Nekoda isn't much to look at. He's a little doughy and he sort of shuffles around sometimes but damn it all if he doesn't get pissed when he finds out Donna has been kidnapped. And rightly so. Of course, Shields and the fuzz are no help. He tries that route and comes up empty. So with the law being of no use to him, Steve does what any highly skilled martial arts master would do in his situation - he takes it upon himself to track down The Master and get his wife back before she's forced to appear in a dirty movie! But before Steve Nekoda can do that, he'll be harassed by a guy named Walt from his church, a guy who knows something that Steve himself can't admit - that he needs to get right with God before he can take down The Master and get Donna back.
Filled to the brim with awkward fight scenes aplenty featuring guys who know more martial arts than I do but maybe not more martial arts than you do, Lost Faith is an odd duck to be sure. It's one part Falling Down (a regular guy who has had a horrible day and been pushed just that little bit too far) and one part Hardcore (a dude trying to get a lady back from a white slavery ring pushing women into porn work) by way of a community theater production.
The cinematography is as bland as the fight scenes are clumsily choreographed (Nekoda's signature move seems to be kicking waist high and/or pointing at people) but damn it, there's a whole lotta love up there on the 4x3 screen. That counts for something. Wynkoop shot this one (sometimes painfully obviously) with what would appear to be the proceeds from a garage sale and a cast made up of people from some sort of support group but that didn't stop him from bringing it home. Where others would have looked at the results and thrown up their hands in frustration, the 'Koop (that's what we’re going to call him now) kept going. He got it done and for better or worse, this admittedly very ambitious no-budget movie is a thing that exists - and that demands some respect.
Seriously though, you've got to admire the backyard innovation and poverty row creativity that makes Lost Faith what it is. There's a mish mash of genres going on here - hard hitting martial arts action, slapstick cop comedy, revenge thriller and yes, inspirational faith based testimony - so you really do wind up with something for everyone even while you're left wondering who this movie was made for. It never gets as sleazy as it does just plain silly (listen to the commentary from the man himself in the extra features section for details on that) but the damn thing is chock-a-block with weird Florida charm and home movie madness. It's a tough movie to recommend to those who don't come with a pre-installed disposition towards shot on video what-the-fuckeries but if you find yourself in that camp, let Steve Nekoda into your heart. You'll be glad you did.
Note that the default, feature attraction version of Lost Faith on this disc is the director's cut running 1:25:30, just under six minutes longer than the previously seen VHS version included in the extras.
Lost Faith – Blu-ray Review:
Lost Faith arrives on a region free 50GB disc and is framed at 1.33.1. Presented in AVC encoded 1080i high definition and taken from a tape source, this looks about as good as it probably can, given the film’s low budget, shot on video roots. It’s pretty soft looking and there are tracking lines and the like noticeable throughout, but again, there’s only so much you can do with a thirty year old movie shot on tape to improve picture quality. The screen caps below give you a pretty good idea of what to expect. It’s perfectly watchable and certainly won’t be a problem for fans of SOV cinema, but it can’t exactly ever be reference quality.
The original English language option is offered up in a 24-bit DTS-HD 2.0 Mono track. Optional subtitles are provided in English only. It’s a little warbled in spots but overall, it sounds pretty decent and the super eclectic synth score comes through nice and clearly.
Extras are plentiful starting with an introduction by director Joel D. Wynkoop that runs seven minutes and provides a quick rundown of all the different hats that Wynkoop had to wear during the making of the movie.
We also get inclusion of the original eighty minute VHS version of the movie, available with an archival commentary track in which director, writer, editor and star Joel D. Wynkoop and his assistant director Sean McCarthy get down to business and take you to school on the history and origins of Lost Faith. Wynkoop talks about the SOV scene in Florida around the time this was made, talking up his work with Tim Ritter (who helped out in various capacities on this picture and who joins in o the track later on via phone call) and noting the different locations used for the shoot. He also talks about the fight scenes, the film's use of humor, the different versions of this movie that exist and how Nina Hartley almost wound up in the movie! This version of the movie is also presented in 1080i high definition with 16-bit DTS-HD 2.0 Mono audio. There are no subtitle options offered.
Also included on the disc is a feature length documentary called Stay Hungry: The Making Of Lost Faith. Seriously, this thing is long and crazy in-depth and it covers pretty much everything you'd expect out of a piece like this. There is a load of on-set footage and behind the scenes bit and pieces and interview segments too. This gives you a pretty honest account of what it was like to make this film and its inclusion here really adds a lot of the disc.
A twenty minute audition reel sees Wynkoop standing behind a sweet wood paneled wall playing a few different characters and talking to the camera as if it were a person. This is pretty amusing stuff, and it's a lot of fun seeing him do a dozen or so completely different characters, from sensitive and dramatic types to a maniacal leader of a street gang.
The extras continue with ninety minutes of never before seen dailies and behind the scenes footage from the making of Lost Faith. Some of this stuff is pretty amusing, especially the early bits where a romantic encounter is interrupted by someone in a dumpster. Along the way, we also get plenty of outtakes and bloopers, general footage giving us a look at what it was like on set and quite a bit more. It's all taken from an older tape source that was clearly in less than perfect shape but it's great to have it included on the disc.
The disc also includes forty-nine minutes of archival TV news interviews and appearances, collecting footage where Wynkoop made the local media rounds to get word out about the movie, discussing the open casting call that was planned, some of the other films that he's been in (mostly horror pictures) and what it's like making low budget movies in Florida and how you really can't do it without a positive attitude. In one clip, Wynkoop is wearing a sweet Spider-Man shirt!
The Set Up is a short film from 1979 shot on super 8mm film by Joel D. Wynkoop that inspired Lost Faith. It runs eight minutes and features a lot of footage of a shirtless Wynkoop using nunchucks and practicing his martial arts before beating up a guy who tries to steal a package off of his porch and getting into a sweet Firebird with two chicks who then get abducted by a guy in a white van and wind up needing his help.
Nekoda is a 2018 sequel short starring Joel D. Wynkoop directed by Marcus Kempton that runs thirty-three minutes. Wynkoop reprises his role from Lost Faith, this time as an overtly religious crime fighter who gets caught up in trouble when a pizza delivery doesn't go as expected. He winds up having to save a boy named David from a biker gang using an abandoned movie studio/lot as their base of operations. It's a weird mix of goofy comedy, scenery chewing performances (the biker guys have everything dialed up to eleven in every scene) and Wynkoop beating up the bad guys. It's fun stuff.
Joel D. Wynkoop At Screamfest 2007 is a nineteen minute collection of footage from the titular Screamfest horror convention where Wynkoop was in attendance as a guest. We see him working his booth, meeting other celebrity guests attending the show like Gunnar Hanson, Tom Savini, Danielle Harris, Shawnee Smith, Harry Manfredini and more.
The disc also includes an alternate opening segment, the original ending (it's called an alternate ending but Wynkoop confirms in his commentary that he's re-edited the film a bit here and that this is the original finish), a trailer for the feature, a few bonus trailers for other Saturn's Core releases (Burglar From Hell, Mail Order Murder, Psycho Sister, Duck! The Carbine High Massacre), menus and more. This release also comes packaged with some nice reversible cover art.
Lost Faith - The Final Word:
Lost Faith was obviously a pretty personal project for the mighty Joel D. Wynkoop and the passion and ambition shown in this micro budget martial arts opus is not only admirable, but pretty infectious as well. The comedy is more likely to make you groan than to make you laugh but the fight scenes are actually pretty impressive in their awkwardness. In a world where shot on video horror movies are a dime a dozen, Lost Faith stands out for trying something different, and Saturn’s Core has rolled out the red carpet for this one, presenting it in what we can safely assume is the best possible condition and with more extras than anyone probably ever imagined.