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The Lost (2006/II) More at IMDbPro »

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18 out of 25 people found the following comment useful :-
The Lost: A Return To Realism, 12 April 2006

Author: adlanders from northridge, california

Possible Spoilers!!-I attended a preview screening of "The Lost". Having read the book, as well as an account of the true story on which Jack Ketchum's tale is based, I had an idea of what to expect, however, I was unprepared for the integrity shown by the filmmakers in their unflinching look at narcissistic violence. The main character, Ray Pye (chillingly portrayed by Marc Senter) represents the childish nature of current American Pop Culture in which we have become so accustomed to instant gratification that, when we don't actually get what we want when we want it, the infant inside us can explode. And that indeed is the story of Ray Pye. "The Lost", for me, is a return to 1970's style film-making, ala "Taxi Driver" & "Straw Dogs". To call it simply a horror film is to sell it short. The writer/director Chris Sivertson has created a character driven story in which Pye's need for control is driven up a notch with the introduction of each new (independent) female character, women with their own problems, and so not as naive as the two "robots" Pye has controlled since high school. This loss of control, combined with the scrutiny of a dogged police detective, is what ultimately causes Pye's "makeup" to crack, if you will. What results is violent indeed, but shown with a realism much needed in this day and age of CGI "shock and awe" gore. And unlike some of the unnecessary cruelty depicted in movies like "Saw", scenes of torture shown seemingly for no other reason than to "top" the competition, the culmination of Pye's frustration has a very specific conclusion, and without trying to psychoanalyze too deeply, it is indeed symbolic that Pye's rage is infantile in nature. The ending of the film will cause many to gasp, but is in no way gratuitous. At any rate, it is not my intention to "review" the film, per se, although it is made with much technical skill and good knowledge of effective camera angles, dynamic sound effects and some very inventive "kinetic" editing sequences, giving the viewer an "adrenaline" rush, coming from fear, as if we are in the room with Pye and his victims. If you have read any of Ketchum's work (or are familiar with the true story of Charles Schmid) you will know going in that this film is no fairy tale. And yet, it is hoped by this film fanatic that "The Lost", BECAUSE of it's realism, and BECAUSE it depicts violence as it really is, neither glossed over nor unnecessarily gory, will find distribution to as many screens as possible, because believe it or not folks, there is an audience out there who remember the great independent filmmakers of the 1970s and have been wondering for a while when the next batch of Scorceses and Schraders were gonna come along. Coming from a totally original perspective, two of them are here now: Chris Sivertson and Lucky McKee. They have made an excellent character study here. With "The Lost", they have cast a steady gaze on the nature of violence, holding Ray Pye up in the mirror to show us the real reflection of what takes place when a culture of indulgence goes unchecked for too long. In this day and age of ho-hum mass murder and twenty-four hour turnaround "change the subject" news media, to make a film like "The Lost" takes courage and integrity. Sivertson and McKee have these qualities, as well as talent in spades. Let's give them the recognition they deserve!

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18 out of 26 people found the following comment useful :-
cult classic, 24 August 2006

Author: Chris Docker (eyeforfilm) from Scotland, United Kingdom

The Lost starts like a fairy tale. Once upon a time there was a boy called Ray Pye. He put crushed beer cans in his boots to make himself look taller. We meet him with his two friends, Tim and Jennifer, in the campgrounds of a wood. Ray strolls towards a wooden toilet cubicle erected on the hill, the door opens, and a naked girl steps out, quickly apologising as she thought she and her friend were alone. The image is so startling that you know at once this will be no ordinary movie.

Ray has killed rabbits before and decides to kill the girl and her friend, to 'see what it feels like'. Tim and Jennifer, whom he dominates, are coerced into covering up. Four years later, Ray hasn't been caught, in spite of one cop who is determined to make him pay. Ray goes on to much nastier things.

If The Lost teeters on the edge of violence that is so extreme as to revolt most audiences, the question that will hover in the mind of many serious viewers will be whether the end is going to justify the content. Some will not stay that long - in the screening I went to, several people, after a section of intense and escalating violence, walked out at a point where a pregnant woman is stabbed in the back. You have to be able to stomach quite a lot, calmly to consider whether the film, in spite of this, has artistic merit. During the end credits, it says, "If you liked the movie, read the book. If you didn't like the movie, read the book." Ironically, many may not have stayed to this point.

While the film is not a masterpiece, I will argue that it does have considerable artistic merit, even if I feel slightly uncomfortable at disenchanted, gun-toting American teenagers watching it. It delivers both in style and in substance, and if censors want to intervene, that is maybe more a reflection on the people they think might be influenced by it than on its standing as new, invigorating and perfectly valid art-house cinema.

Firstly, the film gets a reaction. Not one of bored disgust - it provokes a gut-feeling, it makes the audience test and question its own tolerance levels. The acting is good all-round, but that of the lead character particularly memorable. His psychotic, drug-fuelled mannerisms stick in the brain like a traumatic encounter. The storyline and editing are stylish. Characters, almost in keeping with the once-upon-a-time introduction, have a two-dimensional quality, like those in fairy stories and we tend to see only traits that are essential to the plot. The characters' development does not go so far as being tongue in cheek or a caricature, but reaches an almost symbolic level where they become ciphers in a particularly challenging onslaught to the senses.

The cinematography and art direction is inventive. There will be switches to high grain film, or unnerving mixes of slow motion, missing frames and superimposed images. The bedrooms of Ray, and also Katherine, a lush that he falls in love with, use vivid reds and blacks to create a surreal effect, and props that include a statue of a black panther. Ray wears black eye make-up, throwing himself into a Bowie-esquire larger-than-life image to give himself an almost god-like appeal to the other, less dominant, teenagers. In contrast, when he finally comes clean about 'the worst thing he ever did', he is sitting dressed in black but on a pure white sofa and background. Katherine, who thinks at first she can 'handle' him, puffs languorously at a cigarette through red lips as Ray talks and she becomes sexually aroused.

Marc Senter's performance (as Ray) is like a turbine that drives the film ever faster forward. The potent soundtrack reflects a cocaine-frenzied adrenalin rush, and even the 'normal' characters offer only some queasy sense of relief. There is 60yr old Ed, for instance, who is in a relationship with teenager Sally; and Detective Charlie Schilling (Michael Bowen), who might seem crazy until you put him next to Ray. Unlike many films that try to capitalise on excessive violence, The Lost wins partly because it is not repetitive. There is nasty violence, quick violence, prolonged violence, mental torture with cruel and violent treatment, 'justified' violence and sick violence. Then there is even offhand violence - "I didn't like you anyway," says Ray as he aims and fires, killing someone with all the casual pride of a sharpshooter at a fairground. (In case you haven't guessed, there is quite a lot of violence!) Supporting scenes draw on popular subculture for realism, such as the rush to flush drugs (grass) down the toilet with limited success when the cops try to bust a party, or the 'friend' who tries to shave an unnoticeable amount of resin from Ray's cannabis delivery. Sensuous, opulent, and recognising few limits, The Lost strains at the sequins to be a cult nasty and succeeds. Even the sex scenes throw in a level of wit not found in the average shocker. "I'm sorry that was a little fast," says Ray after f*cking Katherine the first time. "I've had it faster," she retorts nonchalantly.

While featured songs such as "Drink, Fight, F*ck," might sum up the superficial ethos of the film, it rises well above the trailer-trash slasher that it could easily have become. More concise and elegant than Freeway, more intelligent and visceral than Natural Born Killers, demonstrating a considerable array of talent in its determination to shock that was so noticeably absent in The Great Ecstasy of Robert Carmichael, less high-brow than Irreversible, and more hypnotic than American Psycho. The Lost, however repugnant many people will find it, lives up to its promise of being controversial and worthy of attention by all lovers of the genre.

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10 out of 12 people found the following comment useful :-
A Faithful Adaptation And Well Made Film, 17 August 2006

Author: DelStrange from Tennessee, USA

Caught a special screening of The Lost this past weekend at Horrorfind Weekend in Hunt Valley, Maryland where author Jack Ketchum was in attendance. Ketchum introduced the film by saying how impressed he was with the end result. An opinion I share whole heartedly. First of all, the cast is a top notch mix of veteran character actors and relative novices, all of whom are very good at what they do. This is something one doesn't often see in such a low budget project. Many familiar faces grace the screen and talented ones at that. It is the presence of such a cast that sets the film apart from the crowd right at the start. The Lost also has a great look to it. Aesthetically speaking, the film doesn't appear to be as low budget as it actually is. That's an element which can really hold a film back and one which I was afraid might be an issue here. Fortunately the film looks wonderful. As I mentioned, The Lost is a very faithful adaptation of Ketchum's book. This isn't to say that a few liberties aren't taken. Nothing that should offend fans of the book though.

In all, The Lost is a very satisfying film which Ketchum fans should enjoy. Hopefully the film will be shown the appreciation it truly deserves.

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4 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
A Good Effort..., 13 April 2008

Author: Moviguy (moviman764@aol.com) from Chicago, IL

The Lost is a film that had a lot of potential, some great directing, a good cast, and a decent script. The problem is that it goes on forever.

The movie starts with a bang, and then kind of slows down, and the audience is given a group of characters to follow around. It is during this part of the film that all structure falls away, and things just kind of float. There is no real movement. Now, The Lost is based off of a novel, and the scenes in the novel probably had a bit more power because the reader can get into the character's head. It is much harder to do that in film, and because of that the importance of some of the scenes is unclear. Whole scenes could have been excised, and nothing would have been taken away from the story.

Then we get to the ending. I'm not going to say what happens, but I will say that it is very easy to see when things are starting to pick up and get back on track, and once they do, all bets are off. The ending of this film is one of the most disturbing and painful things I have ever watched in my life. The thing is, the audience knows that this is coming, but still, it is hard to brace yourself for the intense cruelty that you'll witness.

This is a film that gets an A for effort, but a C+ for execution. While the beginning and the end are tight, the middle of the film seems to lack direction and focus. Nothing happens, and very little is gained. So, this one is a rental.

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13 out of 24 people found the following comment useful :-
Excellent American visceral drama, 27 March 2006

Author: massivemanson from Spain

I saw this film in the Sitges film festival. I like very much. It's a very realistic and visceral drama in the same style of David Cronenberg's a history of violence, Clint Eastwood Mystic River or Sam Peckinpah Strays dogs. The direction & the actors are amazing. The dramatic a violence scenes are excellent & the music that accompanies to them it's great & ideal. The edition of this film are amazing, totally moved away of the video-clip style. The photography is in the same quality of the edition of this movie. The character & the acting of Marc Senter is amazing ... it's in the same style of Christian Bale's Patrick Bateman. Great adaptation of the Jack Ketchum book & excellent American drama.

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
As close to Ketchum as cinema can get, 2 April 2008

Author: fertilecelluloid from Mountains of Madness

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Stephen King's work is easy to synopsize and market because his premises are novel. There's a hotel that holds onto memories in "The Shining", a little girl who starts fires in "Firestarter", and a fan who goes nuts in "Misery". It's no surprise that King's work has been cannibalized to death by Hollywood because it's easily reduced to a marketing hook. Marketing King is like marketing a McDonald's hamburger. You know what you're getting. There aren't too many surprises. Jack Ketchum, though much admired by King, is a different kettle of fish. With the exception of "Off Season" and "Ladies Night", his work is not the stuff of Hollywood marketing hooks. The beauty of Ketchum is how he gets into his characters' dark heads. His work is much darker than KIng's and he makes few concessions to mainstream expectations. His horror lives in the house next door or in the mind of the person you're married to. Aside from "She Wakes", Ketchum steers pretty clear of the supernatural and focuses on the sort of people who get arrested every night on the news. Which brings me to "The Lost". It's about a sociopath, Ray Pye, who manipulates and bullies everyone around him. When not destroying other humans with a gun, he destroys them slowly by mere association. You don't want to meet the guy. You want to steer well clear of him. Especially if you're female. Now, this story has been done to death (in novels and films), but because Ketchum is Ketchum, his take on it is fascinating and chilling. The movie version of "The Lost" is less successful and less creepy than the novel because its horror is externalized. We get strange sound effects, bizarre editing shifts, and some interesting color treatments that attempt to internalize the mental dynamics, but what made "The Lost" book so disturbing is only half present here. Still, the movie is a good one. Marc Senter is strong and convincing as Ray Pye and Chris Sivertson's direction is solid. But because Ketchum's beauty is his point of view and not his plotting, the movie's plotting becomes predictable. It will come as no surprise to anyone that Pye goes on a rampage at the end after he is pushed into several corners from which he can't escape. Though the scenes of him blowing people away are potent, their power is diffused by their predictability. Part of me feels that Ketchum works better within the universe of the printed word. Poe is the same. The nature of King's work lends itself to cinematic translation, as does the work of James Patterson and Alistair McLean. With "The Lost", you get a smart, well made tale of horror, but you don't get the essence of Ketchum. You will only get that from a Ketchum novel. So if you can't translate Ketchum adequately to the silver screen, why see these movies? Well, that's the challenge for the filmmaker.

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3 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
One of the most disturbing real life crime movies ever made..., 10 November 2008

Author: Indyrod from United States

THE LOST is one of the most disturbing real life movies I have ever seen, period. I thought Ketchum's "Girl Next Door" was about as disturbing as you can get, based on a true life crime, but this one is much worse and very graphic. Actually, Ketchum took two real crimes, the first about two women that get shot in a woods because some psycho thinks they are lesbian, and the other crime which occupies the rest of this movie. Ray Pye is a twenty-something psycho, that with his good looks and car and crap attracts a few followers and girls in this small town. He puts smashed beer cans in his boots to make him seem taller. The movie moves ahead four years, after the girls in the woods are killed, and Ray is having a ball, balling who ever he wants, and partying and drugs and the whole nine yards. But his egomaniac world is starting to come crashing down along with his sanity, when his girls start to turn against him, especially the beautiful Katherine (Robin Sydney). He pretty much goes berserk, and the last twenty minutes or so of this movie are very hard to watch, even for this old gorehound. It turns into almost a cross between Last House on the Left and the Manson murders. Ray even references the Manson murders when he takes his hostages into an unsuspecting couples cabin, with a young couple, the wife being pregnant. Even Jack Ketchum says in the commentary how difficult the last twenty minutes were for even him to watch. This is incredibly brutal material folks, and the director holds nothing, and I mean nothing back. Ray looks to me like a young Tom Cruise, or maybe a cross between a young Elvis and Tom Cruise, that seems to be the look he is going for. When he snaps, and I mean snaps, it's like the devil himself has taken him over. This is a hell of a movie, and it did make me flinch a little, and that to me is very impressive. Not for the easily offended for sure, but for everybody else, put "The Lost" on your Want List immediately!!!!!!!!!!!! I could not recommend this extremely disturbing movie any higher. Very very well made by the way.

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Great movie with fascinating subject matter, 27 September 2009

Author: dgray-au from Australia

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

First, whilst i'm sure the filmmakers did not have a substantial budget, I did not notice any telltale signs of a low budget production. Second, the story is fascinating. Characters at the polar extreme of an intriguing personality type make great film subjects. Despite the lead character's cavalier attitude to the murder of other HUMAN BEINGS(!) the story is nonetheless believable. This is a great credit to the filmmakers. The beer cans in Ray's boots to elevate his stature and the make-up to smooth over any cracks in a fragile (almost porcelain) veneer plainly expose the vanity of a seriously self-obsessed individual. Finally, the lead actor playing the part of Ray Pye ABSOLUTELY nails it.

I don't like indie films generally but this was a winner. If you like films like 'seven' and '8mm' then i'd happily recommend this movie.

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Worthy adaptation of Ketchum's novel..., 1 May 2009

Author: DisgorgedMenstrualSludge from Hell

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

The last film adaptation of a Jack Ketchum novel I saw was "The Girl Next Door", which was good, though not quite as efficacious in comparison to the book - which is somewhat understandable considering the over-the-top material. Ketchum's 2001 novel, "The Lost", is a compelling, loosely biographical account of 60s serial killer Charles Schmid, who kidnapped and killed several teenage girls in the desert with two allegedly unwilling friends. The movie follows the book with bewildering accuracy and contains a cast of very believable actors. Ray Pye is a hotheaded young man who commits a ghastly thrill-kill at a campsite during the prologue. Four years later, he and his two accomplices have yet to be charged with the crime and live their lives by the rambunctious 'sex, drugs, and rock n' roll' fad of the time as a dedicated cop refuses to give up on the seemingly "cold" case. The majority of the story is basically a depiction of corrupted youth, tied together with a terrifying past incident and the ever fragile sanity of Ray Pye acting as a "ticking time bomb" as the movie progresses. Just about everything I can recall from the novel is featured in the movie, though amazingly paced and unsettling - particularly the ending which certainly doesn't skimp on the horrifying violence. Chris Sivertson, a so-so director, pulled off a worthy adaptation and Lucky McKee ("May") produced. Highly recommended.

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Jack Ketcham's The Lost, 14 March 2009

Author: Scarecrow-88 from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Ray Pyke(Marc Senter) is a narcissistic developing psychopath, whose volatile nature is sure to eventually meet a crescendo of violence as his drug habit and infantile fits of rage represent a volcano on it's way to eruption. Ray's friend Tim(Alex Frost)and girlfriend Jen(Shay Astar)bare witness to his gunning down two girls camping out, and must carry such a burden out of fear for their safety(..that, and Ray has a control over them). This depraved act of violence works as a reminder to us that Ray is a ticking timebomb, as we watch his life slowly spiral out of control as Detective Charlie Schilling(Michael Bowen)hounds him over the murders, knowing that he's the one responsible, just without proof. Ray is the kind of dirtbag who dresses like a country stud, with boots(..with crushed bear cans to make him look taller), black jeans and shirt(..with additional slight touches of eyeliner )& hair slicked back right in place. Sparta, as we soon realize, is a small blot in Texas where dreams are elsewhere and the pretty girls who live in this place have few options in regards to male suitors so Ray is one they flock to. He's merely an assistant manager of his mom's "Bates Motel", but carries himself as if he ruled the world. Just charismatic enough to attract the local female, but it's merely an endless parade of humping and dumping, with the girls returning because there's nobody else it seems. Three particular female characters which have the misfortune to have ever found themselves locked into Ray's radar are Sally Richmond(Alice Hirson), a young woman, temporarily working as a maid for his hotel, who wants nothing at all to do with him, recognizing the kind of sleazoid he really is(..that, and she is involved with a 60 year old retired detective portrayed by screen vet Ed Lauter), Kat Wallace(Robin Sydney), a wealthy babe, her mom a schizophrenic, whose obviously attracted to the danger and mystery he presents(..that, and she's bored and craving excitement), not knowing how obsessive and juvenile he really is, and, of course, Jen who would do anything to please him, always on the receiving end of neglect, ridicule., and abuse. Somewhat holding himself together, while abusing drugs and liquor, it's only an amount of time before Ray snaps.

The fuse is lit by Katherine who Ray longs for in every possible way, as she backs away from a possible relationship..it's realized that Ray was a fling for her, and she wishes to move on with her life. Also adding to this is the discovery that Tim and Jen have slept together(..and that Tim has been taking hash from him). We have come to the understanding that Ray's sanity is hanging by a thread and it won't require much for him to crack.

Sivertson's disturbing portrait of decaying youth bent on destruction, given commanding treatment thanks to how developed the story is, and how it will end. Ray is the kind of character just looking for an excuse to terrorize somebody, and Senter does a good job of displaying the many facets of his troubled character..someone attracted to the spotlight, addicted to a neverending stream of girls and drugs, also carrying serious homicidal tendencies, whose anger fits and outbursts serve as a warning of things to come. Robin Sydney is quite a find, a stunning bombshell whose quite photogenic and seductive(..the camera loves her)..you can see how such a gal would cause Ray(..or many a man)to get all out of sorts. Astar is appropriately pathetic, and sympathetic as Ray's much maligned squeeze, deeply in love with him no matter how emotionally he abuses her..Ray doesn't even hide his sexual excess from her, yet Jen remains loyal to him. Frost is the buddy who probably wishes to be Ray, to have the girls at his feet, the charisma to approach people the way he does. This setting is rather depressing in that we see a cast of characters with little to do but embrace the drug and sex culture available. Ray's fury at the end is rather unsettling and shocking, once he decides to go on a shooting rampage, killing anyone he so chooses(..this has been on the horizon for some time, and Kat's rejection of him finally sends him over the edge), gathering up the girls who infuriated him the most. We also follow Schilling's dogged determination and on-going interrogation to bring Ray to justice, getting what he has so longed for with the unfortunate price of lives. Sivertson's skills as a visual filmmaker are proved here(..and in I KNOW WHO KILLED ME, although that one is ridiculously convoluted and silly)with how he captures the events and characters, building them to the eventual climax. Carefully, Sivertson details what will bring Ray to the breaking point, and those characters who are effected by his rage. The climax takes place in the cabin where Ray discovered the guns used on innocent people, and is appropriately chilling, as he collects the girls who caused his psychological trauma together..completely unglued, Ray has become lost to madness(even besieging a couple there to clean up the place;his violence towards them is truly unpleasant, to say the least)as Schilling grills Tim for his whereabouts.

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