Reviews

I am generally a fan of B-grade and even Z-grade sci-fi, but I should have stuck with my gut feeling on this one. I bought it as part of a four-movies-on-one-disc DVD at Walmart, and my gut told me not to because these movies were in "color", almost always a bad sign with dollar dvds. Furthermore, sci-fi from the 1950s generally does NOT work in color, even if the print is passable. Movies about aliens should be in black & white, IMO, because it gives a better feel for the time in which they were made. Even so, I could forgive a bad print, color or B&W, if there was something redeemable about the film. I don't ask for much in my dollar dvds, just some requisite cheesiness at the very least, and an end-of-the-world scenario that is suitably terrifying.

This movie, I am sorry to report, has none of that. It is just plain rotten on all fronts, and the doomsday scare consists of a guy staring through a telescope at a planet that approaches Earth, giving reports as it closes in.

"Warning From Space" has nothing to recommend it whatsoever, and if it were not for the hottie who walks through walls and dematerializes herself, I would not have made it through the film.

This one makes "Plan 9 From Outer Space" look like it was directed by Tarkovsky.

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!

I am a HUGE fan of the original Texas Chainsaw, and other hard-core, mean-spirited horror films (mainly from the 1970's) such as Hills Have Eyes and Eaten Alive (also by Tobe Hooper) and I must say: This remake is the real thing. A real Horror Film, without jokes, without cutesy one-liners by the killer(s), without stupid teenagers. This one uses psychology over shock value; This family is one angry bunch! The young people, their victims, project real fright. One scene struck me as very realistic: When the Sheriff makes them lie down in the dirt, and one of the girls is crying, "We're all gonna die". Very "Last House On The Left". Also, the cinematography is phenomenal. The tracking shots, in particular the chase through the bedsheets, are second to none. The whole atmosphere, the dark sets, the old photographs on the walls, the record player, the use of local actors (remind me never to drive through the middle of Texas!), make this film a very pleasant surprise. It joins the ranks of the all-timers, before Horror was watered down for a new, over-protected generation. Thanks to everyone involved for making a truly evil film.