dbryn I'd like to think that I am at least as insightful as an average person. Having studied the craft and written a couple of screenplays myself, I'm at a loss of words - which doesn't happen very often. Maybe one has to read the book, which I'm guessing is far superior to this cinematic mess, in order to follow or 'get' what the purpose of the film is. Three teens in the woods stumble upon two girls in the woods, they're shot. OK, good start... but then we jump to a cast of characters with a LOUSY setup. Who are they? How do they relate to the story? It takes too much effort to piece it together and my 30mins+ we don't really care - we're LOST! The setups in the film don't really have any satisfying payoffs and there's a lot of ON THE NOSE scenes that are placed in order to ensure the audience understands the plot that hangs together by a thread. Are we the audience suppose to root for Ray? I don't think so. Is there even a protagonist in the film? I don't think so. So are we the audience just sitting through a bad movie that showcases a villains dark side? Totally unsatisfying. Again, no comment on the book... I'm sure it's wonderful in a dark kind of way, but it's likely an impossible feat to convert that story into a successful film - this one has failed. Yes, the audience is the only thing about this movie that is clearly LOST and this is likely the worst or second worst movie I've seen in years.

Paul Andrews The Lost starts late one night as Ray Pye (Marc Senter) & his two best friends Timmy (Alex Frost) & Jennifer (Shay Astar) are out in the woods, Ray spots two girls who start kissing each other which offends Ray's moral sensibilities so he shoots them with a rifle killing one girl & leaving the other in a coma. Jump forward 'Four Years Later' & the crime remains unsolved, the girl has been in a coma for four years but has now died. Detective Charlie Schilling (Michael Bowden) has investigated the case for four years & his only suspect is Ray, Schilling is convinced Ray is responsible but cannot prove it. Ray is obsessed with his image & chats up every girl he meets, he has violent outbursts & is mentally unstable. Schilling tries to manipulate Timmy & Jennifer's fear of Ray in order to get a confession but when Ray finds out he loses control completely...Written, produced & directed by Chris Silvertson based on the novel by Jack Ketchum this rather dull serial killer thriller is more of a character study & was a real chore for me to sit through, there is no horror or suspense & I thought it was pretty lifeless. The script focuses on Ray as a character, the problem with that is I though Ray was extremely unlikable. Ray is arrogant, treats people like dirt, he's a liar & cheat, he's a callous murderer, a druggie & selfish which is just about every annoying trait you can imagine which makes him as a character very unappealing & impossible to relate to. I was also quite surprised at how long The Lost goes on for, at a good two hours I felt like i had been sat there watching this for days as not that much actually happens. After the two girls are shot during the opening the script just follows Ray around, there's some subplots about an underage romance, the cop trying to prove Ray is responsible & a rich girl named Katherine who pops up occasionally & seemingly isn't bothered when her boyfriend Ray admits he brutally murdered two girls in cold blood. What all the good looking girls in this find so attractive about Ray is a complete mystery to me, a lying two timing rat like Ray turns on his bad boy charm & the girls just fall for it. Generally the script is quite bitty, it never seems to focus on one aspect of the story for too long & with such an unlikable central character I found the film hard to sit through.Horror author Jack Ketchum drew his inspiration for the character of Ray Pye from the real life convicted serial killer Charles Schmid who was apparently nicknamed the 'Pied Piper of Tuscon' for reasons I don't have a clue about. The character of Ray Pye represents Schmid quite well apparently including his fake mole & copious use of lipstick & make-up. There is next to no violence or gore here, a few people get shot at the end & the two girls are shot at the start but with not much happening between them don't expect a high body-count or a blood bath. There's some sex & nudity thrown in if that's your thing.Filmed on a low budget the film looks alright & has decent production values but with lots of dialogue heavy exposition The Lost didn't need to have a big budget. The acting is pretty good, I can't say I warmed to any of the character's but maybe that show's how good the performances are as I don't think your supposed to like anyone.The Lost is a film that starts off quite well & promises to be a serial killer thriller but settles down into a boring character study full of melodramatic tedium that bored me silly. At two hours long not enough happened to maintain my interest & a really unlikable central character just killed the viewing experience dead for me.

Scarecrow-88 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.

Moviguy 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.