Directed By: Ian Kessner
Starring: Sarah Fisher, Mark Wiebe, Jesse Camacho
Tag line: "And you thought the '80s were dead ..."
Line from the film: "I don't want to be eaten by a cannonball!"
An homage to the slasher films of yesteryear, Director Ian Kessner’s Lost After Dark might not by the most convincing ‘80s throwback you’ll ever see, but in the end, it’s not a bad little horror movie.
It’s 1984, and a group of friends have arranged to meet up at their school’s Spring Ball. But they have no intention of staying there for long. Hopping aboard a bus hot-wired by Tobe (Jesse Camacho), the teens head off into the woods of Michigan, where they’ll spend the night at a hunting cabin owned by the family of straight-A student, Adrienne (Kendra Leigh Timmins), who’s hoping for some alone time with star football player Sean (Justin Kelly), a guy she’s had a crush on for quite a while. Their road trip comes to an abrupt end, however, when the bus runs out of gas, stranding the group, which includes Adrienne’s best friend, Jamie (Elise Gatien); high-school sweethearts Johnnie (Alexander Calvert) and Heather (Lanie McAuley); ladies’ man Wesley (Stephan James); and bad girl Marilyn (Eve Harlow), in the middle of nowhere. Adding to their problems is the fact that the school’s vice-principal (Robert Patrick, Terminator 2: Judgment Day) saw them drive away in the stolen bus, and after a brief talk with Adrienne’s father (David Lipper), he believes he knows exactly where they’re going.
As for the teens, they find shelter in a seemingly abandoned house, and figure it’s as good a place as any to shack up for the night. But this isn’t just any old house; it’s the family home of the Joads, a clan of cannibals who were gunned down by the police decades earlier. Unfortunately for the seven friends, Junior Joad (Mark Wiebe) survived to ordeal, and has been hiding out for years, snacking on stray hikers and vagrants who wandered too close to his abode. And it isn’t long before Junior starts picking the teens off one by one, but will he manage to kill them all before the remaining few decide to fight back?
From its stereotypical characters (who make one dumb decision after another) to its insane killer, Lost After Dark definitely gives off an ‘80s vibe, which only gets stronger when the blood starts to flow (one kill in particular is a clear nod to Lucio Fulci’s Zombie). And while the film does have an artificially grainy look (complete with scratches and blemishes), Kessner thankfully kept the manufactured defects to a minimum (though he does utilize the “Reel Missing” gag, a la Grindhouse, where we supposedly miss some of the action because the reel was damaged beyond repair. Not only did this gimmick take me out of the movie momentarily, but from the looks of it, not a whole lot happened in that missing reel, leaving me to conclude that the film was better off without it). We do get the occasional wink to the audience, especially with regards to ‘80s pop culture (during the bus ride, one character is trying to solve a Rubik’s cube, which, in frustration, she chucks out the window), but for the most part, Lost After Dark plays it pretty straight, resulting in some genuinely tense sequences.
Those with fond recollections of the 1980’s will surely get a kick out of Lost After Dark. And while its appeal among the younger crowds might be more limited, I’d still recommend it for everyone. Yes, Lost After Dark is a throwback to a bygone era, but it will also show you why so many of us fell in love with that time period in the first place.