Director: Donna McRae
Writer: Donna McRae, Michael Vale (Screenplay)
Starring: Adele Perovic, John Brumpton, Jane Clifton, Eloise Mignon, Alexander Capper, Lewis Revell
Plot: Lucy travels to an isolated house in the forest to wait for her sister. They have worked out a risky scheme for their future and all she needs to do is sit it out. However a sinister presence may have something different in mind.
Runtime: 1 Hour 20 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Slow Burner
Story: Lost Gully Road starts when Lucy (Perovic) heads to a isolated house in the forest to get away from the pains of life, her sister Cassie (Mignon) is checking up on her, warning her to stay away from her phone and enjoy the nature environment around her.
As Lucy stays at the house for longer, she learns of a sinister presence within the walls, one that starts out friendly and with the pressure of an impending unwanted visitor, things start to spiral out of control.
Thoughts on Lost Gully Road
Characters – Lucy is the woman escaping from her life, she is trying to stay off the grid because of why she is running, as we learn more about the person, she is running from through the phone calls with her sister. She learns that the house has a haunting spirit in it which she must deal with the ever increasing level of aggression coming her way. We only get a few more fleeting characters, with the housekeeper, shopkeeper and Cassie the sister on the phone.
Performances – Adele Perovic is the person that needs to carry this film with her performance, for the most part she does well without being able to get an impactful scene.
Story – The story follows a young woman on the run from her past, her hiding place is off the radar, which happens to be where a sinister presence is waiting for a visitor. The story slowly gives us details of both the incidents going on, first why Lucy is on the run, which get revelled through phone calls with her sister and the secrets of the house from what Lucy discovers, it is a nice way to show us how everything is unfolding without just relying on the haunting side of the film, it does add up, even if it does feel like it could have been extended more.
Horror – The horror in the film comes from seeing what is happening to Lucy, everything starts to get bigger as time spent in the house goes on longer.
Settings – The film does use the singular location to show how Lucy is isolated and could have a threat coming from any angle.
Special Effects – The effects are used to show what is happening to Lucy, most is off camera material.
Scene of the Movie – Escape the room.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – While the hints are small, they are very much blink and you miss them.
Final Thoughts – This is a nice little horror that slow builds up to a big incident which we don’t get disappointed with.
Overall: Nicely Slow Built Horror.
