It's fun to see a raw, well shot independent film every now and again and I do, in a way, feel privileged to have seen Lost despite the certain things that I thought kept it from being a great film although kept it at being a good film. It's difficult to pinpoint the exact genre for this film as it's really just a 'road movie/thriller' and revolves around a guy on a road in a desert trying to get home to his wife and child; he's also carrying some cargo but the surprise when it is revealed exactly what the cargo is is far too enjoyable for me to say so here.
The person who wrote and directed this film, Darren Lemke, has obviously paid close attention to certain thrillers and such from the past. Jeremy Stanton (Cain) driving along and getting into all sorts of rather illegal mischief is very reminiscent of Psycho (1960) especially when you realise what it is he's carrying and who he actually is; also, the fact he's pulled over by a state trooper is either supposed to remind us of how we felt when we saw Marion Crane asleep at the wheel in a lay-by when a police car pulled up or it's supposed to create a whole new feeling of paranoia within itself despite the fact the 'twist' of what it is he's actually got in the boot isn't revealed yet.
As Stanton attempts to make his way home, little obstacles that pop up are not only a little predictable but also a little anti-climatic. Like I said, it takes a while for what it is he's carrying to be revealed so any hindrance that occurs is purely going to frustrate him without leaving us on tenterhooks; needless to say that changes later on. Although this could be seen as quite clever, Stanton's reactions to things like: running low on petrol, not being able to communicate to a petrol station attendant due to a language barrier and as mentioned, being stopped by a state trooper aren't really as desperate nor do they make us think that maybe there's more at stake than merely getting home to his family.
I don't like to gripe at independent film's writing but the script is a little weary in Lost. Stanton makes trouble for himself on more than one occasion and to me, it was rather noticeable. Anyone who's seen a road movie before will know that usually the people in the car are in some sort of trouble and have to do their very best not to make things worst for themselves: simple, just drive and drive until you're home, right? Wrong, not in some films. In Thelma and Louise (1991), they were on the run and due to good writing, they avoided trouble most of the time, in a film called The Hit (1984) one character throws a piece of clothing out the window and another says something like: "That was a bit silly it could act against us later as some sort of clue". As a result, in Lost, when Stanton throws several things from his car I immediately thought of that scene from The Hit. Stanton also makes things worse for himself on numerous other occasions, one of which occurs when he moves his 'cargo' from one large bag to several smaller ones meaning more luggage for him.
The film uses another convention it has; an operator called Judy (Scott) to good affect as she acts as Stanton's lifeline although the twist involving her was a little unbelievable just as it was able to plan the feeling of 'It's possible for them to do this twist but I hope they don't' inside of me. Along with this, the multiple problems Stanton comes up against does create good suspense so the director has obviously thought out how he's going to make it all work from a suspenseful point of view. Going into the film, don't expect anything too fantastic but it is a well made, well shot film that uses and borrows to good effect.
The person who wrote and directed this film, Darren Lemke, has obviously paid close attention to certain thrillers and such from the past. Jeremy Stanton (Cain) driving along and getting into all sorts of rather illegal mischief is very reminiscent of Psycho (1960) especially when you realise what it is he's carrying and who he actually is; also, the fact he's pulled over by a state trooper is either supposed to remind us of how we felt when we saw Marion Crane asleep at the wheel in a lay-by when a police car pulled up or it's supposed to create a whole new feeling of paranoia within itself despite the fact the 'twist' of what it is he's actually got in the boot isn't revealed yet.
As Stanton attempts to make his way home, little obstacles that pop up are not only a little predictable but also a little anti-climatic. Like I said, it takes a while for what it is he's carrying to be revealed so any hindrance that occurs is purely going to frustrate him without leaving us on tenterhooks; needless to say that changes later on. Although this could be seen as quite clever, Stanton's reactions to things like: running low on petrol, not being able to communicate to a petrol station attendant due to a language barrier and as mentioned, being stopped by a state trooper aren't really as desperate nor do they make us think that maybe there's more at stake than merely getting home to his family.
I don't like to gripe at independent film's writing but the script is a little weary in Lost. Stanton makes trouble for himself on more than one occasion and to me, it was rather noticeable. Anyone who's seen a road movie before will know that usually the people in the car are in some sort of trouble and have to do their very best not to make things worst for themselves: simple, just drive and drive until you're home, right? Wrong, not in some films. In Thelma and Louise (1991), they were on the run and due to good writing, they avoided trouble most of the time, in a film called The Hit (1984) one character throws a piece of clothing out the window and another says something like: "That was a bit silly it could act against us later as some sort of clue". As a result, in Lost, when Stanton throws several things from his car I immediately thought of that scene from The Hit. Stanton also makes things worse for himself on numerous other occasions, one of which occurs when he moves his 'cargo' from one large bag to several smaller ones meaning more luggage for him.
The film uses another convention it has; an operator called Judy (Scott) to good affect as she acts as Stanton's lifeline although the twist involving her was a little unbelievable just as it was able to plan the feeling of 'It's possible for them to do this twist but I hope they don't' inside of me. Along with this, the multiple problems Stanton comes up against does create good suspense so the director has obviously thought out how he's going to make it all work from a suspenseful point of view. Going into the film, don't expect anything too fantastic but it is a well made, well shot film that uses and borrows to good effect.