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Loast After Dark - Blu-ray Review

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2 beers

While not remarkable, Lost After Dark is a somewhat effective throwback to the heydey of Slasher flicks that once made the drive-in rounds while knocking off Friday the 13th.  This Canadian feature played well at festival circuits last year and, thanks to Anchor Bay Entertainment, finally makes its blu-ray debut.  The film is watchable but far from perfect.  It earns Grindhouse points for its heavily stylized presentation – complete with missing reels and cracks and pops – and benefits due to a snark-free atmosphere of self-awareness but, with plenty of pacing issues, makes for an uneasy and impatient viewing experience.

Writer/director Ian Kessner – with input from co-writer Bo Ransdell – nails down the rght tone and formula to make this carnage-heavy festival of gore work as genre glam.  While there are some pacing issues - due to a prolonged focus on the kids and not the adults who return to "save the day" - that could have used a bit more finesse, the basic story of eight poor decision-making teens ditching a school dance in favor of an overnight cabin in the woods excursion (via a stolen school bus) is ripe for ultimate consequences of horror. In carnage, Kessner and crew deliver.  It may not be extreme but the gore is suffienct.

With only Robert Patrick (as Mr. Cunningham, the principal of their school) and one concerned parent hot on their trail, Adrienne (Kendra Leigh Timmins), Jamie (Elise Gatien), Marilyn (Eve Harlow) and Heather (Lanie McAuley) set their sights on “hooking up” with Sean (Justin Kelly), Johnnie (Alexander Calvert), Wesley (Stephan James) and Toby (Jesse Camacho) and never plan for the worst case scenario that unfolds when their stolen bus runs out of gas and stalls out near a long abandoned house of unimaginable horror. 

Stupid teens. 

It turns out that the closest house – discovered after a charming trek two pot-smoking teens make though the woods - is very much inhabited by a flesh-eating psycho who has an affinity for chopping up youngsters and nailing them to the side of barns.  Behaving very much like you’d expect a horror flick from the early 1980s to operate, the teens are targeted one by one until there is but the lone girl left to beg, scratch and claw her way out of the psycho’s grasp. 

Lost After Dark certainly feels authentic in its intentions to entertain and pay respect to the past but, as it doesn’t attempt to do much of anything, suffers because it is so forgettable.  And, as the teens are merely archetypes of the genre, there’s no real tension built in to the formula as the slut, the jock, the fatso, the virgin, the nice guy, the black guy all become fine dining for one Rob Zombie-looking cannibal creep.

Complete with a vague ending and a post credits tag scene suggesting the killer is still at large, Lost After Dark never attempts to be anything more than a love letter to the genre of a bygone era.  They just don’t make them like this anymore … and maybe for good reason.

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[tab title="Film Details"]

Loast After Dark - Blu-ray Review

MPAA Rating: R.
Runtime:
89 mins
Director
: Ian Kessner
Writer: Ian Kessner, Bo Ransdell
Cast:
Sarah Fisher, Mark Wiebe, Jesse Camacho
Genre
: Horror
Tagline:
And you thought the '80s were dead ...
Memorable Movie Quote: "I was in the 'nam you sick fuck and I've got chunks of guys like you in my stool."
Distributor:
Anchor Bay Films
Official Site:
Release Date:
No theatrical release
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date:
September 1, 2015
Synopsis: In this clever homage to 80's slasher films, a group of teenagers looking to party get stranded when their ride breaks down, and end up being stalked by a cannibalistic killer.

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[tab title="Blu-ray Review"]

Loast After Dark - Blu-ray Review

Blu-ray

Blu-ray Details:

Available on Blu-ray - September 1, 2015
Screen Formats: 1.78:1
Subtitles
: English SDH, Spanish
Audio:
English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1
Discs: 25GB Blu-ray Disc; Single disc (1 BD)
Region Encoding: A

Lost After Dark is definitely not that when it comes to its appearance.  It is a good-looking film with vintage wash to its overall appearance.  While full of specific detail, the 1080p transfer from Anchor Bay Entertainment is a strange beast to review as it purposefully damaged to appear authentic.  Colors are mutated but strong; black levels are as well.  There are moments of orchestrated print damage (which is part of the fun of the movie).  The point of the movie is to look as intentional – complete with dirt and scratches – as possible.  The sound – released here with a strong English 5.1 Dolby TrueHD track – is more than adequate for the release.

Supplements:

Commentary:

  • None

Special Features:

None

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