Lost After Dark review

Do you enjoy slasher flicks? Horror movies set in the 80's? A slasher flick that turns ever slasher trope upside down? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you need to watch Lost After Dark. It's an 80's slasher flick that wasn't made in the 80's. That being said, it does manage to pull of an 80's horror flick feel, from the acting, fashion, music, lingo, right down to the video quality.

It begins as every slasher flick does. A bunch of teenagers plan a weekend getaway to a cabin in the woods. Our eight brilliant teenagers steal a bus from the school they all attend, then, away they go. Sounds so unlike any slasher film ever in existence right?

A short list of the expected tropes that did happen during the film:
The bus broke down in the middle of nowhere
Spotted the abandoned house on top of the hill
 Jump scares (which pissed me off to no end)
Making out
Beer
Cannibal killer
The Obligatory black guy, nerdy guy and virginal chick that EVERY slasher film stars.

Now that we have that out of the way, we can talk about what actually surprised me.
The one thing that took me by complete surprise.

The virginal character, the one we all thought would be the end game survivor, was actually the first to die. Horribly. This movie had my attention after this went down.

There was a unexpected Grind house moment in the middle of the film. An intense moment is just suddenly gone and "lost" due do....well it doesn't really explain why. It made me chuckle.

A SMART cannibal killer. I know, I know. This just sounds weird to those of us who love teen slashers. This movie made the smart, backwoods hick thing happen. He didn't blindly chase his victims around like someone desperate for flesh. He watched, waited and stalked his prey.

The Black guy is the second to last person to die. Still sad he died since he was my favorite character of the bunch. Sadly, some tropes just wont die. Nevertheless, he wasn't the first. So it's progress I suppose.

The Goth girl is actually the last to die.
 
The character I thought would be  the second to die was actually the last person standing.

There was no sex in this movie. Making out of course. An implied blow job scene that ended as quickly as it began. Hmm. Sorry guys, no boobs for you in this movie.

Animal killing. Now this confused me. One of the gals put her dog in to her bag (because teenagers make brilliant life choices), this actually ends up being more of a hindrance when her and her boyfriend are hiding from the killer in a car. The dog wont stop whining. So she snaps his neck to shut him up. Now, I am not a dog person by any means, but this still bothered me. It felt like it was tossed in purely for shock value. Why not crack the door open a bit, let the dog escape and use him as a distraction?

The blood and gore in this movie is surprisingly plentiful and graphic.


The ending was a complete and utter tribute to Halloween and Friday the 13th. Those of you who have seen both movies know exactly what I am talking about. Which didn't bug me, but it does go on the expected list.

Overall this movie is worth watch. If you can find it for under 10 bucks, I'd say it's even worth owning. It was a pleasant surprise. A blast in the past while being somewhat original.