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Review: Ramaa Mosley’s Lost Child

This one’s tough because Lost Child is far from a horror film, but it’s still a successful feature in every sense of the word. A collaboration between Green Hummingbird Entertainment, Varient Pictures and Laundry Films, Lost Child sees a female army veteran, Fern, as she returns to her childhood home to search for her missing brother. The house, a cabin, was never full of fond memories, and that was before strange happenings started at night and a neighbor threatens to burn it down. The drama is only compacted more when Fern runs into an abandoned boy lurking in the woods just behind her property. She shelters him and tries to find his family, only to return day after day without any new information. Although she does uncover an urban legend about a malevolent, life-stealing spirit that comes in the form of a child. The mystery runs as high as her emotions as Fern and the boy discover how alike they really are. Written and directed by Ramaa Mosley, Lost Child stars Leven Rambin, Jim Parrack, Taylor John-Smith, Landon Edwards, Toni Johnson and Kip Collins. Find it out now on DVD and VOD courtesy of Breaking Glass Pictures.

A small, rural town is the perfect backdrop for a story that needs time to let its mystery grow. Answers aren’t as readily available when your closest neighbor is three miles away. Luckily, Fern is an army veteran and staying alone in a dark forest is the least of her worries after experiencing the hardships of war. However, now she has to fight the hardships of her past. A terrible father, a neglectful mother, and the brother who went missing but is rumored to frequent her hometown, it’s a family no one wants to be a part of. These failed family friendships keep Fern from chasing positive relationships with men, even as a potential candidate makes himself readily available. Summer in the country means angst, sweat and beer, and though they have fun, Fern’s brain is always locked on the two more important tasks – find her brother, find this kid’s family. The boy, Cecil, is civilized and respectful, but he does have a mean-streak. And as the legend of a soul-sucking spirit in a child’s body comes to the forefront, Fern has to decide whether she believes the myth or if the boy just needs a stable parental figure. Could that be her? And if he is evil, how does she dispel him from the Ozark forests forever? A drama, a thriller, an emotional journey all mixed with a supernatural element, but again – far from a horror film.

You can try to force that genre all you want, but it’s just not there. That doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy Lost Child, though. For one, it has a dog for a while and that gets points from me. Seriously, Lost Child was great. Very high in suspense and Leven Rambin is an incredible actress. She has an impressive television resume, and I loved how her character, Fern, looked more and more tired as the story went on. It really served as a physical representation of the stress or demon story-line. Everyone pulled in great performances, actually, but Leven Rambin is by far the standout. I was also a huge fan of the cinematography in Lost Child, and the camera crew had a lot to work with; lots of scenic wonders and natural beauty in the wilderness. Props to producers Ramaa Mosley (also the writer/director), Gina Resnick, Tim Macy (also the co-writer), Cameron Gray, Sara Johnson and Lizabeth Chappell as well as the cinematographer Darin Moran and editors Phillip Bartell, Debbie Berman and Robert McFalls for making a major motion picture that’s deserving of numerous awards in the behind-the-scenes departments. Masterful work here and a worthy entry on the Breaking Glass Pictures catalog.

Weird in all the right places and shrouded in mystery, Lost Child is an emotional journey and a true testament to the storm that the human psyche can withstand. Produced to perfection and performed with real gumption, it’s a stunning success. Again, it’s just not a true horror film. Only subtracting points for that. Final Score: 6.5 out of 10.

Michael DeFellipo

(Senior Editor)

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