“Lost After Dark” wants to be an 80s slasher flick in the way that Norman Bates wanted to keep his mother. But, you can’t dress up a limp story and pass it off as the real deal. Robert Patrick leads a strong enough cast in what amounts to a pretty fun trip back to 1984. It’s just that it’s 1984 in a faux grindhouse filter.
Which is inane in itself as 99% of grindhouses were effectively dead by that point. But, it doesn’t stop the creative team from swiping a joke from “Planet Terror” and trying to ape the violence without going through the costly affair. I’m a big fan of fun, gory horror. However, this movie does everything in its power to cut costs and never give viewers that big moment. If you actually made this kind of movie in the 1980s, nobody would see it again until Up All Night. Even then, the TV edit wouldn’t hurt it that bad.
The Blu-Ray comes with no special features. However, the A/V Quality is amazing. You get a crisp Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track. While the transfer is 1080p, it can appear a slight bit hazy during some exterior night scenes. In the end, it’s worth a rental.
Release Date: 9/1/15