''Lost'' is a 2004 American

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

starring

Dean Cain Dean George Cain ( Tanaka; born July 31, 1966) is an American actor. From 1993 to 1997, he played Clark Kent / Superman in the TV series '' Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman''. Cain was the host of ''Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' and ...

. It was written and directed by first-time filmmaker, Darren Lemke.

Plot

After orchestrating a robbery, bank Vice President Jeremy Stanton (

) gets lost driving in the desert, en route to meeting his family with a deadline of eight hours. He listens to tapes by a lifestyle guru (the film is divided into sections titled according to chapters from the guru's best-selling book) and seeks help from a telephone route-finding service, which gives him guidance that does not agree with his map. At first it seems as if he has succeeded in the perfect crime, but things quickly deteriorate – he is pursued by one of his fellow robbers (

Danny Trejo Danny Trejo ( ; born May 16, 1944) is an American actor. He has appeared in films including ''Desperado'', ''Heat'', and the ''From Dusk Till Dawn'' film series. With frequent collaborator and his second cousin Robert Rodriguez, he portrayed ...

), a ruthless killer whom he double crossed; his wife begins to doubt the choices they've made; he attempts to turn himself in to a state trooper, who is found dead by his pursuer's hand – and self-doubt plagues him. The film is almost a solo performance, with few other characters except Stanton and Judy (

Ashley Scott Ashley McCall Scott (born July 13, 1977) is an American actress and model, best known for providing the voice and motion capture for Maria Miller in the video games ''The Last of Us'' (2013) and ''The Last of Us Part II'' (2020). She has also a ...

), the woman from the telephone route-finder service, and tension builds in a

Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of realism and the fantastic. It typ ...

-esque style as it becomes clear that things are not what they seem. Ultimately, it is revealed that Judy has been paid by his pursuers to lead him into a trap. He is surrounded and one of his pursuers taps on the window as the movie ends.

Cast

as Jeremy Stanton *

Irina Björklund Irina Felicia Björklund (born 7 February 1973) is a Finnish actress and singer. Early life and education Björklund was born in Danderyd, Stockholm County, Sweden before moving to Finland with her family. Björklund also lived in France during h ...

as Cora Stanton *

as Edward James Archer *

Justin Henry Justin Henry (born May 25, 1971) is an American actor and businessman, known for playing the object of the titular custody battle in the 1979 film ''Kramer vs. Kramer'', a debut role that earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supp ...

as Chester Gould *

as Judy *

Bill Cobbs William Francisco Cobbs (born June 16, 1934) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in movies such as Louisiana Slim in '' The Hitter'' (1979), Water in ''The Brother from Another Planet'' (1984), and as Lewis Coleman on ''I'll Fly Aw ...

as Jeremy's Boss * Robert Easton as Minister

Reception

Kevin Thomas of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' said in his review; "Lost is consistently clever, amusing – and scary." Jon Strickland of ''

LA Weekly ''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin, who served as president and editor until 1991. Voice Media Group sold the paper in late 2017 to Semanal Media LLC, whose paren ...

'' called the film a "likable thriller (that) shows surprising smarts for a low-budget debut".

References

External links

* * * 2004 films 2004 psychological thriller films 2000s Spanish-language films 2000s road movies American road movies Films with screenplays by Darren Lemke 2004 directorial debut films American psychological thriller films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films {{psychological-thriller-film-stub