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Frightfest 2016: ‘Lost Solace’ Review

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Lost Solace review: Features high levels of well-orchestrated, nail biting tension.

Lost Solace review by Awais Irfan at Frightfest, 2016.

lost solace

Frightfest is underway now, and one of the many films looking to make an impression was sci-fi thriller Lost Solace. The film centers around a sociopath, Spence (Andrew Jenkins) – who seduces women and then steals their prized possessions. When he takes a new drug whilst out at a club, the absurd side-effects (fits, when he gets stressed) begin to take control and things quickly begin to quickly go awry for Spence as a result.

Whilst there are certainly elements of both the science-fiction and thriller genres at play here, Lost Solace is first and foremost a character piece at its heart. However, where director Chris Scheuerman falters is by not treating it as so. For starters, the viewer needs to find themselves invested in Spence’s character and feeling genuinely scared of him but Andrew Jenkins‘ performance isn’t quite convincing enough to do so – when he’s not purposefully trying to seem emotionless and wooden, he falls flat, but aside from this, he does have couple of very good moments. Again though, these are sadly balanced out poorly with moments where he goes a bit overboard.

A large chunk of the film’s premise also revolves around his relationship with other women and you need to believe that these women are in love with him and that their feelings for him are genuine, yet since he’s usually staring at them in silence or rarely talking, it comes off quite deadpan and emotionless and you wonder why they can’t figure out something’s wrong with him. There’s no authenticity or believability to any of the relationships here and it all feels overtly-contrived and quite forced. This nature is conveyed further in the poor realisation of the plot, with the action starting as a result of Spence’s current girlfriend’s (Melissa Rossburgh) little brother, Jory (Charlie Kerr), enlisting Spence to help him murder his dad, but for such a poor reason.

Lost Solace Review

Lost Solace Review

Kerr himself gives the best performance here, and his character’s dialogue feels a lot less stilted and more natural, as the somewhat more genuine character here, grounding the proceedings and adding some levity somewhat. Rossburgh is okay but the writing for her character makes her too clichéd and disposable – she’s a struggling older sister trying to fill a motherly role and look after her brother, with their own obstacles presenting itself – and she’s fairly one-dimensional aside from that. Rossburgh and Kerr’s brother-sister relationship is more convincing as the film goes on and begins to give some more depth and emotion to it, that was previously lacking, which means we can somewhat empathise for the characters and root for them later on. The pair have veritable chemistry with one another which also helps convey this relationship and help us care somewhat, their dynamic is great and they play off each other very well, yet it’s just a shame they don’t share this same chemistry with Jenkins – who seems more like a solo act.

The pacing issues are certainly evident in the first act or so of Lost Solace, with the film all over the place. However, when Spence is admitted to a research program exploring how to treat this drug, there’s a very welcome change of pace as things begin to flow a bit better and the story begins to get all the more interesting – Jenkins’ acting is also much better here too. A subplot begins to develop here and it perhaps one of the better things in an otherwise predictable story. The cinematography is pretty great and it’s a visually fine looking film; the score is just as strong and acts as a nice backdrop and accompaniment for Spence’s state of mind.

The latter half of this film feels a lot more focused than the first half and the story and characters are at their most engaging here, with some genuine enjoyment and tension to be found. However, the film is let down by a predictable and rather boring and convoluted first act that is more style than substance, struggling to really find its footing. It doesn’t reach the heights of wonder and intrigue that most good sci-fi films do nor does it quite hit those high levels of well-orchestrated, nail biting tension.

Lost Solace review by Awais Irfan, Frightfest 2016.

Lost Solace forms part of this year’s Frightfest programme. 

For as long as I can remember, I have had a real passion for movies and for writing. I'm a superhero fanboy at heart; 'The Dark Knight' and 'Days of Future Past' are a couple of my favourites. I'm a big sci-fi fan too - 'Star Wars' has been my inspiration from the start; 'Super 8' is another personal favourite, close to my heart... I love movies. All kinds of movies. Lots of them too.

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