Lost Boys (2021)
Following up their success from their 2010 documentary Reindeerspotting: Escape From Santaland which followed a group of drug dealers in the Arctic Circle trying to put their past behind them, filmmakers Joonas Neuvonen and Sadri Cetinkaya are back just over a decade later with an unofficial sequel titled Lost Boys. After the premiere of Reindeerspotting: Escape From Santaland, the subjects the filmmakers followed within that feature sadly took a dark path with mystery, disappearance, and murder. Trying to figure out what exactly happened, Joonas Neuvonen sets off on a multi-country journey that will see him enter the underbelly of society to find what came of his once close friend.
While the documentary genre has achieved many diverse goals and results, one of the most popular identities for the genre in the mainstream zeitgeist is that of true crime documentaries. Especially when it comes to limited series such as Netflix's Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness or Hulu's Sasquatch; the genre has sucked audiences onto the edge of their seats with every twist and development being almost unbelievable if it wasn't for the fact that the audience was watching a true story. Lost Boys fits rather easily into this identity also, becoming one of the most shocking and thrilling projects of the year so far. Even for those who haven't seen Reindeerspotting: Escape From Santaland, the film's setup is easy enough to where the audience will immediately be able to engage with its story.
The effect the film has is heightened for a few reasons. The first being the quality of footage available for the project. Documentaries capturing true crime often struggle due to a lack of quality and relevant footage as often key moments are not necessarily someone one can prepare for and get a camera rolling for. With Lost Boys, the camera captures nearly everything of importance with a shockingly strong eye for shot composition and framing that adds a legitimate filmmaking craft to the project while staying overall rough enough to sell the grittiness of the situation being portrayed. The other key factor is the emotions given to the project by Joonas. Looking for someone who clearly means a lot to him, the desperation from the filmmaker is felt within the core of the project adding to the stakes and emotional gravitas of the mystery which is being solved.
While the project overall is undeniably thrilling, the one issue at times is the pacing. Lost Boys is a rather slow project and even at a seemingly clean 99-minutes, there are sequences that do feel a bit drawn out especially when the film is sitting, letting both the audience and filmmaker catch their breath. Even if the film wanted to keep its runtime, it feels like this time of soaking in emotion and atmosphere could be better used on location in the various alleyways and corners of the cities explored which are seeping with tension as a modern real-life existential nightmare. This is often much more rewarding of a location than an empty hotel room and it does and it would help keep the audience on their toes even if nothing particularly deep or interesting was happening at that moment.
Still, Lost Boys has to be seen as an undeniable success. Tense, shocking, tragic and rewarding; the documentary feels destined to acquire more and more praise and attention as it is seen by more audiences. With both a great story and genuine sense of craft, this has all the elements needed to connect and impress audiences who are not afraid to venture out in the dark and confront whatever is around the next corner.
While the documentary genre has achieved many diverse goals and results, one of the most popular identities for the genre in the mainstream zeitgeist is that of true crime documentaries. Especially when it comes to limited series such as Netflix's Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness or Hulu's Sasquatch; the genre has sucked audiences onto the edge of their seats with every twist and development being almost unbelievable if it wasn't for the fact that the audience was watching a true story. Lost Boys fits rather easily into this identity also, becoming one of the most shocking and thrilling projects of the year so far. Even for those who haven't seen Reindeerspotting: Escape From Santaland, the film's setup is easy enough to where the audience will immediately be able to engage with its story.
The effect the film has is heightened for a few reasons. The first being the quality of footage available for the project. Documentaries capturing true crime often struggle due to a lack of quality and relevant footage as often key moments are not necessarily someone one can prepare for and get a camera rolling for. With Lost Boys, the camera captures nearly everything of importance with a shockingly strong eye for shot composition and framing that adds a legitimate filmmaking craft to the project while staying overall rough enough to sell the grittiness of the situation being portrayed. The other key factor is the emotions given to the project by Joonas. Looking for someone who clearly means a lot to him, the desperation from the filmmaker is felt within the core of the project adding to the stakes and emotional gravitas of the mystery which is being solved.
While the project overall is undeniably thrilling, the one issue at times is the pacing. Lost Boys is a rather slow project and even at a seemingly clean 99-minutes, there are sequences that do feel a bit drawn out especially when the film is sitting, letting both the audience and filmmaker catch their breath. Even if the film wanted to keep its runtime, it feels like this time of soaking in emotion and atmosphere could be better used on location in the various alleyways and corners of the cities explored which are seeping with tension as a modern real-life existential nightmare. This is often much more rewarding of a location than an empty hotel room and it does and it would help keep the audience on their toes even if nothing particularly deep or interesting was happening at that moment.
Still, Lost Boys has to be seen as an undeniable success. Tense, shocking, tragic and rewarding; the documentary feels destined to acquire more and more praise and attention as it is seen by more audiences. With both a great story and genuine sense of craft, this has all the elements needed to connect and impress audiences who are not afraid to venture out in the dark and confront whatever is around the next corner.