LOST GULLY ROAD is generally described as a "slow burn" ghost story. It would be more accurate to simply describe it as a "slow-moving" ghost story. In terms of the story and its associated plot points, there is maybe... MAYBE... thirty minutes of legitimate plot that is painfully stretched out to cover the one hour and twenty minute running time. Some reviewers are describing this movie is a "slow burn", and they are either being charitable or they don't know what a slow burn is. For a slow burn, SOMETHING pertinent to the unfolding of the story needs to be happening, like a lot of complexity to understand, or a building threat and so on. Just being slow and BORING does not constitute a slow burn. And just waiting for a ghost to get off the dime and do something is also not a building threat.
The set up for the story consists of a collection of generic plot elements that are not described much beyond generic plot placeholders. Lucy, the lead character, is hiding out in a small cabin out in the (Australian) woods, seeking to avoid an unspecified "bad man" with whom she is apparently attempting to make a clean break. Lucy's sister is supposed to meet her in a couple of days at this remote cabin when she has finalized their "escape" details. There is a vague reference to having to keep one of Lucy's pieces of luggage "well and truly hidden", suggesting that Lucy may have absconded with something valuable belonging to the "bad man" The situation is further complicated by virtue of the fact that whoever the "bad man" is also knows the sister and the sister has difficulty getting away because she believes she's being watched by him.
Lucy quickly becomes antsy when the agreed-to waiting period of two days turns into several days because of sisterly complications. And Lucy's rented remote cabin has no TV or other entertainment and cabin fever sets in with a vengeance. She is admonished not to use her cell phone because the unspecified "bad man" will be able to quickly find her if she turns it on; she is restricted to using the burner phone her sister gave her.
To arbitrarily add some twists to the story in an effort to make it interesting, a collection of plot vehicles are used to help confuse the issue. Firstly, Lucy has some mental/emotional problems to the point where she is counseled by her sister to be sure and "take her meds". Secondly, there's a forward and somewhat creepy store owner in the nearby berg making clumsy and halfhearted passes at Lucy as the opportunity arises. Then there is the generic "bad man" who could theoretically discover Lucy's location at any moment. And as if her situation isn't bad enough, Lucy is given to overindulging in alcohol and taking her meds to excess for their entertainment value, and Lucy's drug-and-alcohol-addled adventures are depicted as 70s-esque fuzzy focused nonsense. So we viewers are supposed to wonder if any of the very minor surprises that happen might not be accounted for by virtue of any of these other potential distractions.
The fatal flaw in LOST GULLY ROAD is that it depicts the actual situation excruciatingly. There's a bored and boring woman stuck out in the boondocks with nothing to do and passing the time by drinking, taking drugs, going on long and uneventful walks in the woods, and topping it all off with the occasional shower. Our only suggestion that something might be brewing is the occasional peculiar sound, an unspecified and unexplained dark stain in a ceiling corner, and a few rounds of heavy breathing when Lucy takes a shower or plays with herself in bed. *Snore*
By a ham-fisted deux ex newspaper clipping in a drawer, we learn the likely identification of the haunting entity is a rapist who accidentally electrocuted himself there and that the landlady is apparently his mother. Why that newspaper article should be left lying around in an obvious drawer for any guests to find moments after arriving is hard to fathom. But anyway, apparently mom has taken it upon herself to arrange for tasty treats like Lucy for her dearly departed rapist son. No reason to let death spoil his hobby. I guess.
The movie is an hour and twenty minutes long, and nothing unequivocally supernatural happens until approximately one hour and seven minutes into the movie. Suddenly, all hell breaks loose and Lucy is flung around the house, bashed and smacked and stomped a la THE ENTITY from 1982. EXACTLY like THE ENTITY from 1982. Except THE ENTITY did it a lot better.
Lucy finds her end when the car that wouldn't start a short time ago abruptly decides to start after all, and when Lucy attempts to drive away, while we don't see it, there are gruesome crashing and shrieking noises that make it fairly clear that Lucy is now out of the picture in the absolute sense.
For its relatively small budget, LOST GULLY ROAD is well-made and has good quality acting. With a decent story... or just A story... it probably could've been pretty good. There just wasn't much of a story to do anything with.
The set up for the story consists of a collection of generic plot elements that are not described much beyond generic plot placeholders. Lucy, the lead character, is hiding out in a small cabin out in the (Australian) woods, seeking to avoid an unspecified "bad man" with whom she is apparently attempting to make a clean break. Lucy's sister is supposed to meet her in a couple of days at this remote cabin when she has finalized their "escape" details. There is a vague reference to having to keep one of Lucy's pieces of luggage "well and truly hidden", suggesting that Lucy may have absconded with something valuable belonging to the "bad man" The situation is further complicated by virtue of the fact that whoever the "bad man" is also knows the sister and the sister has difficulty getting away because she believes she's being watched by him.
Lucy quickly becomes antsy when the agreed-to waiting period of two days turns into several days because of sisterly complications. And Lucy's rented remote cabin has no TV or other entertainment and cabin fever sets in with a vengeance. She is admonished not to use her cell phone because the unspecified "bad man" will be able to quickly find her if she turns it on; she is restricted to using the burner phone her sister gave her.
To arbitrarily add some twists to the story in an effort to make it interesting, a collection of plot vehicles are used to help confuse the issue. Firstly, Lucy has some mental/emotional problems to the point where she is counseled by her sister to be sure and "take her meds". Secondly, there's a forward and somewhat creepy store owner in the nearby berg making clumsy and halfhearted passes at Lucy as the opportunity arises. Then there is the generic "bad man" who could theoretically discover Lucy's location at any moment. And as if her situation isn't bad enough, Lucy is given to overindulging in alcohol and taking her meds to excess for their entertainment value, and Lucy's drug-and-alcohol-addled adventures are depicted as 70s-esque fuzzy focused nonsense. So we viewers are supposed to wonder if any of the very minor surprises that happen might not be accounted for by virtue of any of these other potential distractions.
The fatal flaw in LOST GULLY ROAD is that it depicts the actual situation excruciatingly. There's a bored and boring woman stuck out in the boondocks with nothing to do and passing the time by drinking, taking drugs, going on long and uneventful walks in the woods, and topping it all off with the occasional shower. Our only suggestion that something might be brewing is the occasional peculiar sound, an unspecified and unexplained dark stain in a ceiling corner, and a few rounds of heavy breathing when Lucy takes a shower or plays with herself in bed. *Snore*
By a ham-fisted deux ex newspaper clipping in a drawer, we learn the likely identification of the haunting entity is a rapist who accidentally electrocuted himself there and that the landlady is apparently his mother. Why that newspaper article should be left lying around in an obvious drawer for any guests to find moments after arriving is hard to fathom. But anyway, apparently mom has taken it upon herself to arrange for tasty treats like Lucy for her dearly departed rapist son. No reason to let death spoil his hobby. I guess.
The movie is an hour and twenty minutes long, and nothing unequivocally supernatural happens until approximately one hour and seven minutes into the movie. Suddenly, all hell breaks loose and Lucy is flung around the house, bashed and smacked and stomped a la THE ENTITY from 1982. EXACTLY like THE ENTITY from 1982. Except THE ENTITY did it a lot better.
Lucy finds her end when the car that wouldn't start a short time ago abruptly decides to start after all, and when Lucy attempts to drive away, while we don't see it, there are gruesome crashing and shrieking noises that make it fairly clear that Lucy is now out of the picture in the absolute sense.
For its relatively small budget, LOST GULLY ROAD is well-made and has good quality acting. With a decent story... or just A story... it probably could've been pretty good. There just wasn't much of a story to do anything with.
