The Lost Village was billed as The Blair Witch Project meets Midsommar. Which sounds amazing right? I remember my sister telling me that she was horrified to take her teenage daughter and her friends to see Midsommar. And I was immediately curious about it, because really, they are all huge horror buffs so I was wondering what was so crazy.
And, then I watched Midsommar. It was good, don’t get me wrong. But whenever there are entire scenes in movies of naked women chanting, it’s definitely a little eyebrow raising. And then recently I was watching Hereditary with my boys, which all in all, isn’t a terrible movie to share. Except again with all the naked people!! When you least expect it in horror movie, the naked people show up. I just don’t know what is so terrifying about naked people. Couldn’t they wear robes?
Still, this has little to do with the review at hand of The Lost Village. And there really weren’t a ton of naked people in this one (and if there were, I couldn’t see them, because it was a book.) Can’t wait to see the movie! Lol.
From the Publisher:
Documentary filmmaker Alice Lindstedt has been obsessed with the vanishing residents of the old mining town, dubbed “The Lost Village,” since she was a little girl. In 1959, her grandmother’s entire family disappeared in this mysterious tragedy, and ever since, the unanswered questions surrounding the only two people who were left—a woman stoned to death in the town center and an abandoned newborn—have plagued her. She’s gathered a small crew of friends in the remote village to make a film about what really happened.
But there will be no turning back.
Not long after they’ve set up camp, mysterious things begin to happen. Equipment is destroyed. People go missing. As doubt breeds fear and their very minds begin to crack, one thing becomes startlingly clear to Alice:
They are not alone.
They’re looking for the truth…
My Review:
This one started out interestingly enough. A scrappy documentary film making group descends upon the village of Silvertjarn, to try and figure out the mystery that made every single resident of the town vanish 60 years ago. Just poof, gone without a trace. The main character, Alice, has ties to the town. Her grandmother grew up there and had moved away a couple years before whatever happened took place. She lost her whole family.
Alice is a film student who has failed to launch. She’s seen some of her peers go on to make films or find work, but she’s kind of stuck and this film is basically her one chance to get a foothold in the film business and do the work she wants to do. She somehow manages to call in favors and has friends join her. It’s a crew of 5 with two vans and limited supplies. They have 5 days to uncover something that will make their film intriguing.
When they arrive, the town is overgrown and the buildings are crumbling. And as they start to look through the town to figure out what has happened, weird things start occurring. Are there ghosts? Is someone there? Did something supernatural happen? Or is there an explanation?
The Lost Village has a an amazing premise, but it fell slightly flat for me. It did pick-up in the last third or so of the book, but I’m left with a lot of questions. This one would be a great book club pick. I know there would be people who loved it and people who hated it (which makes for the best kind of club read!)
Special thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced e-galley in exchange for my honest review. This one is out March 23. Get your copy!
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