Lost on a Mountain in Maine

Story based on a true event when in 1939 a kid is with his family trying to climb Mt. Katahdin but they all wimp out and the kid gets pissed and runs off, only to get lost for 9 days in the wilds.

Sad to say this is a long, dreary film with amateurish acting. There are some old interviews with people involved and even some actual newsreel footage when the kid is saved. But the story is badly told. If I remember right, this premiered this past summer at the Maine International Film Festival in Waterville.

For me the real cheat is that the entire film, despite the title, was made in Upstate New York and some Katahdin shots were actually just a model of the mountain in a studio. There's also stock aerial footage. No Maine. The family was actually from Rye, NY and only summered in Maine a few years.

Also, there's all this baloney "lore" about the Indian spirit that haunts Katahdin, which I never heard before in my life. It could be true, I suppose.

Good story, badly told.

Period film set in 1939 from the Christian/Conservative "Angel Studios", though other than the odd prayer here and there, the religious element is not that obvious.

Production values are high but the whole thing feels more a generic streaming product rather than an actual film. The characters are paper-thin, forgettably-drawn and I didn't warm or connect to any of them. The film is supposed to be about how a boy survived for days in the wilderness, but other than catching a fish once, all of the nuts and bolts of his survival are missing. The majority of the film is just people walking in random woods with no sense of place and no landmarks for the audience to navigate by.

It's shot with expensive cameras but then so are TV adverts for package holidays, and I'd find it hard to tell the difference, so I can't recommend it as either a story or a work of art.

Invoked as much fear in me as the book did when I was a child. Very glad Stallone directed and though I am not a fan of Ethan Slater, he did a wonderful job. It could have been more intense at times, and there are certain scenes that did not feel like the Maine woods (ie, the feeling of COMPLETE quiet and isolation). Other than that, fantastic! And now I am trying to meet word count lol. I am born and raised in Maine and have met Donn Fendler multiple times. Up until very near his death, he would visit schools in the state. I wish he got the chance to see this movie! He was a very sweet and spry man and I hope his family enjoys the film.

I enjoyed Lost on a Mountain in Maine. This inspiring story of survival has strong acting and moving messages with beautiful cinematography and landscapes.

This movie is based on the true story of twelve-year-old Donn Fendler (Luke David Blumm). After getting separated from his hiking party, Donn gets lost on the highest mountain in Maine. All the odds are against him, so can he survive long enough to be found?

Donn's story was written about in a book with the same name as this film and the book inspired the making of this movie. Two of the producers were very fond of it growing up. One of them, Ryan Cook, read the book in fourth grade and was lucky enough to receive a visit from Donn in his class, and from then on, he wanted to see a movie made from this story. The other producer, Dick Boyce, developed a fondness of the book from his father who tracked Donn's story on the radio when it was happening. When a film had yet to be made, Cook and Boyce decided to make it themselves, and here we are. Throughout the film, we get to see actual footage of interviews of people involved in Donn's search - Donn's family and, eventually, Donn himself, with each video marking somewhat of a new chapter in the movie. There are quite a few tips that I learned from this movie that will be helpful if I ever find myself in the same situation as Donn. Luke David Blumm as Donn Fendler portrays Donn so well; I could really feel all his emotions. Paul Sparks, as his father, and Griffin Wallace, as his twin brother perfectly portray their roles. All of them together create an incredible tension that really drew me in emotionally to the story.

This movie has many messages about the values of family and being resourceful. There are some risky behaviors portrayed in this movie that young children shouldn't try to replicate and some scenes that might be scary for young children.

I give Lost on a Mountain in Maine 4 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 12 to 18, plus adults. It comes out in theaters on November 1, 2024. By Katherine S., KIDS FIRST!

This review will be relatively long winded, but I have personal connections to this movie and the book it was inspired by. I was born and raised in Maine, just a couple hours north from where this took place. The first thought I have are that Sylvester Stallone has even more of my respect for producing this movie. My second thought is the sadness that Donn never lived long enough to finally see his story on the big screen. This movie was a long time coming!

When I was very young in school, probably around 1992, and about 6-7 years old, we read this book in school. I've read hundreds of books when I was younger, but this one was special, because it was real, and it was in our own backyard.

After we read it, our entire school went to the auditorium and Donn Fendler himself told us his story. It was even better in person. There are several things that happened that are not in the book, and not in the movie, perhaps things that were more personal to him, or things that readers would be skeptical of.

From my home town, on a clear day, we can see the peak from 120 miles away in a few areas of high elevation, especially in the spring when the white snow on the top contrasts with the surrounding green forests, The mountain is not the tallest in the country by any means, but when you see it from 120 miles away, and you look at the MASSIVE amount of thick, pristine wilderness that surrounds Katahdin, surrounded by smaller mountains, lakes, rivers, and massive trees that run as far as you can see to the north and the south, you get a sense of how insignificant you are.

The thought of being lost on that peak as a grown adult with survival skills and being extremely familiar with this area is intimidating. Even though I am healthy and experienced, there are many things in these forests that can take the life of even the most experienced Mainer. The way this movie captures that sense of danger is perfect. From a person that has hiked the regions of the northwest, Alaska, and even the White Mountains nearby, Katahdin looks small and tame. However, that mountain will break you down, and the forests that surround will swallow you whole, and you will never be seen again. A 12 year old boy, with no experience, no survival gear and no training WILL NOT survive even one night under these conditions. If you recall, the first night on the summit, the temperature was BELOW freezing. He was soaking wet from the storm, then the temperature dropped into the high 20's. He didn't even have a jacket, nor could he make a fire for warmth. He did not even have food to even give his body a chance to survive. Yet, he survived. And yes, this is 100% real. This is a true event.

These are some of the thickest, oldest forests in the world. The Appalachians are the oldest mountain ranges on Earth. Millions of years have ground the peaks down, and they are now covered in extremely dense forests. Some areas barely see sunlight, even in the summer.

There are tales of strange creatures, mysterious disappearances, and other phenomena that bend the mind. The natives were here long before us, and the majority of the state is named by the natives. The names of counties, rivers, lakes, towns, and mountains are all directly from the natives.

The creature in this movie that visited Donn is not some illusion. It's not a fairy tale to make the story entertaining. It didn't only appear to him one evening and disappear.

It spoke to him, it showed him where to walk, and what to eat. It protected him from wild animals, including several large black bears, of which one was a mother protecting her cubs.

I commend the producers for putting this in the movie. For people that know the story, we know that this story is full of unbelievable paranormal and inexplicable facts, and we see these mysterious elements woven into this movie in a way that the casual viewer will not quite catch. It does not give skeptics the ammunition to scoff at and talk bad about it, but, it also carries the truth just below the surface.

In conclusion, I've been waiting 30+ years for this movie to finally get made. It's crazy that it took this long, and it's very sad that Donn was never able to live quite long enough to finally be able to see his story on the big screen. But, at least knowing that the legendary Sylvester Stallone had taken this project on personally, I am certain that Donn would have been at peace when he left us.

Rest in Peace Donn Fendler!