The Lost Room

Though I like fantasy and SF, I have to admit to being fondest of rule-based fantasy, like that of Tim Powers -- as a reader or viewer, you have an idea of what's possible and impossible, despite the supernatural elements of the story. Fantasy without rules is far less satisfactory, since characters in those stories can do whatever the writer arbitrarily decides they can do (or can't), and as a result, the writing is lazier.

"The Lost Room" is all about rules and the characters who find creative ways to abuse them. (Tim Powers fans would like it, I'm sure.) The writers have come up with cool supernatural powers for a host of innocuous looking objects (combs, pens, cards, bus tickets, watches, a key, etc.) Each object has a power and rules to govern them. Many of the powers don't seem that nifty, until you see how creatively they are used. And, along those lines, virtually every scene contains a fun, "Hey, that's a good idea!" move, and they tend to come at you faster than you can anticipate them if you aren't taping the show and hitting pause.

What's best about this is that the writers stick with it all the way. Many of these shows go David Lynch/Twin Peaks on us, setting us up with the promise of great stuff to come, and then disappointing us in a big way later. (Dean Koontz novels always seem to fall apart in this way, at least for me.) "The Lost Room" keeps up its promises all the way to the very end, which, like the rest of the miniseries, is clever and interesting and makes perfect sense in hindsight, given the rules.

I honestly can't think of the last time I saw a miniseries or movie of this ilk that pulled off its ending this well. It's a darned good miniseries, and I sincerely hope it becomes a full-blown series, as apparently is being considered.

OK, first of all let me just start by saying that I watch a lot of movies and read a lot of books, but I hardly ever write any sort of comments or critiques on what I've watched or read. I am a big fan of anything supernatural, unexplainable, mysterious, or horrifying and this mini-series absolutely hooked me from the beginning and I wish that it would have been much longer than 6 hours.

I was a huge fan of the series Six Feet Under when it was on the air, and Peter Krause is in my opinion one of the best actors on television. If it were not for him, I probably wouldn't have even watched the first part of the series...I am so glad that I did. I don't think anyone could watch the first two hours of this mini-series and not be completely engrossed and fascinated by the storyline.

I think that the writers of this series did an excellent job and were brilliant in setting the stage for what I hope will either spin off into a series, or at least another mini-series. I really do not see how this will not have a sequel in some form, it was really that brilliant and imaginative.

I recommend watching this to anyone that loves science fiction or supernatural-type phenomenons. The makers of this show really exceeded my expectations on this one, which were initially not that high. Please let the Sci-Fi channel have the foresight and intelligence to green light this for a followup, I'm sure I won't be alone in eagerly awaiting for this to happen.

I was surprised when I checked the credits of this miniseries to see that it had not been based on a book. It feels like something based on a book, because it has such a complete and detailed mythology and a feeling of back story that is rare in the work of screenwriters. The Lost Room has created a very complete world for its characters and for its central premise.

It also, like a movie based on a book, feels like you can only get the full story by reading the book. One is left with a lot unknown. For the most part this is fine, but I don't care for the fact that at the end you really don't understand .... well .... anything. Although I'll admit that even though I was worried that this would be the case, it didn't bother me all that much, because the story had good forward propulsion and a resolution that was emotionally satisfying although not intellectually so.

Since this isn't from a book, my guess would be they're considering this for a TV series, both because some threads seem to have been left loose on purpose and because it does feel like there's more you could mine out of the material. I hope I'm right about that, I would like to see more. But if it is a series, they'd better come up with some answers.

This mini-series is quite original and I found it very entertaining. The idea is pretty wild and far fetched but they make a lot out of it. As with so many mini series the first two episodes are better than the 'conclusion' which really only sets possible future episodes up. That being said, this is the best thing I saw on TV this year. The lost room reminds me of 'Dark City' with the surreal reality that it creates. I also liked the fact that ordinary items, or 'objects' are used as props to advance the story in a very cheap yet efficient way.

The production value is good and the atmosphere created is very convincing. The acting is great for a TV production and I wouldn't mind if 'The Lost Room' would be picked up for a full season.

I have to give this movie very high marks because it maintained an incredibly high level of suspense, surprise and novelty through most of its 4.4 hour (without commercials) run-time. This is very unusual for the sci-fi genre - most ideas and plots are very well-known.

I won't give anything away about the story because the unusual plot is is part of the wonderful experience you'll get from watching this movie. Suffice it to say that the story follows a detective who comes across a very unusual key to a very unusual hotel room. Admittedly, it sounds like the movie is going to be a bomb (what I thought), but it is anything but that.

Once you start watching - you'll be hard pressed to stop. The pace is excellent: something interesting is always going on - hardly a moment is wasted during the multi-hour runtime.

This movie could not have been as good without a good strong lead character. Peter Krause does a great job - he presents a well-balanced, intelligent and easy to like character. The supporting characters are pretty well done - even though some of them are a bit wacky. Everything seems to work.

One thing I really appreciated in the movie was the intelligence of its characters. There aren't any ridiculous decisions that are made to advance the plot (or remove characters). In fact, they are mostly very smart ones - so you don't feel shortchanged by the story or the filmmakers. Applaud them in this case. It really makes a story go from interesting to fascinating.

Is it perfect? I can squabble about a few things towards the end - but it doesn't matter. What matters is that I was strongly entertained for 4.4 hours and am going to watch it again.

I could go on, but you'd be better served by watching the movie. This level of film-making will appeal to all moviegoers. Strongly recommended for all.