“The night promised freedom — but the woods had other plans.”

In Lost After Dark, what begins as a night of teenage rebellion quickly unravels into a chilling descent into terror. Set in the mid-1980s and soaked in retro aesthetics, this modern slasher homage transports viewers to a time of big hair, synth music, and unspeakable horror.

A group of high school misfits — thrill-seekers with dreams of partying away from adult supervision — make a bold decision: steal a school bus and escape the confines of their prom for a weekend of wild abandon. They expect a blur of music, drinking, and dancing beneath the stars. Instead, they find themselves stranded in the remote wilderness of rural Michigan, where civilization seems like a distant memory.

In their desperate search for shelter, the teens stumble upon a crumbling old farmhouse. What they don’t realize is that the house once belonged to the Joads — a family steeped in local legend, infamous not for their generosity, but for their gruesome legacy. The horror that took root in the house never truly died.

As night falls, the last surviving member of the Joad bloodline emerges from the shadows. Junior Joad — a grotesque predator fueled by bloodlust, rage, and rusted tools — begins hunting the intruders with methodical savagery. With each passing hour, the group’s numbers dwindle, and their night of freedom becomes a desperate fight for survival.

Directed by Ian Kessner and starring Kendra Leigh Timmins and Robert Patrick, Lost After Dark is a love letter to the golden era of slasher films. It features grainy, VHS-inspired visuals, a pulsating synth soundtrack, and practical effects that recall the grisly glory of horror classics like Friday the 13th, The Burning, and Prom Night.

This is not just a film — it’s a throwback experience. From its opening frame to its final scream, Lost After Dark resurrects the spirit of ’80s horror with brutal affection, subverting genre tropes while honoring them at the same time.

Don’t scream because you’ve seen it before. Scream because it’s finally back.