The movie “The Lost Child,” helmed by Hollywood-based director Ramaa Mosley, is a compelling and mysterious tale led by a trio of actors with credits which include multiple major motion picture and television appearances. Beautifully written and filmed, with a solid story that is by turns gentle and then sinister, it has garnered good reviews and audience raves. With its topnotch direction, camera work and production values, most viewers would be hard-pressed to believe it was produced on a shoestring budget and filmed entirely on location in and around West Plains, Missouri.
Released in 2017 and originally titled “Tatterdemalion,” a folklore reference explained in the film, it stars Leven Rambin (credits include “The Hunger Games”) as Fern Sreaves; Jim Parrack (“True Blood” and “Suicide Squad”) as Mike Rivers; and Taylor John Smith (“Where the Crawdads Sing”) as Billy Sreaves. Local residents, including a standout performance by Kip Collins, round out the cast.
“The Lost Child” is about an army veteran, Fern, who returns home to the Ozarks to look for her brother and finds an abandoned boy in the woods. As she searches for answers about who the child is, she discovers a mysterious world of folklore and deceit. There are twists and turns along the way before an unexpected ending is revealed.
The screen play was written by Ramaa and Tim Macy who has family connections in the West Plains area. That’s one reason they filmed here, but Ramaa said she chose West Plains because of its “community feel.”
It was an extremely hot summer in 2015 when Ramaa and the crew shot the movie. Locations had been scouted ahead of time. My husband and I volunteered to let them have the run of our 100-acre property, known locally as Twin Ponds. There were several other locations used, but the bulk of it was filmed on our place.
The film crew stayed until September, and it was quite a ride while they were here. My family mostly tried to stay out of the way and keep quiet about the project, so curiosity-seekers wouldn’t slow production down. But we enjoyed getting to know Ramaa and her family, including her husband Cameron who, along with his father and other family members, did a lot of manual labor getting things ready, including significant work on an old, abandoned house we own, Fern’s home in the movie. I came to respect their work ethic, and the blood (not much of that, thankfully); sweat (a whole lot of that) and tears (bittersweet when it ended) that went into making the movie.
It’s sad when a good movie like this, made through sheer will and passion by a determined, independent director, filmed in our little corner of the Ozarks, doesn’t get wider exposure. But the lack of hype doesn’t mean it’s not worth seeing because it is. The film initially received only a small theatrical release, but it is now available on streaming services and lives on there. If you get a chance to see it, I highly recommend!
– Terry Hampton
For anyone who is interested, full-sized promotional posters of the movie used for its theatrical release are available, free of charge, at the Ozark Heritage Welcome Center, 2999 Porter Wagoner Blvd., West Plains. Stop by and pick one up! Hours: 8 a.m.-4 p.m., M-F. Sorry, due to size, shipping not available.