Episode 19 - Lost Faith (1992)
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Here on Grindbin we have an affinity for the grindhouse auteurs. Those filmmakers that insist on making their dream projects and wearing multiple hats during the production. Our case study today is Joel D. Wynkoop.
Joel has starred in dozens of B movies and had roles in hundreds more. He has directed about a dozen films and is still working today. Lost Faith is one of his first projects and one that was sought after by VHS collectors in the 90s. Throughout the years there have been multiple cuts of this film that have circulated through collector’s hands but the good people at Cult Movie Mania have brought the definitive edition of this film to DVD and VHS.
I can’t help but feel admiration for Joel and his determination to make the movies he wants despite what anyone else might tell him. That fearless determination to do it his way and his way only is something that very few people in this world have the capability of doing. Sure the projects can end up bad or unintentionally funny but he has succeeded where thousands of others have failed; he made something.
Probably one of the only faith-based kung fu films ever created, Lost Faith is a new level of bizarre backyard auteur. Steve Nekoda is having a very very bad day: his TV is broken, his cable has been shut off, his car just broke down and to top it all off, his wife Donna is now missing. It’s up to him to find Donna and the only way to do that is to kick ass and accept God back into his life.
Joel will soon find out the his wife is being held by a man who calls himself "The Master", a derelict kung-fu master who lives on an Island and kidnaps women to sell to a porno producer. Yep, it's as odd as it sounds.
Lost Faith is really a special type of bad movie. You'll laugh, you'll groan, and you might even want to turn it off but it always seems genuine - even in it's weakest moments. We can't fault someone for creating their "masterpiece" and sharing it with the world, but we can laugh about it every now and then. Enjoy.
