This Fantasy Disaster With 17% on RT Just Became George R.R. Martin's Lowest-Rated Adaptation Ever
The writer planned to tell another story about the main character's adventures if the movie turned out to be a hit. Now we can say for sure that this will not happen.
Paul W. S. Anderson's new movie, In the Lost Lands, which was finished two years ago, is out now. It's an adaptation of George R. R. Martin's short story about a witch named Gray Alys and a hunter named Boyce who are searching for a werewolf.
While Anderson kept the outline of Martin's story, he managed to spoil almost every other aspect – and made perhaps one of his worst movies and the lowest-rated George R. R. Martin adaptation.
What Is In the Lost Lands About?
The witch Gray Alys (Milla Jovovich) grants every wish, no matter what it is. The action takes place in a post-apocalyptic reality: the earth is scorched, the remnants of humanity live in a city whose ruler is dying.
The king's wife, Melange, wants to turn into a werewolf to be reunited with her lover. Alys, together with the mercenary Boyce (Dave Bautista ), goes in search of the monster to deliver it to the queen.
In the Lost Lands Followed the Story of the Original Pretty Closely, but Failed at Everything Else
George R. R. Martin's short story In the Lost Lands was published in 1982. The movie follows the story closely, but the devil is in the details.
Most notably, screenwriter Constantin Werner and Paul W. S. Anderson changed the setting from fantasy to post-apocalyptic. While Martin's werewolves, queens, and creepy monsters were justified by the world in which the events take place, the movie doesn't bother to explain how the City Under the Mountain emerged from the ruins.
Many of the movie's logical inconsistencies – for example, why Gray Alys had to take Boyce with her at all – are better explained in the short story.
Martin has much less action, so Anderson and Werner were forced to fill the witch and the hunter's journey with dynamics. It's a pity that every encounter with danger doesn't stand up to common sense, and the cuts turn the local action into a Benny Hill show.
George R.R. Martin Had Plans to Do Another Gray Alys Story if the Movie Had Been Successful
In 2023, when filming was finished, Martin wrote in his blog:
“If the gods are good, and In the Lost Lands turns out to be a hit, maybe we'll get to tell the further adventures of Gray Alys after all.”
Unfortunately, the gods are angry with George Martin for some reason. The movie currently has a 17% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which tells us that Gray Alys will remain In the Lost Lands forever.
