In The Lost Lands is out now in theaters, introducing viewers to the witch Gray Alys, a conjurer created by none other than A Song of Ice and Fire author George R.R. Martin himself. Directed by Paul W.S. Anderson (Resident Evil, Monster Hunter), In The Lost Lands adapts a 1982 short story written by Martin for the big screen. It stars Milla Jovovich as Alys, a witch who can give you anything you want — though you'll probably wish she hadn't when all is said and done. When she's approached by a queen who wants the power to turn into a werewolf, Alys sets off into the titular Lost Lands with the help of a guide and hunter named Boyce (Dave Bautista) to track it down.
If you've seen any of Paul W.S. Anderson's movies, you probably have a pretty good idea of what to expect here: In the Lost Lands is a campy, frenetic action film that sees Alys and Boyce take part in highly-stylized fight scenes as they mow their way through religious zealots, zombie-like creatures, and more in their quest to retrieve the transformative power Alys' client desires.
But what about the original short story? How does In The Lost Lands stack up? What does it change from Martin's text, and what does it keep?
We love a good bit of page-to-screen analysis around these parts, so strap in and let's discuss. There will be FULL SPOILERS for both the movie and short story ahead.
The setting
Let's start with the setting, which is probably the easiest part of In The Lost Lands to compare to the original work. The movie is set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland which surrounds the City Under the Mountain, the last known human civilization following what sounds like a nuclear war. There are all sorts of twisted creatures in the Lost Lands outside the city. There's also magic, as proven by the existence of Gray Alys and shapeshifters.
George R.R. Martin's short story is very different in that the setting is straight fantasy, not sci-fi in any way. Martin has even said that "In The Lost Lands" was one of his "very earliest fantasy stories" after years of writing science fiction. The town beneath the mountain is just one town at the edge of a vast empire, which is abutted by numerous other kingdoms. There is no part of the short story that is post-apocalyptic, though the world it takes place in is dark and filled with twisted animals and other creatures.
The tone
That leads directly into the tonal difference between the short story and movie. The movie is more of a dark sci-fi action flick, with plenty of blood and gore as well as camp and one-liners.
Martin's short story is pretty much the exact opposite. It's a brooding, poetic piece of fantasy horror which bleeds atmosphere out of every sentence. Martin's name has become synonymous with epic fantasy in today's day and age, but back in the '80s he was perhaps best known as a writer of science fiction and horror, and he was quite good at those genres.
Ever wonder why reading the Red Wedding in A Storm of Swords feels like such a nightmare, constricting your chest more and more as you flip each page? It's because Martin really knows how to dial up the horror atmosphere in his writing. "In The Lost Lands" is a prime example; this story exudes oppressive terror in a way that's quiet and contemplative as well as disturbing.
The plot
Now let's talk about the plot. "In The Lost Lands" is only about 6,000 words long, according to Martin; that's roughly 17 pages in the hardcover edition of Dreamsongs: Volume I, which is the most convenient place to read it these days. It's very short and to the point, which is one of its strengths. The story begins with Queen Melange's head paladin Jareis contracting Gray Alys to go into the Lost Lands in search of the power to become a werewolf. He also simultaneously contracts Gray Alys to fail that quest, putting her in quite a bind. But you know how it goes with Gray Alys: she gives you what you desire, not necessarily what you explicitly ask for. And you'll probably regret asking by the time all's said and done.
The entire rest of the story follows Alys and Boyce's journey into the Lost Lands, and it's all very quick. The main thing that is similar to the movie is the final showdown between Boyce and Alys, where she takes his werewolf powers to pass on to the queen knowing full-well the heartache it will cause. Alys and Boyce do not encounter a single real obstacle on their journey, and aside from the brief Jareis scene at the beginning and another at the end, followed by a brief epilogue, the story never strays from the journey into the Lost Lands.
The movie is an entirely different beast, with a ton of added characters and plotlines. That whole faction of religious zealots? Not from the short story. The battle with the zombie creatures? Also invented for the movie. The uprising in the city, and the political machinations of the queen? Not a single bit of that is from the source material. In fact, Martin explicitly states that Queen Melange has "no mate but many lovers." In other words, she's not even married, while in the movie she's bound to the head of a political order that's making its people live in a Mad Max-ian dystopia.
Another major difference: in the short story, Boyce knowingly lures Gray Alys into the Lost Lands with the intention of murdering her, after he discovers that she's been asking after werewolves. He doesn't help her overcome a bunch of obstacles toward her task; instead, it's very clear that he's taking her out into a desolate, unpopulated part of the region in order to devour her once the moon turns full.
The ending
Another huge way that the In The Lost Lands movie deviates from the short story is its ending. On the whole, the major beats of the ending are more or less the same: Boyce leads Gray Alys deep into the Lost Lands, where it's revealed that he's the werewolf she's been hunting. He transforms, she defeats him by turning into a magical raven, and then proceeds to skin him alive to take his power back to Queen Melange.
The difference is all in the tone and style of that ending. The short story is very bleak, with Alys handing over the pelt to Jareis, who then gives it to the queen. The queen is stricken with grief over her love for Boyce, but ultimately uses the pelt as a cloak which lets her transform into a wolf at will. She stalks the people of her kingdom, murdering them in a frenzy of rage and pain over her loss — something Boyce, who confined his hunting to the Lost Lands, would never have dared do. Jareis, meanwhile, is too frightened of the queen to continue pursuing his love for her. Even though they end up getting married, he bars his door at night, knowing she would eviscerate him in a heartbeat.
Boyce never comes back to life in the short story; he's dead for good. As for Alys, she simply goes on being Alys. Once she hands the pelt over to Jareis, she's pretty much out of the story save for the final cryptic line: "You can buy anything you might desire from Gray Alys. But it is better not to."
The movie tried to make the ending a much more triumphant, happy affair. Alys brings the pelt back, and Jareis in turn takes it to the queen. But the queen never turns into a werewolf. Instead, the people are so inspired by Alys returning after the church tried to hang her that they overthrow the religious order. The City Under the Mountain revolts, the queen kills Jareis, and when we last see her she's being pursued by an angry mob.
Then, in the final scenes of the film, it's revealed that Boyce's power goes back into him, reviving him from his grave in the Lost Lands. He then seeks Alys out, and they ride off into the sunset together. It's a much happier ending than the short story. Which also means it's much less true to the usual tone of Martin's works, which often skew toward cynical bleakness.
Gray Alys' powers
There's one other huge difference between the movie and short story that I want to point out, which is one of the coolest elements of it that the film cut out. The movie shows Gray Alys having all sorts of wild powers, like mind control and the ability to shoot fire from her fingertips. But when it comes to her final transformation into a magical raven, Alys tells Boyce that it was an "illusion."
This is the exact opposite of what happens in the short story. Alys is portrayed as much more of a creepy Melisandre-like witch, whose powers are nebulous and unknowable to mortals. However, one power she is widely known to possess is the ability to shapeshift — and not just when the moon is full, but whenever she pleases. This reputation is part of why Queen Melange sends Jareis to ask her for the power to turn into a werewolf.
When Gray Alys transforms into a raven to fight Boyce, she does it by donning a feathered cloak. Boyce flees, knowing he can't fight her, but she tears him down with silver claws until he's under her mercy. During one of their final conversations, Alys reveals she has the ability to shapeshift into many different forms at will, since she possesses "other skins." Earlier in the story, Jareis says there are rumors she can assume the forms of a great cat, a bear, and a bird, which Alys does not deny. And, crucially, the world of the short story is home to "werefolk" — shapeshifters presumably capable of assuming forms other than werewolves.
The cloak Gray Alys makes from Boyce's pelt grants this same ability to transform into a wolf to Queen Melange. Martin doesn't spell it out explicitly, but the strong implication is that this isn't the first time Alys has performed the brutal rite of skinning a shapeshifter alive in order to make a cloak that allows someone to take their shape. She has a bunch of different skin cloaks herself, from all sorts of other shapeshifters. That's how she knew how to do the rite on Boyce, and that it would work for Queen Melange.
It's a dark twist, but one which makes Gray Alys' mysterious powers even more foreboding than anything we see in the film.
In The Lost Lands is out now in theaters. If you'd like to read the original short story, the best way to check it out is in George R.R. Martin's short fiction collection Dreamsongs: Volume I.
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