Movie Review: Lost Boys - The Tribe
Get it at the TMB Store! (Also available on Blu-Ray)
Starring: Autumn Reeser, Tad Hilgenbrink, Angus Sutherland, Corey Feldman
Director: P.J. Pesce
Writer(s): Hans Rodionoff, Hans Rodionoff, James Jeremias
Studio: Warner Bros.
Rating: R
Official Bar Score: 
You wanted it. Needed it. Yearned for it even. Then, nineteen years after you didn’t care anymore, you have it: a sequel to 1987’s “The Lost Boys”. And if that weren’t enough to blow your socks off, you get the added bonus of being able to watch it in the comfort of your own home as it is a straight to DVD release!
Listen to the crowd go wild!
Warner Bros. fucked themselves by sitting on the franchise potential of the 1987 classic “The Lost Boys”, much to the dismay of a legion of rabid fans of the film. Had they got one, maybe even two more movies out of Kiefer Sutherland, the two Corey’s, and Jason Patric, we would probably be talking a classic series. As it stands, the “franchise” now consists of the original Joel Schumacher classic, and now 2008’s “Lost Boys: The Tribe”.
Your first initial reaction might be to completely write this off, and I wouldn’t blame you. They only managed to get one of the Coreys any significant screen time (Haim makes a less than brief appearance toward the end). The rest of the cast list is relatively unknown actors, career supporters, and straight to DVD sequel stars (Hilgenbrink was the lead in American Pie: Band Camp). But the big thing working against it is that common sense will tell you making a modern day sequel to a twenty year old teen movie is just not a good idea.
For the most part, you would be right in assuming that “Lost Boys: The Tribe” is pretty bad, but really the ONLY thing that really makes it so is a script that lacks any real substance. It’s the exact same “fish out of water find himself and his family in a new environment that happens to harbor the undead” as the original, only minus the mom. And the characters are all ex-world class surfers. Yes you read that last line correctly. It’s a pretty bad story and unable to be saved by the surprisingly adequate performances. It’s also enough to kill any chance of being able to call the movie good.
However, there are a couple of things going for it. For one, the movie caters to the original fanbase throughout the entire film in really clever ways that consistently put a smile on my face. The opening scene features a cameo by Tom Savini that starts things off with a bang. There are subtle little additions from then on that let you know that the filmmakers took this on as a labor of love despite the horrid screenplay. For instance, the notorious saxophone player makes an appearance on a street corner. The lead vampire is conveniently given life by an actor with the last name of Sutherland (any relation to Kiefer is unknown). They used an updated version of the original’s theme song for a sex scene. And the ultimate homage is payed by the inclusion of the Frog brothers, in particular Corey Feldman reprising his role as Edgar Frog.
Feldman’s performance is an enigma. He plays the part the exact same way he did in 1987. Whether or not this is a good thing is up to the viewer. While it’s really little more than a glorified cameo, he brings the same energy and comic relief that he did in the past, which really helps make this feel like a Lost Boys sequel. On the other hand, the man is 20 plus years older. One can’t help but realize that Feldman isn’t exactly going to win any awards. I liked him. You may not.
In the end, I thought they did a good job of making the film a passable sequel considering the circumstances and everything working against it. For completionists that own the original, the DVD is a must own and is perfect for cheesy movie night. For the curious fans, I would suggest you check it out because you will probably find a few things to love about it. For people unfamiliar with the original, unless you are b-movie fan I’d avoid it.
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I still believe
Thou shall not make a bad lost boys sequel! Say it isn’t so? I’d watch it on TV but I don’t have one. I do however have the TV guide. You don’t need a TV if you the TV guide!
Tell me Winston can a million china-men be wrong?
Corey Feldman was awesome in this, I really enjoyed watching this movie. It doesn’t have shit on The Lost Boys but it was very entertaining and fun to see. I wouldn’t call it a sequel or even a remake, it was more of a homage film to the first one.
I agree with score though, I would of gave it maybe three up until the ending.
3 beers, nothing was wrong with the ending unless you are talking about the credits and even then the alternate dvd endings were better and give you a better understanding of where they want to go. The scene in the credits didn’t explain anything and was way too brief. The alternate ending manages to set up the third film, explain what happened to Sam (Haim) and Edgar’s (Feldman) brother all in a little 3-5 minute scene.
Btw, Angus Sutherland is Keifer’s younger brother
I liked the part where Edgar blows dude’s head off with a water balloon. Fucking priceless.