Donny Broussard Reviews: “Lost Boys: The Tribe”

Many fanboys/girls (myself included) have been waiting a long time for a ‘Lost Boys’ sequel, and the studios have been talking about said sequel for just as long. So when the announcement that ‘The Tribe’ was actually going into production I was extremely excited. But then I heard that it was going to be a direct to DVD sequel, and also the only returning cast member was going to be Corey Feldman. WTF? Not good news at all for fans of the original flick, and the fact that the studio didn’t have enough faith in the movie to release it theatrically was also another nail in the coffin.

The flick follows Chris (Tad Hilgenbrink) and Nicole (Autumn Reeser), siblings whose family died in an accident, as they move to the land of the ‘Lost Boys’ to rent a cheap pad from a relative. As soon as they get there they are targeted by gang of motorcycle riding, skateboarding, surfer vampires, and I’m pretty sure ‘Rain Man’ could predict where the story goes from that point on. Shane (Angus Sutherland), a vampire surfer with a terrible accent instantly falls in love with Nicole and sets out to make her his totally awesome vampire bride. And of course to keep it all in the family, her brother Chris is also invited into the fold, mainly because of his ability to ride tubular waves (joke). From there Chris must kill the head vampire and save his sister, with the help of Edgar Frog (Corey Feldman) of course.

‘The Tribe’ started off with a bang, giving hardcore horror fans a cameo by non other than Tom Savini, but it doesn’t take long for the flick to move into cheap direct-to-DVD territory. The flick was full of flaws and even went against its own mythology. In this flick the bloodsuckers can’t fly, and most of them can’t act either. Angus Sutherland (Kiefer’s half brother) was the worst, his accent made him sound like he spent a few weeks studying Keanu’s accent in ‘Point Break,’ but never quite got it right, and his acting was terrible. Maybe it was the fact that they had a terrible script, but many of the actors seemed to be forcing their performances. Also, at certain times Chris and Nicole seem more like a couple than siblings, there were a few times during the flick I was waiting for the two of them to give into their incestuous impulses and become vampire surfer siblings with benefits.

The special effects weren’t near the quality of the first installment in the series, but were still pretty damn cool. There were also a few cool moments such as the films opening, as well as a cool water-balloon canon, but just not enough to win over loyal fans of the ‘Lost Boys.’ Not even Feldman could save this direct-to-DVD drivel from dying a slow and painful death, because instead of taking the Edgar Frog character and building upon it, the grown up Edgar Frog is nothing more than a carbon copy of the character from the first movie.

If the filmmakers would have taken out Feldman’s Frog, and just called the flick ‘The Tribe’ it would have been a half decent vampire flick, totally worthy of a horror fans time. But as a sequel to one of the most beloved vampire movies ever made, it’s nothing more than a time waster. I do have to give the flick props for the extremely nice T&A shots, and the buffet of extremely hot ladies that grace the flick with their presence. But unfortunately for ‘Lost Boys: The Tribe’ not even smoking ladies could save this flick, is was definitely not a killer film.