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Lost Boys: The Tribe

Reviewed by: Ryan Rotten
Rating: 4 out of 10
Movie Details: View here

Cast:
Tad Hilgenbrink as Chris
Autumn Reeser as Nicole
Angus Sutherland as Shane
Corey Feldman as Edgar Frog
Kyle Cassie as Jon
Shaun Sipos as Kyle
Alexander Calvert as Grom Hutter
Merwin Mondesir as Erik
Corey Haim as Sam Emerson

Directed by P.J. Pesce


Review:

Twenty years of waiting and the best Warner Premiere can do to shine a cult property is exhume the cinematic equivalent of Grandpa Munster. Kitschy, harmless, flinging bad jokes and well past its welcome point after thirty minutes, this Lost Boys - a follow-up to Joel Schumacher's superior '87 youthful spin on bloodsucker archetypes - plays out like it's more concerned about future sequels than the present one at hand. Devoted fans will be sorely disappointed in the lack of ingenuity brought to the table. On the other hand, undiscerning newcomers to the series are obviously not going to see right through the cookie cutter premise; they will, however, be aghast at the technical trappings this reportedly $6 million affair falls into and realize that there's nothing fresh to separate this vampire tale from the others we've seen in the last two decades. Its heart is in the right place, but The Tribe fails to carry on the LB lineage. We waited for something better than this.

Wasting little time to introduce us to the "lost boys" - eschewing any mystery like its predecessor's opening attack - this entry begins on a private beach where the gang - led by Shane Powers (Sutherland), an ex-pro surfer - makes quick work of the property's owner (featuring genre cameo #1) in an explosion of blood 'n guts. The "viscera" bar is set at this point on and it maintains a decent level of grue throughout the rest of the film. As for the vampire makeup, a departure from Greg Cannom's original design, the movie embraces a bat-like approach with black eyes and funky noses - a sufficient approach and execution but this is the world of the Lost Boys, should there be any continuity? Never fear, this is only the first five minutes - an amusing enough intro with a cute punch line involving a severed head and terribly amateur credit graphics.

Cue Chris and Nicole Emerson (Hilgenbrink and Reeser, respectively), siblings parking their asses in the town of Luna Bay after their parents are killed in a car wreck (they're Michael and Star's kids, but we are never told that directly). Thanks to a generous aunt, they've got a house all to their own so they can get back on their feet. And what a bizarre chemistry they have. Not since the House of Wax remake has there been a brother/sister relationship teetering on the edge of incest. ("Cry little sister, love is with your brother" indeed.) Chris, also a name on the pro surfing scene, is highly over-protective and she's prime jail bait (seriously, she's 17), so when the two are invited to a beach house bash by Shane and his crew one night, drama is bound to erupt.

Sure enough, Shane has caught Nicole's eye. She drinks his special whammy juice (blood) and is lured into vampiric bliss destined to wander the night as a half-bloodsucker. It's not until she makes her first kill that she completely turns to the dark side. And you can guarantee Chris is going to prevent that from happening. For help, he enlists Edgar Frog (Feldman) - all grown up since we last saw him working at the comic book store in the original film and pulling double duties as a surfboard shaper and vampire killer. Comics are still a key part of his life. According to him, they're ideal reference manuals on how to slay vampires, but it's not entirely known how the creators of said comics know the exact ins and outs of killing vamps. Frog empathizes with Chris' situation reminding us twice that he knows what it's like to "lose a family member." (Get it? Hint, hint...) Together, they set out to infiltrate Shane's "tribe" and retrieve Nicole.

Given the questionable dynamic between Chris and Nicole, I'd venture to guess this film is one giant metaphor about a brother who can't bear to see his lil' sis deflowered by another man (whoops, too late!). But I don't even think this film's creators see that. Instead, they're preoccupied with heavy themes anchored in extreme sports - there's a motorcycle/skateboard chase with cops that's the pits - with hammy ruminations about eternal life. Why live forever? Because it's the ultimate adrenaline rush, man. Didn't Hollywood's fascination with extreme sports sneak out the back door with its tail between its legs in XXX?

The Tribe, for all of its sly references to the original (antlers, "saxophone guy," etc.), delivers little bang for its buck and looks embarrassingly low budget, a massive detriment. Pesce - who previously slammed the final coffin nail on the From Dusk Till Dawn series with The Hangman's Daughter - makes some unusual stylistic choices, like shooting a simple scene between Shane and Nicole backwards, and seems disinterested in "cleaning up" some of the film's God-awful composite shots (for a beach scene, they literally pasted in an ocean). It appears as if little care was put into making this entry look good. (On another tech side note: Did they think we wouldn't notice the pads on Reeser's breasts after she has taken off her bra for a nude love-making scene? It happens not once, but three times!)

The Tribe's lack of quality unfortunately bleeds into the narrative as well. It delivers lackluster baddies who spend their screen time quoting The Big Lebowski and acting like O.C. assholes. Furthermore, Shane is a limp leader who mumbles through his lines with laughable gravity. Reeser gets lost in the shuffle once she "turns" leaving Hilgenbrink to hold onto modicum of dignity. He has some fun in this picture playing off of Feldman who seamlessly slips back into Frog mode, gruff voice and all. The height of their banter comes in a car ride, to go engage the enemy, where Frog reads off his grocery list of vampire fighting accoutrements. Feldman's performance is sincere and a kick to watch, no doubt about that. Cheesy? Yes. You just have to remember...this is the way he was in the original. The scenes between these two work a helluva lot more than the strained jokes (such as a nod to The Goonies) whipped up for laughs.

Haim, encoring as Sam Emerson, makes it into the final picture - just keep an eye out during the final credits; meanwhile, Jamison Newlander, another returning Frog, is relegated to the DVD's two alternate endings. The coda with Haim feels opportunistic, sensationalizing the weekly bullshit you see on The Two Coreys and, to be honest, it seems The Tribe's sole purpose was to tease a threequel featuring this conflict that would have been better served this time than watching Chris and Nicole's derivative plight. The Tribe offers no new insight. Breaks no new ground. It's a rehash...with cutesy Phantom Menace-like nods to Schumacher's film. What a shame.

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Comments

Posted by: Hollis Michael Black on July 22, 2008 at 18:58:44

THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU.

You nailed this review. I have nothing to say that can do your review justice.

Posted by: AaRoN on July 22, 2008 at 20:42:21

I didnt read the entire review because I havent seen the entire movie,but totally agree that"WE WAITED FOR SOMETHING BETTER THAN THIS" Curiosity was killing me so I watched the first 5 minutes of it online.What a disappointment!!!Were they trying to set a new record for profanity?This was a huge slap in the face to all of the loyal fans who checked out the viral sites,flooded message boards,made fan sites,and bombarded search engines hoping to find more info on this movie.

Even though I was a little disappointed after seeing the preview,and realising that this would never be in a theater,I decided to give it a chance,and came online every day hoping to find more and more info and pictures.This movie should NEVER have had "Lost Boys" included in its title.

I hope that we are given another quality Lost Boys movie,which totally overlooks "the tribe".A sequel that the fans have deserved for over 20 years.I would love to do all that I could to see that happen someday.

Posted by: COOL55POOL55 on July 23, 2008 at 01:00:58

YEAH RIGHT A THE LOST BOYS 3 WHEN WHEN THE TWO COREY'S ARE HARRISON FORD'S CURRENT AGE? YEAH RIGHT A THE LOST BOYS 3 WHEN IN 2033?

Posted by: Fox Mulder on July 23, 2008 at 02:38:14

I enjoy how you also picked up on the quoation of The Big Lebowski, that was pretty lame. Also using the tagline from the first movie...just terrible. I really wanted to like this flick, but I was let down. It's pretty bad.

Posted by: j on July 23, 2008 at 13:15:08

I just came on here to laugh at you people who saw it and say i told you so. I dont even need to watch it to know it a flaming heap of ****. The fact alone that corey feldman is in it tells you its gonna be gay.

Posted by: AaRoN on July 24, 2008 at 16:57:22

I think most people knew it would be disappointing,but hoped that they would enjoy it at least a little.

Posted by: petee on July 25, 2008 at 20:31:58

oh god i knew it was never going to be as good as the first one but this was utter crap after all the sobbing on the two cories ,haim is barely in it for a second feldman tried his best but nothing was going to save this crap everybody should give it a miss and teach warner not to skimp on budget and plot when it comes to making sequels of classics straight to dvd straight to stv more like crap crap .dont make a goonies sequel please

Posted by: Josh Harriman on July 29, 2008 at 13:04:13

This is the way it works. The Tribe was set to go straight to DVD straight from the get go so it has nothing to do with the quality of the film itself. My theory at this point, after watching the movie today, is the third movie has been setup. Basically the third one will be what the second one shoulda been (now try to follow me here). The reason why I say this is because Warner Bros. wants to establish a larger following and by basically by remaking the first one (I'm sorry but at the end of the day thats what they did) so now The Tribe will grab a younger audience's attention. This movie was worth watching just to see Haim and Feldman on screen again together, and when Warner Bros. realizes this then they'll realize that the original audience will **** when the trailer's for the 3rd one has Haim, Feldman and Newlander in it as Vampires! So basically now it all depends on Warner Bros. definition of success for their straight to DVD close to none promoting film, which can't be much. If they think a younger audience will wanna see it because of LB2: The Tribe and the original audience will wanna see it because of Feldman, Haim and Newlander then to them that will equal success. Plus they'll probably release it to the theaters. Lost Boys 2: The Tribe was all in all a way to test the audiences reaction, and depending on that there's a very good chance it could happen. But maybe I'm giving Warner Bros. way too much credit, afterall they are the whole reason why Goonies 2 has been held up for so long (and yeah I think maybe The Tribe was a small test for that too... for christ sakes the Aunt in The Tribe held up the DVD. I mean come on! It's kinda like saying "Hey younger dumbasses, if you haven't seen one of the best movie's ever go watch it so that when or if we spend money to make a second one you'll wanna go see it!"). Oh and it also depends on if Haim completely ****ed up his relationship with Warner Bros. If you don't know what I mean then watch that episode of The Two Coreys when he all but ended his career on the Lost Boys 2 set.

Posted by: Chris on July 29, 2008 at 18:03:04

i hope this was a test to set up a third movie .

Posted by: jill on July 31, 2008 at 01:16:07

the best part of the movie is the alternate ending. the vampires are lame. the original lost boys were outsiders. these guys looked like they stepped out of 1999 after just getting back from the limp bizkit concert. i am surprised they weren't wearing ball chain chokers and jnco jeans...wait, they practically were. i would have liked to seen some thrash metal types--long hairs with denim vests and hi-tops--or traveling crust punks. anything would have been better than these run-of-the-mill "fast and the furious" inspired fratboys; they probably have tribal tattoos around their bicepts. the scenes with the shower seductress would have been better left on the cutting room floor. did they test this movie on 12 year old boys? they should have scrapped the whole emerson offspring plot and went with the theme of the alternate endings.
i seriously think the best editing was in the scene with jamison newlander.

p.s. the soundtrack is terrible--unless you are into AC/DC knock-offs, i hated the butt-chinned vampire with the pointy eyebrows, and what was with edgar frog's "from dusk 'til dawn" tattoo? not only did they rehash this clooney look, but also the ugly bat-like effects make-up. let's just say i am disappointed with this one. i guess i should have known when tom savini appeared in the intro that this was subpar.

Posted by: Mr. Hollywood on July 31, 2008 at 13:17:44

I agree. I just watched it last night and I have to say, I wasn't all that impressed with it. The movie should have jus taken the ending of the film (with the two Coreys) and made that the beginning and went from there. Other than that, eh!

Posted by: undeadNdenver on August 4, 2008 at 11:22:46

I also just recently watched this, Ryan pretty much summed it up. (And he was generous by giving it a 4 out of 10.)
Honestly, I have to admit that I DID laugh at the "saxophone guy"...

Posted by: loser_matt on August 9, 2008 at 00:47:14

I've seen the 1st lil bit of this movie and was completely ashamed to admit it...I haven't bought it yet but prolly will just for collection purposes and to see the rest of the movie...I wasn't aware that Haim and the other frog was in the film or deleted or alternate scenes...that's worth checking out...and y would they kill off Michael and Star??? stupid that is...O well right??? Here's to more money wasted on a worthless movie.

Posted by: Bobby on August 9, 2008 at 15:03:52

I actually liked the movie. Maybe my expectations weren't too high and that's why I enjoyed it so much, but I did. I'm not going to write a review that it's ****ty just because everyone else agreed with you. What did you expect? If you expected an Oscar winning film you were watching the wrong movie, but if you just wanted to be entertained then this was it. I don't see why you hated it so much!!!

Posted by: Rich on August 9, 2008 at 15:59:08

Actually, I didn't think it was that bad either. I could see what was going on and it kept me interested. The leading actress wasn't the best actor, and Corey Feldman's voice was kind of weird, and Corey Haim did an awful job in the alternate endings, but everything else was ok. I thought it was better than a lot of movies that went to the theaters like Black Christmas, AVP requiem, 10,000BC and so on.

Posted by: Bianca on August 20, 2008 at 17:07:26

I may be young but I fist seen Lost Boys on TBS in 1996 and have loved, ubsest, and watched it over a million times my mom had to take it from me and throw it away. I didnt get a new one till like my 15th b-day and then I got it on DVD. I know what they are all talking about if you really loved this movie as much as us then you would be upset to Rich. I was OK but that was it. The only thing that kept my attention was Fel-Dog Haimster Jaimeson and The newest adittion to the Sutherland family Angus. He may be young but I thought he did okay! Atleast he palyed a vampire well I actually could beleive in him more than his College buddies ya know! It was a stupid plot, It was low bugdet, AND IM REALLY UPSET BECAUSE THE LOST BOYS WAS ONE OF THE BEST VAMPIRE FILMS BACK THEN AND I FEEL THAT THE NEW MOVIE IS JUST NO DIFFERENT FROM ALL THE OTHER CHEESY VAMPIRE FILMS NOW A DAYS!!! IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER

Posted by: yoxodo on September 1, 2008 at 12:19:08

File this one under the same category as other pointless sequels to come out recently,such as Day of the Dead 2 and Creepshow 3: haven't seen it,dont want to see it,would rather stab out my eyes with a fork than subject myself to it.

Posted by: madstu on December 22, 2008 at 11:36:24

the only good thing bout lostboys 2 is edger frog thats it, they spoilt it not havin his brother alan frog in it fighting by edgers side and if they plan to make lost boys 3 i recommend they get joel schumacher to sort it out and put things right!!!

Posted by: Ric on December 22, 2008 at 17:10:10

Well they do have a camo of Allen Frog as a Vampire if you watch the deleted sceens. The sad thing about this movie was that between alt. ending and the sceen with the Edgar and Sam at the end on the beach there could have been a really great movie. but they thought that just hinting at it would be good enough. I think they should make a new one...and not a part 3, but a remake of part 2 and actually have it continue the story of the first Lost Boys like they hint at in the Alt ending. And a side note...Keifer should kick the crap out of his brother Angus for even trying to feel his shoe's as the leader of the vampires (Not the head vampire) Obviously the talent in the family only went to Donald and Keifer!

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