After a long 21 years, Warner Premiere tapped P.J. Pesce to direct the highly anticipated sequel to THE LOST BOYS entitled LOST BOYS: THE TRIBE. Since it was first announced early last year, horror fans have been drooling for a bite of the latest surfer-teen vampire pic. The immediate fear came in this reporter when Warner decided to put a lock and key on the film, refusing to let any reporter see it before its release on July 29th. This is very odd behavior; especially for a DVD release… something was definitely wrong. We now know why.

This sequel takes us to the shady surf city of Luna Bay, California, where vampires quickly dispatch anyone who crosses their path. Into this dark world arrive Chris Emerson (Tad Hilgenbrink) and his younger sister, Nicole (Autumn Reeser). Having just lost their parents in a car accident, the siblings move in with their eccentric Aunt Jillian and become new prey for the locals’ way of life. When Nicole unwittingly falls for a local vampire, Chris must locate and destroy the gang’s lifeline before his sister’s transformation is complete; to do this Chris finds himself relying on the expertise of none other than Edgar Frog (Corey Feldman). 


LOST BOYS: THE TRIBE is a disaster on all fronts, completely forgetting its deep roots that were seeded decades ago. Instead of being a fun, hip and cool horror film, what was delivered is a massive disappointment drained of all of its life. Was there heart behind this movie? Maybe, but it sure doesn’t feel like it. It appears as if the film is fitted with a cliché backdrop, consisting of a mix between sex, violence, partying and blood, all for the sake of having it. At no point does any of the “fun” feel organic; it’s all just jammed in there so the horror fans can scream, “look a boob!” It’s insulting to think that they’d assume this is what horror fans want.

The most frustrating aspect of the film comes in the changing of the rules, as not a single one of the vampires die the same – some explode, some melt and some just thrive in pain. Then there is the pacing problem, as LOST BOYS is so slow (especially the second half) that it was hard to even make it to the finale.

This is only the beginning as there is a laundry list of problems with the film. Starting with the horrendous FX work, the blood and gore look absolutely cheesy and unrealistic. Then there’s the hyper editing that attempts to bring the same effect as a SAW film, only it ends up looking like a made-for-TV movie. It doesn’t help that the acting in the film is atrocious, with the exception of Corey Feldman, who actually brings some light to a complete mess. What’s even more shocking is that the ADR work is odd, and makes some of the characters talk when it’s completely obvious they’re not. And the score? Imagine the lamest horror-western tune you can think of…

Worst of all is that LOST BOYS: THE TRIBE feels cheap. It was understood that this was a low budget direct-to-DVD/Blu-ray when production started, but seriously, this film looks like crap. It’s ridiculous that Warner made this movie, especially because it’s obvious that it was made to cash in on the film’s title. This in no way shape or form is a LOST BOYS movie, other than the fact that Corey Feldman and Corey Haim cameo. The greatest injustice is that the two Corey’s weren’t offered starring roles in what should have been the kick-start of a new franchise.