Teenager Michael
(Jason Patric) and his younger brother (Corey Haim) learn the horrific
secret of their new seaside town - it’s infested with vampires.
However, when Michael is turned into the bloodsucking undead, it’s up
to Haim and his new vampire fighting friends, the Frog Brothers, to
fight back and save his brother’s soul.
CRITIQUE
The Lost Boys,
originally written as a “Goonies with vampires” flick, is one
of those late 80’s films that has become a classic just simply by
being. Had it been made today, very little would be thought of it,
because it really is nothing more than a horror comedy with some very
cleaver moments. However, it never really goes to the extremes on
either side, the horror isn’t that horrific, nor is the comedy that
funny. But as a vampire film, it works just fine.
The casting is
mostly to blame for the film’s flaws, but it’s not the adults or teens
that are the problem. Jason Patric plays a teen in a transitional
stage of life believably, his love interest Star (Jami Gertz) plays
both seducer and victim well, we never doubt her change in feelings
for Michael. Kiefer Sutherland is great, and even though he has the
fewest lines out of all the characters, we can feel his presence at
all times. It’s the kids that are the problem. They don’t fit in to
this film. They seem more fitting to the “Goonies with vampires”
scenario than what the film ended up becoming.
Corey Haim plays a
kid who is a complete and total wuss. It’s hard to imagine him
summoning up the courage to enter the vampire’s lair in order to slay
the slumbering undead. Corey Feldman, doing his best (worst) Stallone
impersonation, is one of those kids who talks big, but when put into
harm’s way, would run like a coward. Had the film been more of a
comedy, these sorts of heroes would work, but since the film sets
itself in a tangible reality, the kids seem out of place. Had the
characters been grounded more in the film’s reality (i.e. a real
transition for Haim’s character and less Stallone for Feldman) the
film may have worked better.
The story itself
isn’t bad. It weaves a decent love story into the horror and it never
disrupts the flow. The twists and turns are fun and surprising,
especially the revelation of the head vampire. Overall, The Lost
Boys is not a bad film. It’s not a great film either. But it is
worth owning for fans of vampire films and horror in general.
THE VIDEO
The transfer looks
wonderful. The image is sharp and the colors are rich and balanced.
The black levels are consistent and there is no digital artifacting at
all. It’s a really good transfer of the film.
THE AUDIO
The film is
presented in 5.1 Dolby digital surround for the English language
track, and Dolby stereo for the French language track. The 5.1 mix is
standard and fairly underused. I never felt that the mix added to the
experience as it sometimes does with other films.
THE EXTRAS
Disc 1:
Commentary by Joel
Schumacher:
Joel Schumacher’s commentary, while informative, is nothing more than
an hour and a half long ramble session. It’s definitely not a
commentary aimed at entertaining the listener, but rather, one set to
put the listener to sleep.
Disc 2:
The Lost Boys: A
Retrospective:
The cast and crew reminisce about the film and what it meant to them
at the time. This also acts as a “making of” feature in some ways,
although the featurettes of Inside the Vampire’s Cave are a
little more “making of” than this. This is a really well done
documentary, better than most or its kind.
Inside the
Vampire’s Cave:
Four featurettes (A Director’s Vision, Comedy vs. Horror, Fresh
Blood: A New Look at Vampires, and The Lost Boys Sequel?) which,
like the Retrospective, act as a “making of” feature. These four
segments are infinitely more interesting to watch than Schumacher’s
commentary.
Vamping Out: The
Undead Creations of Greg Cannon:
A very detailed look at the creature effects of The Lost Boys.
An excellent thing to watch if interested in how practical visual
effects are done.
Haimster and Feldog:
The Story of the 2 Coreys:
Learn what the Coreys thought about working together for the first
time. That is, if you care.
Multi-angled video
commentary by Haim, Feldman, and Jamison Newlander: Watch the parts of the film that the Coreys and Newlander
are in with each person commenting on a separate angle track. Not very
interesting.
Deleted Scenes:
A single track of deleted sequences. None of these really expand the
story too much, although one scene does set up the revelation of the
master vampire, by showing him “stopping” Sutherland and his gang
without much trouble.
A World of Vampires:
Vampire legends from around the globe.
Rounding out the
extras is Lou Gramm’s Lost in the Shadow’s music video, as well
as a trailer and photos.
OVERALL
The DVD offers a
really good presentation. The features alone make this a worthwhile
purchase for fans of the film.
