2008's The Tribe might not have been the big-budget sequel that many long-time Lost Boys fans had been hoping for, but for a DTV effort, I was pleasantly surprised: although it was essentially a reworking of the original film in a contemporary style, it was reasonably atmospheric, bloody and fun, and there were still enough tips of the hat to Joel Schumacher's cult classic to keep this particular fan happy.
Part 3 in the series, The Thirst, continues in this vein: it definitely feels like a proud product of the new millennium, with CGI trickery, graphic gore and some very sexy ladies baring their boobs for the camera, but it retains the enjoyable tongue-in cheek approach that made the first film such fun.
Corey Feldman is once again clearly having a right royal time hamming it up as gruff, gravelly voiced Edgar Frog, and his co-stars catch on quick, making the most of their intentionally over the top roles. The amusing script not only delivers the expected one liners that occasionally riff on lines from the first film, but also some wry swipes at modern pop culture with reality TV being one of the main targets, and even a touch of irony: Edgar deriding novelist Gwen Lieber (the stunning Tanit Phoenix) for making her vampires sexy, when the original The Lost Boys did precisely the same thing twenty five years earlier, is a stroke of genius!
Of course, no matter how entertaining the film, there will always be some who complain when a sequel does not stay 100% true to the spirit of the original; to those people, I suggest viewing The Tribe and The Thirst as 'spin-offs' that follow the further exploits of The Frog Brothers rather than true Lost Boys sequels—it will prove less disappointing. And remember, times have changed... the 80s are history... don't allow your longing for all things day-glo, cheesy and camp to get in the way of enjoying this admirable effort.
Part 3 in the series, The Thirst, continues in this vein: it definitely feels like a proud product of the new millennium, with CGI trickery, graphic gore and some very sexy ladies baring their boobs for the camera, but it retains the enjoyable tongue-in cheek approach that made the first film such fun.
Corey Feldman is once again clearly having a right royal time hamming it up as gruff, gravelly voiced Edgar Frog, and his co-stars catch on quick, making the most of their intentionally over the top roles. The amusing script not only delivers the expected one liners that occasionally riff on lines from the first film, but also some wry swipes at modern pop culture with reality TV being one of the main targets, and even a touch of irony: Edgar deriding novelist Gwen Lieber (the stunning Tanit Phoenix) for making her vampires sexy, when the original The Lost Boys did precisely the same thing twenty five years earlier, is a stroke of genius!
Of course, no matter how entertaining the film, there will always be some who complain when a sequel does not stay 100% true to the spirit of the original; to those people, I suggest viewing The Tribe and The Thirst as 'spin-offs' that follow the further exploits of The Frog Brothers rather than true Lost Boys sequels—it will prove less disappointing. And remember, times have changed... the 80s are history... don't allow your longing for all things day-glo, cheesy and camp to get in the way of enjoying this admirable effort.