A quirky follow-up to the 1987 cult hit directed by Joel Schumacher, Lost Boys: The Tribe may not please die-hard fans of the original but, taken on its own, offers a fun (and often funny) experience.
Brother and sister Chris (Tad Hilgenbrink) and Nicole (Autumn Reeser) have moved to the California coast town of Luna Bay to live with a none-too-pleased aunt after their parents die in a car accident. It isn't long before the younger and more lively sister pushes her protective brother into attending a party with her. At the party, she meets and falls in love with the mysterious Shane (Angus Sutherland, Donald's son). Of course, she had no way of knowing that he was the head of a "tribe" of vampires, let alone that drinking the drink he offered her (blood) would begin her transformation into one of his kind. After seeking advice from a man named Edgar Frog (Corey Feldman, reprising his role as the surfboard shaper and vampire hunter from the first film), Chris learns that if he can kill Shane before his sister feeds, she won't turn into a vampire and, as Frog says, her "mortal soul" will be saved.
Let's get the film's problems out of the way first. First off, P.J. Pesce, directing from a script by Hans Rodionoff, is obviously hampered by a small budget. The film was intended as a direct-to-DVD feature almost from the get-go. In spite of rumors of a theatrical release, rumors mostly started by Corey Feldman, the chances of that ever really becoming a reality were slim to none. The budget really only affects the scale of the few action sequences and a chase scene that pops up but Pesce manages to make such sequences work anyway because of sharp editing and smooth directing.
Then there is the humor. The film has a surplus of one-liners, mostly courtesy of Edgar Frog. Some may find them corny and otherwise cheesy but I thought they worked in the atmosphere established from the get-go by Pesce. The film mixes a healthy dose of comedy with gory action-horror set-pieces, much like the original. Sure, lines like "Who ordered the stake?" by Frog while brandishing two cross-shaped stakes are obvious but somehow work nonetheless because of the almost giddy directing by Pesce. The guy hasn't met a scene that he didn't think could use more fog, blood/gore, or humor, whatever the case may be.
In spite of a small budget, the affably corny writing (at times) works because of a better than could be expected assembled cast. As Chris, Hilgenbrink combines intelligence with just enough toughness to make his character believable throughout. As his sister, the cute-as-a-button Autumn Reeser is superb; her character gets some of the best comedy bits and she excels at them. As the head vampire, Angus Sutherland is quite good. Believably authoritative and a commanding screen presence, you definitely buy him as the head honcho of the undead. And then there's Feldman. With a line-delivery most similar to that of Christian Bale's Batman, a sort of deep, guttural sounding Corey is a little odd at first but once you get used to it, you realize that Feldman is clearly having fun and you are too.
Lost Boys: The Tribe is an example of an after-the-fact sequel that actually works; consistently entertaining and surprisingly well-acted. It's lots of fun.
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