Lost Boys: The Tribe

I went to see this film with very mixed emotions, mostly because the original 1987 film The Lost Boys happens to be one of my all time favourite movies. Imagine my excitement when I heard that after many years of discussion and rumours of a sequel, Warner Brothers finally green lit Lost Boys: The Tribe. So here we are just over 20 years later with a new version to love or loathe.

This new film follows a similar structure to the original - a safe bet for any sequel, which to some degree always works, but can often lead to nothing more than the rehashing of a much better original film. Lost Boys: The Tribe brings us to Luna Bay, California a surfing town where nothing is what it seems and where vampires roam the night, dispatching anything or anyone who crosses their path.

Chris Emerson (Tad Hilgenbrink) and his younger sister, Nicole (Autumn Reeser) have just moved into town after losing 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 (Angus Sutherland), 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 (Cory Feldman).

The burning question for most fans is: is this film any good? The answer is yes – but mainly when Feldman is on screen. As Edgar Frog Feldman is back to his wise-cracking best. Giving his best impression of Sly Stallone in Rambo, he is a delight, especially when he is taking care of business. I think the writer wisely saved all the best lines for Feldman who easy gets the best laughs in the film.

One aspect where the film does suffer is its direct-to-video tag - mainly from a budget standpoint. There aren't nearly enough action sequences to satisfy, especially when the bad guys are getting dispatched. They meet their demise far too quickly showing that the filmmakers clearly had limits imposed on them, which does show on screen.

That said, when the action set pieces do come, they are well directed by PJ Pesce, who shows nice visual flair and uses his budget restrictions in the best way he can. Horror fans can also sit back and enjoy the copious amounts of gore on screen - this vampire movie contains gallons of blood.

The first film's soundtrack featured some memorable moments and Lost Boys fans can also look forward to a great re-working of Gerard McMahon's Cry Little Sister by Seattle punk band, Aidan, here.

Lost Boys: The Tribe will be a DVD success and I think Warner's will see they have a chance to capitalise on it popularity and release further sequels - certainly this film leaves the door open for further installments. If they do, my advice would be to try to get the original principals involved, such as Jason Patric and Corey Haim (appearing here in blink-and-miss-it cameo), while retaining the two new siblings. Feldman is the key to this particular franchise's success, however, and it would be great to see him get to kick arse way more than he had the chance to here. I believe this fluidity is exactly what Lost Boys needs and is what fans loved about the first film. But hopefully this film is a taste of what's to come.

A fun familiar ride with a sprinkle of 2008 thrown in makes Lost Boys: The Tribe fang-tastic Friday night viewing.