Lost Boys: The Tribe

When the two Coreys — Feldman and Haim — reunited last year for their questionable A&E reality show, with it came the likelihood that a remake or sequel of some sort would arise from their long gone celebrity as teen pin-ups. Well, here it is, the sequel to 1987’s The Lost Boys. Don’t say you didn’t want it, but the timing — 21 years after the original — not only reeks of opportunism now that the Coreys have their stars back but pretty much cements the absence of any other actors (Dianne Wiest? Jason Patric? Kiefer?). No, instead the brains behind the Tom Berenger-starring Sniper 3 and the third From Dusk Till Dawn could only lure Kiefer’s younger bro, the mysterious Angus Sutherland. That casting alone sums up what The Tribe has to offer — little. The plot is almost a carbon copy of the original: two siblings — Chris (Tad Hilgenbrink) and Nicole (Autumn Reeser) Emerson — arrive in Luna Bay, CA looking to start over. Almost immediately they are swept up by the local gang of surfers, who shockingly turn out to be vampires. Leader Shane (Sutherland) turns Nicole, and Chris, with the help of Edgar Frog (Corey Feldman), must try and destroy the nasties to save his sis. Considering this is a straight-to-DVD release, few hopes will be high with The Tribe. It can’t fight off the B-movie-isms it was born with, and instead of trying to emulate or even pay homage to Joel Schumacher’s cult fave, Pesce simply goes for the edgy, rapid cuts and gloomy lighting that seem to define most youth-oriented thrillers these days. And I can’t help but whinge over how they never clearly tie Chris and Nicole to the Emerson family of the first film. But really, why should I care? I’d say avoid at all costs but damn it, Haim finally does make his post-credits appearance, and again in the two alternate endings, giving Feldman another shot at massacring his lines with such a melodramatic brood. A pathetic featurette with Feldman —in character — giving his tips on fighting off vampires only worsens whatever is left of his legacy. If only they’d chosen to do License to Drive  — you just know it could have been better, and Heather Graham is just dying for that call. Plus: music video.