Directed By
Starring Jason Patric, Kiefer Sutherland, Corey Feldman, Corey Haim, Jamie Gertz
There are a few seminal films in every generation and there’s no denying that The Lost Boys is one of those films. No, it’s not a classic in the traditional sense; it’s a cultural classic, and now a cult classic film. By cultural classic I’m referring to the music, the style, and the attitudes of the young people in the film. The Lost Boys takes a lot of what was so great about the John Hughes films of the 80’s and adds an edge and some fangs.
The Movie
Basically you have a family that’s new to a small town that just so happens to be infected with vampires. Eventually saving the town falls on the shoulders of Corey Feldman and Corey Haim. Actually thought the popularity of these two kids working on films together was more annoying than cool, but I loved The Lost Boys and ok fine I liked Dream a Little Dream too. It’s funny about The Lost Boys, a few years after the film came out the popularity of its style and soundtrack died out; and now all of that stuff is back in vogue as “retro” and the movie almost looks out of time, other than the wardrobe of the two Corey’s of course.
Even good movies can feel too dated or two specific of an era to be interesting in this modern age but The Lost Boys still holds up even though so much dates it. The themes and the comedy are all just as relevant now as they were when the film came out. Having so much of the film to be actually cool again is just a bonus. Modern vampires are being called “Hot Topik” vampires so I guess you’d call the vampires from this film MTV vampires. This is a fairly simple film that I think actually turns hardcore horror films off because it features so much humor. All things considered the film is pretty campy, but it’s campy in just the right way. Rather than camp as in modern films by winking at the audience this film is campy due to offbeat characters.
Kiefer Sutherland and the two Corey’s own this film. Sutherland is Mr. Cool and the two Coreys-especially Corey Feldman-are just so bizarre that they demand watching. I saw this film as a kid and I’m happy to see it’s still so much fun all these years later. If you didn’t grow up with the film you may not love it as much as I do but you’ll still enjoy checking it out. Joel Schumacher ahs done films that were deeper in story and much more serious, therefore maybe considered better, but he’s also done worst (Bat nipples?). The Lost Boys sits well in his filmography as one of his most fun and memorable films though.
8/10
The Video
The Lost Boys is 20 years old so I didn’t expect to see a demo disc when I opened this box. While I was right it’s not necessarily the Blu-Ray you wanna throw in to demo your new HDTV but it does look surprisingly well considering the limitation of the source material. Colors look spot on with no blooming and skin tones well balanced. There’s very little grain and detail is crisp and clear. If you’re a fan of the film prepare yourself because this is the best the film has every looked.
9/10
The Audio
Audio is presented here in Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and it sounds great but since the film wasn’t shot with this kind of audio presentation in mind the audio is limited by the source. There’s a good bit of surround usage during higher action scenes but more subtle ambient sounds don’t get much attention. Dialogue is slightly murky in the mix and some of the stingers are just a little too hot. With these complaints noted the film still sounds great and the soundtrack features great dynamic range with good use of bass.
8/10
The Packaging and Bonus Features
The single disc comes in a standard slim blu-ray amaray case with the original poster art for the cover. The art really needed to be freshened up for this new version of the film. The poster art has been around for so long that it’s instantly recognizable so I get why it got used but it still would have been cool to see something new for a special edition release.
Another disappointment is that the bonus features on this disc are the same as those that were made for a previously released two disc standard DVD version. The extras, if you haven’t seen them, are quite good.
The first big extra here is a feature length commentary with the director. Schumacher delivers a slow but information heavy commentary. He discusses all the aspects of making the film from casting to production. As slow as it is this commentary is a must listen for hardcore fans of the film.
Lost Boys: A Retrospective is a featurette that focuses on the cast and crews memories of making the film. Schumacher and cinematographer Michael Chapman offer the most interesting interviews but Kiefer Sutherland and the two Coreys offer some good insight too. The question is, where the heck was Jamie Gertz and Jason Patric? There’s also a handful of additional featurettes that cover the style of the film, the special effects, and the film’s twists on vampire mythology. These featurettes are all extremely short and are better watched with the “Play All” option.
There’s a quite ridiculous featurette called Haimster & Feldog/Multiangle Featurette. It’s essentially a compilation of scenes featuring the dynamic duo that can be viewed with commentary by them and the third Frog brother. This thing isn’t very informative and feels like filler.
There’s a theatrical trailer, deleted scenes, a photo gallery, and a music video also available on the disc. The commentary and featurettes are a great view and they offer some enhancement to the movie viewing experience. I just wish there was some blu-ray exclusive extras.
8/10
The Lost Boys has never looked or sounded better than it does on this Blu-Ray. If you’re a fan of the film then this is a must buy.
Overall (Not an Average) 8.5/10
The Review
The Movie 8/10
The Video 9/10
The Audio 8/10
The Packaging and Bonus Features 8/10
Overall (Not an Average) 8.5/10