Sometimes I think that I have bad taste when it comes to movies. I loved “Diary Of The Dead” and “Mother Of Tears”, while I didn’t really care for “All The Boys Love Mandy Lane”, which most horror sites have raved about. It’s sometimes difficult for me to figure out which critic shares my tastes the most, and that sometimes causes me to miss some of the things initially that I probably would have enjoyed. But thanks to mail order movie renting, I hope to catch up eventually. (Yeah right!) I bring this up because I have to say that I really enjoyed “Lost Boys: The Tribe”. Sure it’s nowhere near any resembling the original classic, one of my favorite vampire films, but it is an entertaining throwback to a wonderful film that should get more respect from fans, and, hopefully, the beginning of a series of quality DTV “Lost Boys” films to come.

Chris and Nicole Emerson (“Fake Stiffler” Tad Hilgenbrick, and “The O.C.”’s Autumn Reeser) have just lost their parents in a car crash. They come to the town of Laguna Beach California to live with their bitchy Aunt, who actually is going to charge them rent to live in a rundown bungalow by her house. It isn’t long before Nicole is locking lips and drinking “wine” with local bad boy vampire Shane (Kiefer’s little Brother Angus Sutherland). Chris seeks out the services of familiar vampire hunter, and surfboard shaper, Edgar Frog (the eerily unaged Corey Feldman) to help him save his sisters soul. 

I love “The Lost Boys”. Iit’s one of the movies that I put on when I can’t figure out what to watch. It’s got a great cast of actors old and new, it’s got one of the best soundtracks in movie history, and it’s slick, and dark, and above all extremely entertaining. “The Tribe” can’t expect to hold a candle to it, especially being a direct to DVD movie with a small budget. But what it does do it rise above its shortcomings with genuine respect for the original film and pacing that keeps things moving along just when you start to loose interest. There’s even a well shot motorcycle chase that rivals most big budget productions using “old school” stunts instead of quick MTV style cross cutting. I do have to say that Director P.J. Pesce (Director of another decent DTV sequel “From Dusk Til Dawn 3) knows how to bring in a Hollywood style movie on a DTV budget; it’s probably one of the best looking DTV’s I’ve seen in awhile.

The acting is good, I don’t care too much for Hilgenbrick, but he does well here as the concerned brother, Reeser brings a nice girl next door quality that makes you root for her even though her character is kind of thrown away for the middle of the film. And Feldman sticks to what made Edgar Frog work so well in the first one; he looks like he hasn’t aged a day in 20 years, which make me think he may very well be an actual Vampire. The problem here is Sutherland, he has a kind of Lebowskiness to him that really isn’t menacing at all, even in his makeup, which makes the lead villain kind of weak, but it tolerable, and kind of grows on you after awhile.

The best way to watch this film is to think of it as a DTV sequel that won’t live up to the original. If you compare it to the first film, you’ll just end up angry. Keep and open mind and you might have fun with “The Tribe” give this one a rental, and stick around after the credits for some fun. And don’t forget to check out the alternate endings!!