Lost in the shadows (The Lost Boys (DVD))

Member Name: star500

Product:	The Lost Boys (DVD)
Date:	13/12/02 (178 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great film , Fantastic Soundtrack

Disadvantages: No DVD extras , Sound and Picture quality could be better

The Lost Boys is the original, cult 80's vampire flick directed by Joel Schumacher and starring Kiefer Sutherland and Jason Patric. It was originally regarded as being pretty poor at its time of release and as a result didn't actually became a big hit. This was probably because it was billed as a horror film but, to be honest, did not really have enough blood, guts and tension to satisfy the hardcore horror fans looking to be scared out of their wits.

Instead it became a bit of a cult hit and its popularity has re-emerged in the last few years with the success of shows such as Buffy and Angel.

The Lost Boys has taken the vampire story and turned it into a teenage flick about a gang of biker vampires terrorising the small town of Santa Clara in California. Kiefer Sutherland plays David who is the lead biker and the vampire that the others take their lead from.

When Michael (Jason Patric) moves to the town with his family, he soon manages to get caught up in the gang when he falls for David's girlfriend, Star (Jami Gertz) and finds out just exactly what David and his gang do for entertainment and why half of the residents of the town have gone missing.

To say any more would spoil the storyline which, although a little predictable, is still enjoyable. The special effects are practically non existent perhaps down to both the time of release and budget as basic things such as showing the vampires flying was difficult to achieve (although Schumacher used clever "point of view" camera shots to simulate the flying motion). I can only imagine what a remake of it would be like especially some of the final scenes.

In my opinion the casting of both Kiefer Sutherland and Jason Patric was a very good choice as, even before makeup, these guys looked evil enough to be blood sucking vampires. Their acting was superb and their supporting cast made a good effort although some of the actors seemed a bit uncomfortable
and wooden during a few scenes. However, this was not noticeable enough to spoil the enjoyment of the film.

The inclusion of the Frog Brothers (played by Corey Feldman and Jamison Newlander) certainly provided an almost slapstick element as they were the town's resident vampire hunters. However the Frogs are not in the same league as our current TV heroine Buffy and the duo end up creating havoc and mayhem as they try to stop the fanged ones from taking over the town completely.

Also worth a mention is the brilliant soundtrack which features the "Cry Little Sister" theme as well as tracks from INXS and Jimmy Barnes (Good Times) and Echo and the Bunnymen (People Are Strange).

With regards to the DVD itself, I have to admit that I was a little disappointed as there isn't anything much in the way of extras ? you pretty much get the cinematic trailer, a few cast bios and some production notes. As the film was made 16 years ago and wasn't a blockbuster, I suppose there were very few featurettes or "making of" documentaries that could have been added and I suspect that any deleted scenes or outtakes would be long gone.

The picture quality is average (but this may be because quite a few of the scenes were filmed in low light) and I have personally found the sound to be slightly muffled in some scenes. However this may be due to the age of the original film or to my DVD player which wasn't the most expensive one in the shop and is a bit temperamental at times.

If you already own the film on video, then I wouldn't honestly rush out to buy the DVD unless you get it at a bargain price (I actually got mine for £5.99 a few months back). It is available to buy on a few websites for £7-8 so shop around if you are looking for a copy as I have seen it in certain high street stores and reputable DVD websites for anything from £10 to £15.99.

Technical specs:

Region: 2
Aspect
Ratio: 2:35:1
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 (English); Dolby Surround (French, Italian)
Subtitles: Arabic, Dutch, English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish
Hearing Impaired Languages: English, Italian
Running Time: 93 minutes

I can't recommend the film highly enough and give it 5 stars.

However, as this review is in the DVD section then I'm afraid my overall rating has to be just 3 stars based on the fact that the DVD has little to offer in the way of extras and, on my DVD player anyway, the sound and picture aren't as sharp as they could be.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ \/
Sleep All Day.
Party All Night.
Never Grow Old.
Never Die.
It's Fun To Be A Vampire.
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ \/

Summary: