Lost Boys, The (Blu-ray)
Steve Barton
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Reviewed by Uncle Creepy
Starring Jason Patric, Corey Haim, Dianne Wiest, Kiefer Sutherland, Corey Feldman
Directed by Joel Schumacher
Distributed by Warner Home Entertainment
Man, 1987 was a crazy year. Aretha Franklin became the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Budd Dwyer shot and killed himself during a televised press conference, Hustler Magazine vs. Falwell was argued before the U.S. Supreme Court, and a little vampire movie named The Lost Boys captured the hearts of genre fans everywhere. Here we are, over twenty years (wow) since its initial release to theatres, and the definitive edition of this modern classic has just crashed fangs first into the Hi-Def world of Blu-ray technology.
I am not going to bother summarizing the story. By now you should have either seen it, heard about it, or purchased the two-disc special edition DVD that came out a while ago. If you haven’t done any of those three things, I really have to wonder just what the hell you are doing here. Seeking horror culture, maybe? Well, at least you’re in the right place.
What we’re here to talk about today is Warner Brothers’ Blu-ray release of The Lost Boys. You know … what kicks ass and what falls short. Let’s start with the look of the movie. For you tech heads out there, here are some specs — Framed at 2.40:1, the 1080p picture is nothing short of amazing. The blacks are as deep as can be, and the image is stable and free of any color bleeding or artifacts. Even better, it sounds as good as it looks. The English Dolby TrueHD audio is a treat for the ears, cranking out a sound mix that you’d have a hard time imagining was first created over twenty years ago. Without question this is an excellent transfer from the WB. Bravo.
Now then, let’s talk supplemental material. I can promise you this … The first time that you hit the “Special Features” option on your Blu-ray remote, your jaw is going to drop. Simply put, there are oodles and oodles of goodies to sift through.
The ball gets rolling with an audio commentary by director Joel Schumacher. Basically what we have here is a track that is comprised of the most ludicrous amount of back-patting I’ve ever listened to. Schumacher thanks just about everyone even remotely associated with the shoot. While that’s all fine, well, and good, it gets old fast. How about more on-set stories? Another few anecdotes? Something? Anything more than just “*insert name here* did a fantastic job on *insert task here*. We were so lucky to have him/her/it” will do. It’s like the Oscar speech that never ends. Wow. Moving on.
The first featurette we get is a twenty-four-minute look back called The Lost Boys: A Retrospective. This 2004 documentary, while fun and interesting, turns out to be a little on the dated side, especially when we get to the whole “Where are they now?” aspect. Still, hearing Kiefer and the gang reflect on their affection for the project is more than worth the price of admission. Next up we have a section that’s broken down into four featurettes entitled Inside the Vampire Cave. The whole shebang runs about eighteen minutes total and covered are Schumacher’s vision for the film, vampire lore, the delicate successful mixing of comedy and horror, and (even more dated) the possibility of a sequel. The latter I’m sorry to say ended up happening, and the result was anything but good. Click here for my Lost Boys: The Tribe review.
The fourteen-minute Vamping Out: The Undead Creations of Greg Cannom featurette is exactly what you think it is, and the same can be said about the four-and-a-half-minute Haimster and Feldog: The Story of the Two Coreys featurette. That’s not to say these features are bad; in fact, they are suitably fun to watch! The trouble here is that they offer little surprise as we’ve seen hundreds of effects featurettes by now and the Coreys even have their own TV show that discusses the ups and downs of their relationship.
The next feature worthy of discussion is a multi-angle commentary by Core Haim, Corey Feldman, and Jamison Newlander. Basically, by pressing the “angle” button on your remote, you can watch as one of the three actors gives perspective on several sequences of the movie. Had this feature run the length of the flick, I would have dug it a lot more. As is it just seems kind of cumbersome.
Lastly we have my favorite bit of “extras” related fun on the disc — the A World of Vampires interactive map. In the mood to catch up on a little vampire lore? Just click any of the locations marked on the map for a video description of the bloodsucking legends that haunt each region. You just gotta love it, man. We need more stuff like this. It’s bonus nirvana!
Tack on fifteen minutes of Lost Scenes, a photo gallery, the “Lost in the Shadows” music video by Lou Gramm, and the theatrical trailer, and there you have it. The only downside? All of the special features are presented in standard 480p definition. Sigh.
Bottom line — if you’re looking for your Eighties related vampire fix, The Lost Boys proves to be just as much fun now as it was then. Honestly, it doesn’t get much better, and this release rightfully belongs in everyone’s next-gen media library.
Special Features
4 out of 5
Special Features:
4 out of 5
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