A Brief History of the Forgotten ‘Silent Hill’ Spinoffs

The Lost Boys was not only a huge box office success, it was also a game changer in vampire media, making the undead hip once again and convince an entire generation that they too could become young vampire hunters (although I know plenty of people who wouldn’t hesitate to join Kiefer Sutherland’s dreamy punk-rock band Nosferatu).

And as is often the case in Hollywood, the film’s near-instant popularity meant the studio was immediately interested in a sequel, with director Joel Schumacher even offering a pitch titled “The Lost Girls” intended to follow a different tribe of female vampires. Of course, we all know that this project never came to fruition and fans have always wondered what a real project was. Lost Boys what happens next might look like. Or were they?

What a lot of horror fans don’t realize is that we didn’t get one, but two Lost Boys sequels more than 20 years after the original – only these films would be straight-to-video B-movies that ended up drawing the ire of the handful of critics who dared to review them. However, after revisiting these films back-to-back, I can attest that they are definitely not the unwatchable trash that their 0% ratings on Rotten Tomatoes would have you believe.

This is precisely why I would like to take this opportunity to return to Lost Boys sequels that time forgot and find out why I think they deserve a second chance.

There have actually been numerous attempts to revive The Lost Boys after the studio rejected Schumacher’s talk of the gender-flipped sequel. Throughout the 90s, the director would try to get several different spin-offs off the ground until finally giving up in the 2000s, when he explained that there was no point in making a direct sequel since all the main characters were either died or evolved.

Later, the successful DVD release of the original film also sparked interest in a return, with many of the original cast set to reprise their roles in a new film. This project would not get off the ground either as Warner Bros was already planning a full remake at that point – a film which would ultimately not be financed due to a perceived lack of interest in vampire media from young people.

It wasn’t until the mid-2000s Dusk The hype the studio realized there was still money to be made with the undead leeches, so they decided to give the sequel another chance. After coming across a spec script titled The tribe – which followed the exploits of a pack of surfing werewolves and was already heavily influenced by The Lost Boys – Warner asked screenwriter Hans Rodionoff to rework his script into an official sequel that transformed the surfers into a new group of seductive vampires.

With From Dusk to Dawn 3 director PJ Pesce was chosen to make the film on a reduced budget, The Lost Boys: The Tribe will be released in 2008 and follows Chris and Emma Emerson (Tad Hilgenbrink and Autumn Reeser) who move to Luna Bay, California after the death of their mother. Unfortunately, the grieving siblings soon find themselves targeted by a local tribe of surfing vampires led by Shane Powers (Angus Sutherland), with only an aging Edgar Frog (Corey Feldman) willing to help them.

While The tribe is by no means a masterpiece, showcasing quality television production value and underwritten characters (not to mention underperforming), it’s not as bad as critics would have you make out believe. In fact, the film’s biggest flaw can’t even be blamed on the filmmakers, as the original film largely holds up in how well it captured the spirit of its then-contemporary late ’80s setting, a plus Who The tribe I can’t really compete with it (although I do appreciate how the film features a few vampires playing Weapons of war on an X-Box 360).

That being said, there’s still plenty of fun to be had here if you’re willing to avoid constantly comparing the film to the original. For starters, I actually enjoyed many of the film’s attempts at humor, with the story featuring memorable recurring gags like the vampire brothers repeatedly injuring each other on camera for fun, as well as a handful of silly one-liners from Feldman (with “who ordered the stake?” being my favorite).

The tribe is honestly at his best when Feldman lets loose as a slightly more pathetic version of Edgar Frog, with his overly macho voice and an implied tragic backstory regarding Sam Emerson (with Corey Haim making an appearance here) and Alan Frog (who only appears only in a deleted scene). Plus, we’re even treated to a brief appearance from effects legend Tom Savini to establish the new vampires as a legitimate threat.

Despite the surprisingly wild critical reaction, The tribe deeply impressed Warner Bros with its sales figures, leading the studio to immediately greenlight another sequel. Directed by Dario Piana, the upcoming film would double down on the comedic elements of its predecessor, with screenwriters Rodionoff and Evan Charnov cutting out the middleman and making the more interesting character the protagonist this time around.

While Corey Haim was unable to return due to his substance abuse issues (which tragically led to his death at the time of the film’s release), Jamison Newlander makes a brief return as the vampirized Alan Frog, starring the main characters of the previous film. be abandoned so that the film can please people who didn’t like it The tribe.

In the finished film, titled The Lost Boys: Thirst, we follow Edgar Frog (Feldman) as he is recruited by Stephanie Meyer’s replacement, Gwen Lieber (Tanit Phoenix) to save his younger brother from another group of party vampires led by a mysterious alpha. Naturally, plenty of bloody chaos ensues as Edgar and his new team uncover the truth behind these vampiric ravers.

From the start, the trio improves on its predecessor by refusing to rehash the original and instead focusing on action and humor in a completely new story. It’s still rather crazy, the vampires being even less charismatic than in The tribe, but I appreciate how the film leans into its nerdy influences. Hell, the script even makes fun of Dusk phenomena that led to the resurgence of Lost Boys franchise in the first place, with Frog’s criticism of sexy vampires being particularly hilarious when you remember that Kiefer Sutherland’s David was the first undead teen heartthrob.

It’s really this emphasis on humor that makes The thirst stand out, with the film going so far as to enhance its over-the-top fight scenes with even more absurd lines (turning holy water into holy slaughter!) as well as genuinely charming character moments like Edgar and his friend Zoe. meeting up for pancakes while still covered in the blood of a defeated vampire.

Sure, a lot of the dialogue feels awkward and the action could have used a bigger effects budget to avoid looking like a CW show, but The thirst ultimately brings enough charm to compensate for these flaws. I’m particularly surprised at how well they managed to create Feldman’s character here, with his man-child antics contrasting perfectly with the franchise’s recurring themes of youth and acceptance of death.

Like the previous film, The thirst ends on a cliffhanger teasing another sequel, but it’s pretty clear at this point that any future Lost Boys the project probably won’t recognize this pair of wacky films. Whether that’s a good thing or not, I can’t say for sure, but I think both of these sequels deserved a better reputation.

Although none of the films come close to the quality of the original Lost BoysWhen it comes to cheesy vampire movies, you could do a lot worse than revisit The tribe And The thirst. This is why I heartily recommend these two films to fans of schlocky vampirestake ’em ups.