Joel Schumacher is one of those directors that many fans have a love/hate relationship with. For every great movie he delivers, there is an equally appalling one. Movies like “Flatliners” and the recent “Phone Booth” were both extremely good movies, suspenseful and thrilling even in spite of some of their shaky plot points. Yet he turns around and gives us “Batman Forever” and “Batman & Robin”, which almost single-handedly destroyed that franchise. (Many Batman fans still think the films only existed in their nightmares… I’ve tried the pinching method, but the movies still seem to exist.) But back in 1987, “The Lost Boys” became one of my favorite movies of that year. It was equal parts camp humor and horror, while retaining a certain amount of ‘hip’ style. It had 1980s written all over it with all the big hair, yet seeing it today it doesn’t feel all that dated.

Best of all, it had the two Coreys (Haim & Feldman), back before their careers began the downward style that plagued many child stars of the era.

The main premise of the film, for the uninitiated, revolves around a single mom (Dianne Wiest), who moves to the west coast of California with her two sons Michael (Jason Patric) and Sam (Corey Haim). They move in with her father (Barnard Hughes), and soon find the little town of Santa Clara isn’t all it seems to be. The town is plagued by a band of hooligans led by a young Kiefer Sutherland, They, like the town, are not all they seem to be. Michael gets mixed up with a girl (Jami Gertz), who happens to be very… close to the hooligans. Soon they are trying to initiate Michael into their gang, with only his brother Sam realizing they are vampires.

Well, not just Sam. The existence of the vampires is known to two others. Brave souls who have pledged their lives to rid the town of its deadly plague, if they can stop running long enough to fight. Played to the hilt by Corey Feldman and Jamison Newlander, the Frog Bothers help keep the tone of the film light, and are forever ingrained into the cinematic history of vampire hunters.

The new DVD release from Warner Brothers is a set to get excited about. Aside from the terrific new transfer, which makes the film look as if it were shot yesterday, there are 2 discs in the set, with the second one devoted entirely to special features. As I mentioned before, “The Lost Boys” was one of my favorite films of 1987 because it had so much style. Visually, it was dark and moody and the music used throughout the film heightened the sensual nature of the vampires. I also loved the “Peter Pan” allegory which likened the vampiric Lost Boys and their ‘devil may care’ attitude to that of Pan’s Lost Boys.

This new 2-disc set includes a commentary by Schumacher, which I was surprised to find was extremely entertaining and informative. He goes into quite a bit of detail about everything from the actors to the locations, without skipping a beat. I rarely recommend commentaries as many tend to be a bit dull, but this one I rate highly. That’s pretty much all there is one the first disc, but when you put in the second, prepare to veg on the couch for a while.

First up is a retrospective that offers up interviews with most of the film’s principal cast as well as some behind the scenes footage. It runs a little over twenty minutes and is very well put together. Though I was glad to hear from Schumacher, Sutherland, Haim, Feldman, actor Edward Hermmann and producer Richard Donner, I missed not having Patric, Gertz and Wiest throwing in their two cents. “Inside the Vampire’s Cave” is made up of four separate featurettes, totaling about 18 minutes, where we learn how the film was changed during its initial production as well as how some of the visuals were conceived. Even the question of an eagerly awaited sequel is raised and once again laid to rest.

Fans of makeup effects will enjoy the look at the work of Greg Cannom. I’ve always had mixed feeling about the guys work, as I think he has created some of the best ‘fat suit’ designs in the business, but I still despise his ‘flat-faced’ werewolves. I did like the work he did on “The Lost Boys”, however and was glad to get a look at the vampire’s designs. There is a short interview with the 2 Coreys, where they discuss how they met, as well as a lengthy photo gallery. If you’re into deleted scenes, there are no less that 18 offered here, and though they are pretty good scenes, I was a bit put off by the fact that I couldn’t play them separately. You’ll also find a music video for Lou Gramm’s “Lost in the Shadows” and an interactive map devoted to vampire legends around the world.

I saved the best for last as far as features, and if you watch nothing else on this disc, watch this one. It’s a mutli-angle video commentary by Haim, Feldman and Newlander. It comes in at around 18 minutes and is made up of scenes from the film featuring the actors. The scenes are shown on the bottom half of the screen, while above you can see the actor’s as they comment about the film. This is a really fun feature, with only one minor complaint. Each of the actors is set up on his own and you use the multi angle button to jump back and forth to each one. I think it would have been better if they could have gotten the actors together to do a single commentary, but what can you do? It’s still a great feature.

I loved “The Lost Boys” back when I first saw it back in the 80’s and still love it now. This disc is long overdue and one that definitely goes onto my ‘must own’ list of 2004.

Directed by: Joel Shumacher
Starring: Corey Feldman, Jami Gertz, Corey Haim, Edward Herrmann, Barnard Hughes, Jason Patric, Kiefer Sutherland, Diane Wiest
Extras: Commentary by Director Joel Schumacher, Additional Scenes, “The Lost Boys - A Retrospective”, “The Return of Sam and the Frog Brothers: The 2 Coreys and Jamison Newlander, “Vamping Out: The Undead Creations of Greg Cannom, “Inside the Vampire’s Cave”, Photo Gallery, “Lost in the Shadows” Music Video, A world of Vampires Interactive Map
Specifications: Widescreen, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Studio: Warner Brothers
Release Date: 8/10/2004
Region 1
MPAA Rating: R
Website

We'll give The Lost Boys: Special Edition an A+.