07 February 2011

OMENS: The Lost Boys: The Thirst


The Lost Boys: The Thirst

Starring Corey Feldman Jamison Newlander Tanit Phoenix Joe Vaz. Written by Evan Charnov Hans Rodionoff. Directed by Dario Piana. Release: 12 October 2010. Warner Premiere, 81 mins., Rated R.

Plot: Edgar Frog is hired by vampire novelist Gwen Lieber to track down her brother Peter who has been taken captive by vampires.

Now that was fun.

Letting go the plot lines of the last two films as well as the drama and seriousness they offered, LOST BOYS: THE THIRST is a full-on action/adventure comedy with self-referential dialogue, comic book nods, absurd action, hilarious dialogue (especially one-liners), great music track (including the trademark "Cry Little Sister" again), and kickass action. And at only 81 minutes, the movie breezes by, and the good thing is that every second spent is super fantastic. Similar to THE TRIBE, people looking for the darkness and emotion of the original will be hugely disappointed this time around, cos none of that's here. This is basically what MY NAME IS BRUCE would have been if it was actually good [sorry, Campbell fans].

Plus the story was pretty great: down on his luck Edgar Frog is enlisted by a vamp lovin' novelist to track down her brother Peter and wreck some killin' on the vamp populace - um, awesome! Oh, and the Alpha vampire is in town, and this just might be the opportunity to save Edgar's brother Alan Frog and stop a massive vampire army from taking over the world. Fun, awesome, and epic. And funny. All the ingredients to make my kind of flick.

By now, Corey Feldman completely owns the role of Edgar Frog, and just like the last two outings, it's really Feldman that makes this movie. He delivers his lines with such seriousness and conviction, and ranges from kickass awesomeness with his weapons to being horribly awkward wielding a sword. Judging by reviews of the last two titles, I wager the following comment would seem rather odd, but if Corey Feldman was once again the drive of the film, I wouldn't mind another LOST BOYS film. Vampire novelist and hilarious TWILIGHT-joke ridden target Gwen Lieber is played by Tanit Phoenix, who shows off her marvelous body and beautiful accent, but doesn't do much otherwise. Frog's partner in crime as well as fellow comic book enthusiast Zoe (Dolan) fares much better, reminding me of Inspector Clouseau's assistant in the Steve Martin PINK PANTER remake.

Surprisingly, in the midst of all this corny dialogue and exaggerated action scenes, there is a heart to this film. Longtime friend to Feldman Corey Haim had died earlier in 2010, and there's quite a lot of nods to Haim (aka Sam Emerson) that is actually very touching. There's clips of LOST BOYS between the Frog brothers and Sam, as well as a poignant moment at Sam's grave that calls back to the original in a sweet way. But aside from that, hilarity and in-your-face action abound!

I had myself a hell of a fun time with THE THIRST, to the point where I actually would consider having it in my collection. I wouldn't necessarily shell out a considerable amount of cash on the DVD, but if I found it laying around Pawn America or Half Price for $3.99 I sure as hell would pick this up. It was fun, I enjoyed my time, I dug the story and the one-liners were great. Fans of the original may shudder at what their franchise has become, but I loved it. The Frog Brothers make this franchise, and actually might be the 'real' lost boys the title refers to, so what's not to love?

Netflix Rating: Really Liked It

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