If it had any other title, Lost Boys 2: The Tribe wouldn't provoke any outrage. But if it had any other title, would anybody give it a second glance? I harbored a ray of hope, but it doesn't take very long to realize that Lost Boys 2: The Tribe was always destined for the direct to video garbage heap.

The 1987 original, photographed by the superbly talented Michael Chapman, was super stylish and jammed with juicy performances, cynical wisecracks, and post-modern tweaks to cinematic vampire legends. The best idea was placing fanged lords of the night in a sun-soaked California coastal town populated by aging hippies and freaks, not to mention a boardwalk, rollercoaster, and great, crashing surf.

As a budget sequel, LB2 has to make do with less attractive, less flattering video imagery and the rockier Canadian coastline standing in for "Santa Carla" * (actually, Santa Cruz, California). The script by Hans Rodionoff makes some half-hearted attempts to tie in the original (antlers and motorcycles, anyone?), but is bereft of any new twists of its own. Director P. J. Pesce makes certain to include the obligatory amount of gore required to justify the so-called "uncut" version, with notable attention to ripped throats and spilled intestines, along with bared body parts displayed by lovelies such as Moneca Delain. LB2 has precisely two good moments -- one in the opening scene, provided by Tom Savini -- stranded within 94 minutes of running time.

No, you're not dreaming. This story is real. There is a trailer out for The Lost Boys 2: The Tribe, and MTV's got it. Go watch it, and the accompanying Corey Feldman interview. Marvel at the attention he gave his eyebrows to restore them to 1980's authenticity. (I am amazed how little he's aged -- the picture to the right is from the sequel, and he looks precisely the same.)

The Lost Boys is a guilty pleasure of mine -- and I know I'm not alone. I never get sick of it. And I always secretly wanted a sequel called The Lost Girls. I think it could have worked -- a gang of girls seducing and killing hot guys, and luring an unsuspecting innocent to join them. And that unsuspecting innocent could have been the daughter of a retired Frog Brother. I would have paid to see that because I'm tasteless that way. The odd thing is, there's parts of this direct-to-DVD sequel that look a lot like scenes I had in mind. Only less cool.

In this day of remakes and sequels, I think Feldman could have pitched the concept to a real studio, and made a really fun sequel that had a good budget and theatrical release. Honestly, there's some potential here in this finished product. It just needed to be reworked, polished, and given to actors who could deliver a line properly.

Or maybe I'm just hypnotized by hearing the theme song. It is like a drug. I immediately see a young Jason Patric, and I can't think straight any more.

Eminently rewatchable, a near-perfect slice of California cool versus East Coast paranoia, dancing on the edge of the truly ridiculous, The Lost Boys neatly captured the zeitgeist in 1987. Pitting a gang of ultra-hip young thrill-seeking vampires against a town that epitomized Middle American values was a master stroke. As Scott Weinberg commented more than a year ago, fans have been clamoring for a sequel ever since. Scott reported that a sequel was finally in the works, but that it would be direct to video, filmed in sunny San Diego, and revolve around Surfer Vampires.

Monika Bartyzel told us that Autumn Reeser (my favorite cute, insecure wisecracker from The OC) had been added to the cast as "a girl who moves with her brother to Trinidad, California and is seduced by the leader of the vamp surfers." Erik Davis broke our hearts with the news that Corey Haim would not be appearing in the film * (see update below), though Corey Feldman is still intact (phew!) and the production had moved to Vancouver.

To whet your appetite further, ShockTillYouDrop has an exclusive look at a new fang-tabulous still from The Lost Boys 2: The Tribe. You can check it out in all its full-blooded splendor at their site, where you can also see who's underneath the bloody vampire. Shock also lists Tad Hilgenbrink (American Pie Presents Band Camp) and Angus Sutherland as additional cast members. P.J. Pesce directs. Look for it to hit DVD shelves this July.

UPDATE: As our faithful commenters kindly pointed out, Corey Haim will indeed be making an appearance, as reported by someone at some movie site I really should read once in a while. Thank you, readers!

On the last episode of Two Coreys and a Vampire Sequel, we learned that C. Haim would be unable to appear in Lost Boys 2: The Tribe, thanks to some restrictions on him leaving the country or something. But C. Feldman, thank god, would be returning for the sequel. Now comes word from STYD and Feldman's own blog that, yep, they Coreys (Cories?) will indeed be reuniting on the follow-up.

Seems that when Haim couldn't make the trip to ... Canada, director P.J. Pesce simply lifted those pages from the script -- and now those pages have been put back in. Additional shooting will take place soon. I'm sure this won't give the film any sort of editorial confusion. No way. And I don't really know what all the excitement is about. Aside from playing the goofy comic relief in the original Lost Boys, it's not like the Coreys really make for fine cinema. License to Drive I'll give you (as a guilty pleasure), but Last Resort? Blown Away? Dream a Little Dream? I mean ... ouch.

The Warner video release is expected to hit shelves some time this summer (though fans are currently waging a war to get some sort of theatrical run).

Whether you're excited or apprehensive, production on the second edition of The Lost Boys is now underway, bringing us the Frog brothers' latest vampiric adventure. (This is one without the infamous co-Corey, as Erik told us in September.) Now Edgar Frog, otherwise known as Corey Feldman, has thrown up a holiday post for his fans that includes tidbits about the production as well as some preview pics for Lost Boys 2: The Tribe. I have been fully expecting to hate this whole production, but I must say -- seeing these two pictures did tap into some of my old Lost Boys fangirl glee. Maybe this could be a good, fun sequel. ...Maybe?

The first pic has Feldman throwing up the serious vampire-fighting finger at Tad Hilgenbrink, who you might have caught in last year's abysmal Epic Movie as Cyclops. The second picture has Feldman armed, poutingly serious, and patrolling a dark tunnel. I'm not expecting a masterpiece, but at least it looks like Corey found his way back to his inner Frog. The actor also threw up a blog post, and in between prayers and chatter for fans, he talks a bit about Warner Brothers' plans for the film. DC Comics will be releasing a 4-issue series to fill in the blanks between the first and second films. (How will they explain away Corey Haim? Did Mama Weist collect them off to a safer city?) And get this -- from the fingers of Feldman: "they are already talking about doing a third... ..;)" The optimist in me wants to believe that this decision is because of how very well production is going, but the pessimist is certain this is just one of those crappy sequel decisions.

In the meantime, there's one more bit of gossip that Corey shared. If you caught the first season of The Two Coreys, and are itching for part two, you might have to hold your breath. It seems that while A&E have ordered a second season, Corey isn't sure he wants to do it because he had a falling out with Haim: "the problems Haim and I have in real life occurred after the show was over and do not have anything to do with the banter from last season. That said, if we do come back, the next season will have to be darker, edgier, and more real because that's where it's at." A dark and edgy Two Coreys? Oh, my!

Rogue

I don't care how many times they push it back, or how much potential for hackneyed disaster there is in a film about a killer crocodile -- I'm looking forward to Rogue, mostly because there was a lot that impressed me about Greg Mclean's debut film, 2005's Wolf Creek. For one thing, it was bold enough to defy several horror cliches, such as foreshadowing dread in the early scenes -- the first thirty minutes of Wolf Creek could be part of an Aussie road drip dramedy, with three aimless kids taking their rickety car way too far into unsafe areas of the Outback. It's also a film that's completely unrelenting in the psychic trauma it wants to inflict on the audience. By the time the slaughtering starts, we know these characters -- we care about them. Frankly, Mclean seems like he'd be completely bored with making a standard slasher/monster film with paper-thin characters. Therefore, I'm going to be first in line for his killer croc movie, and wait for my enthusiasm to blow up in my face.

Friday the 13th

I have no idea if this will get to theaters by late 2008, but I know that Platinum Dunes does have the gears grinding, so it's a possibility. In fact, a little birdie recently told me something hilarious -- Corey Feldman went in and pitched himself as the star of this thing. For those who don't remember, Feldman played Vorhees foe Tommy Jarvis in two installments of the original series, and he apparently had designs on making the Friday remake his newest comeback vehicle. There's really nothing you can do with Jason at this point other than remake him, but how? Word is that PD wants the remake to feature both Jason and his trademark mask -- two elements that didn't congeal until Part III of the original series, so I'm imagining a smelting together of the first three films, set in modern day and with a lot of in-jokes. I guess it will be a film about a little boy who drowns in a lake and immediately morphs into an overgrown, lumbering killer with a machete. Sounds intriguing.

We've talked ... and talked ... and talked about a potential Goonies sequel, but in the past few months, it's beginning to look more and more like Steven Spielberg and Richard Donner are quietly attempting to put it together. And with the entire original cast! (Well, those who are still alive, mind you.) Both Corey Feldman and Sean Astin recently chimed in, alluding to the fact that they had been approached to work on it. And, now, Empire reports that they've spoken with Jonathan Ke Quan who confirmed that he, along with Jeff Cohen (Chunk), have been made aware of the possible sequel. He says, "We were approached a few months ago by Warner about doing it and asked if we would be interested. They even showed us character designs. It looks very cool."

They have character designs! The good (or bad) news, depending on how you look at it, is that this sequel will be animated and not live action. Empire also mentions that this could be a series, and not just a one-off flick, which doesn't sit too well with me. I don't know, to me Chunk is a little fat kid who loves his ice cream. I can't picture an adult with a child. Of course, I'm sure Chunk's kid will be just like Chunk, and Data's kid will be just like Data, but I would hope this sequel doesn't take anything away from my memories, as a kid, of The Goonies. I usually don't care as much when I hear about all these remakes and sequels, but they're f**king with one of my all time favorite movies here. To me, this is big -- animated, live action, puppets -- however the hell they decide to make it. I mention the parents and kids storyline because that's the one they seem to be leaning toward; the original cast is all grown up with children who go on an adventure of their own. What do you think of all this? And if you had a choice, would you want a straight-up live-action sequel, an animated sequel or an animated series?

Once again, more signs that it's a slow, post-holiday news day: Cinematical reports on fairly old Corey Haim direct-to-video rumors. It doesn't get any lower than this folks ... and I officially feel dirty. Help? Someone? Mommy? ShockTillYouDrop claims to have the official word that, contrary to a number of earlier reports, Corey Haim will not have a cameo in the DTV sequel for Lost Boys 2. I know what you're thinking -- the dude is back on the wagon. Actually, apparently not -- instead, they cite Haim's recent "immigration snafu." A snafu? There was a snafu? Indeed there was. According to another report issued by the MTV Movies Blog (oh, everyone is all over this puppy!), Haim's manager had called them to say that the actor was having problems when it came to entering and leaving the country. See, Lost Boys 2 is shooting in Vancouver. And, for whatever reason, Haim couldn't get there. But here's my question: Didn't his recent reality show, The Two Coreys, shoot in Vancouver? And, um, wasn't he able to leave the country for that? This, in turn, raises larger issues: Are our immigration officials prejudice against vampires? I don't know about you, but I'd like an official inquiry.

At the time of MTV's report, Warner Bros. was working hard to resolve the "immigration snafu." However, if ShockTillYouDrop is to be believed (and I see no reason why not -- they're usually pretty good about their scoops), the snafu (yes, I love writing that word) was not resolved in time. If Haim's tears were staged before, I'm pretty positive his latest tears were the real deal. No role. No money. Sh*t, I'd cry. Good news is that Corey Feldman is still signed on to shoot a role, and from what we hear, he's currently out in Vancouver doing just that as we speak. No word on whether Haim will be replaced by a Haim look-a-like (could it get any worse for an actor then to land a role based on the fact that he looks like Corey Haim?), but you bet your arse we'll be letting you know as soon as more info is available.

The Goonies never say die, but I think that maybe the universe is trying to rid them of that motto. Since the movie came out over 20 years ago, Richard Donner and Steven Spielberg have been itching for a remake -- and not only a run-of-the-mill live action one. In 2005, there was a pitch that Spielberg and the cast were behind, but Warner Brothers wouldn't bite on. (A movie company not into a sequel? Crazy talk!) But it wasn't the only sequel pitch they threw around. Earlier this year, they got into the musical craze. Then Warner Bros. was actually thinking about a direct-to-DVD sequel. What else is there? More talk about an animated Goonies.

At first, the idea went nowhere, even though the concept art was pretty cool. Now, it looks like it might gear up again, if Corey Feldman is to be believed. MTV recently chatted with the actor, who is currently busy with the Lost Boys sequel, and he says that the current push is again for some animation. Considering how many options have been explored this year alone, I wouldn't hold my breath on this becoming a reality. As Corey says: "There's been so many. The one that I heard that worked the best was all of us were now grown up, and have kids. And those kids get into some trouble and end up stumbling across some link to our past. They discover who we really are and what we went through. And, simultaneously, the Fratelli brothers find out that the kids have found out -- so they're out to get the kids and the kids are out to save their lives and their families." It's not surprising that was the best choice -- he also says others had him working in Vegas and as a trial lawyer. So, there's a tiny chance we might get a Goonies cartoon. What do you think?

So I'm usually not one to get all worked up about a remake/sequel of a favorite film. (lord knows it happens often enough) You just sort of get used to it. However I have yet to work up that Zen attitude for the straight-to-DVD sequel to The Lost Boys, which looks like it'll go by the title Lost Boys 2: The Tribe. Let's just say I have a bad feeling about the whole thing. Moviehole.net is reporting that sources have confirmed that Warner Premiere (the direct-to-DVD production arm of Warner Bros.) has already started casting their teen bloodsuckers. According to Moviehole's sources; Angus Sutherland -- Keifer's half-brother, will be joined by, Kyle Cassie (Devour), Shaun Sipos (The Grudge 2) and Merwin Mondesir (Godsend) as fellow 'Lost Boys'.

This time the story focuses on another pair of siblings who move to Trinidad, California (What? No Santa Carla?) and are targeted by the vampire gang. This time it's not about motorcycles, it's all about the surfboards -- that's right, vampire surfers. Back in January, Scott confirmed that not only was a sequel in the works, but that already it had been pegged for the straight to video market -- which is never a good sign. Then just last June Monika gave us the news that Autumn Reeser (best known as Taylor on The OC) had been hired to play the new girl in town who is seduced by the vampire surfers. Since then it has been reported that living cautionary tales for child stars everywhere Corey Feldman and Corey Haim would be returning to reprise their roles from the first film. (Although Haim's involvement is still up for debate due to some pesky immigration issues.) So I might be biased when I say that with an expanding C-list cast and a ridiculous plot even for a vampire movie ... as much as I love the original, it's probably for the best that this flick is going straight to the DVD bin.