Just in time for the Halloween horror viewing season, Warner Bros. has released another fantastic addition to their 4k catalogue with The Lost Boys. This cult-classic is out now and worth checking out if you're a fan or first time viewer.
“Sam and his older brother, Michael, are average, everyday teens. But after they move with their mother to peaceful Santa Clara, California, things mysteriously begin to change. Michael’s not himself lately. And Mom’s not going to like what he’s turning into.”
Growing up in the age of video rental stores, cover art meant a lot. Often times, it would be the only reason one would pick up a case, intrigued, reading the back synopsis and ultimately deciding whether or not to give it a shot. For me, the cover of The Lost Boys never appealed to me, even though I was often into the horror genre. When I finally did decide to give the film a try, probably a decade ago or so on the insistence of a lot of friends, I wasn’t as impressed as I thought I’d be, hearing from them that it’s the best vampire film they grew up with. While at the time I had my reasons why it didn’t quite captivate me like I thought, mainly due to the fact I didn’t grow up with it like many did, now, ten years later, maybe enough time has passed for me to find or appreciate some kind of nostalgia in a sense, because I had a blast watching it this go-around.
My personal experience with the film aside, what the 80s started to do, in a brilliant move, is gear horror more toward a younger audience. To a degree this had been done in the teen slasher films, and even though The Lost Boys is rated R, it still has that younger-audience target based on the cast, which younger people ultimately end up flocking to. You could see this again in films released around the same time, like Fright Night and Monster Squad, kids liked vampires and those types of films geared toward that target demographic did well. The two Coreys helped solidify this view, with Haim being a very relatable, average teen, and Feldman being the teen-vampire-killer that they all aspired to.
The casting is what also helps this film continue to be considered a cult-hit. Along with Corey Haim and Feldman, there are some other great names that went on to do some great things: Kiefer Sutherland, Jason Patric, whose unspoken rivalry over Star (Jami Gertz) is one of the driving forces of conflict between them. While the story itself isn’t groundbreaking by any means, mainly filled with a teen lust story with my-brother-is-a-vampire tropes, its attention to the smaller details of the vampire lore and ‘rules’, and how the younger population of Santa Clara, namely the Frog brothers, turned those rules into comic books to educate would-be victims of ways to dispense with fanged menaces. The mystery of who is the head vampire, although kind of apparent, is a fun distraction at times from the rest of the drama going on between Michael and David.
Director Joel Schumacher is often credited as the man who ruined the Batman franchise, and while I am sure I joined that bandwagon back in the day, after looking at the breadth of his career, and the fact that in no way was he obviously solely responsible, I find myself wanting to revisit some of his work. Schumacher has directed some really incredible films, and even if they weren’t entirely commercially successful, they are films I know and respect, and I’m glad to count The Lost Boys among them. His dedication to craft is apparent in some of the smaller budget films he created, and this new UHD release is a great way to ensure a new generation may see his work.
Video
The Lost Boys is presented in 2160p 4k Ultra High Definition Widescreen 2.39:1 featuring HDR10. The 4k HDR presentation looks excellent. The colors are more life-like, with bright and vivid displays that stand out very well against the dark backgrounds of the night sequences. Film grain is consistent and well-maintained throughout, without any noise reduction applied, maintaining its original and intended look. The deep darks is where the upgraded 4k disc really looks good, as the black levels in the darker sequences are particularly strong.
Like the Poltergeist 4k release from WB, the Blu-ray disc included in this set is also remastered from the original source elements the 4k disc was, and not simply an included copy of the previous Blu-ray release, another great reason to pick up this set in 4k if you don’t yet have a 4k player but plan to in the future.
Audio
The audio is presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. This track sounds good, with a nice balance between the surrounds and center channel. Dialogue is clear and concise, with a lot of action and atmospheric effects coming from the surrounds. This would have been a great track to upgrade to Atmos, with the ‘flying’ cloud sequences and swooping vampire attacks, and of course the bridge sequence. However, what we get sounds good for what it is, with no defects of note. Despite no atmos, that bridge sequence will really immerse you in what’s going on on-screen. The score, also another highlight of this film, also sounds excellent.
Special Features
While many people have voiced their opinions on the cover art from this release as well as WB’s Poltergeist 4k disc, I go back to my earlier recollection of video store cover art, which was no way inspired by the updated cover art for these releases. Seeing just a bunch of teens staring at you (original cover art/poster) isn’t all that intriguing, clearly as my experience indicated. Them hanging off a bridge, one of the more iconic sequences in the film, in my mind captures so much more. Like it or not, the cover art is fairly unique, and while it would be great if they had reversable art like many boutique labels, hopefully it won’t be a reason to not buy a particular film.
That being said, this release comes with a slipcover, newly remastered Blu-ray disc, and a digital code.
Extras are recycled from the earlier Blu-ray release and are located on the Blu-ray disc, save for the Audio Commentary which is included on both.
- Commentary by Director Joel Schumacher
- Additional Scenes
- The Lost Boys: A Retrospective Documentary
- The Return of Sam and the Frog Brothers: The 2 Coreys and Jamison Newlander – Multiangle Video Commentary
- Vamping Out: The Undead Creations of Greg Cannom
- Inside the Vampire’s Cave: 4 Featurettes
- Haimster & Feldog: The Story of the 2 Coreys
- “Lost in the Shadows” Music Video by Lou Gramm
- A World of Vampires Interactive Map
- Theatrical Trailer
Warner Bros. has knocked it out of the park with their two side-by-side releases of The Lost Boys and Poltergeist on 4k. With the perfect season to start watching horror films, this cult-classic is given a superb treatment, looks better than ever, and is out now for purchase. A must-have for any fans of the film, and well worth the upgrade if you already own it on Blu-ray.
