The Lost Platoon

An American reporter covering a civil war in Nicaragua discovers that four soldiers also fought in the Civil War and World War II and are actual vampires fighting their own personal war.

Late director David A. Prior's The Lost Platoon offers B-movie thrills, it's arguably better made, but not as cult status as B-favourite Deadly Prey, which borrowed from Rambo and Commando. In this must watch (VHS rental in the day) both David and Ted Prior's screenplay offers an on the nose mix of The Lost Boys and Platoon. It shines with its great suck you in concept, with group of soldiers that have fought battles through time reminiscent of Highlander. Granted it's a low budget production, don't expect quality sound design or locations; but Prior uses every trick in the book to bring the story to life.

Actor William Knight features and Stephen Quadros does his best Bill Paxton, Billy Drago lookalike David Parry is memorable as the vampire leader. The supporting cast appear to be having a good time - just being in a film.

Overall, on a personal note I miss Prior. The intriguing hook idea gives the viewer exactly what's on the tin, without the blockbuster budget.

This very cheap, no frills action-horror hybrid is something in the vein of "Platoon (1986)" crossed "The Lost Boys (1987)". Also a touch of "Near Dark (1987)". Now that's got to be something… hey? Ah, no. It's inferior film-making, but despite its shortcomings (being plenty) on the technical side. The unusual concept (of vampiric soldiers moving from war to war) might be slight, but it's rather inventive, sincere and downright ambitious. I was only thinking about this film a couple weeks ago, and was hoping to come by it again. I've got fond memories of watching it when I was young. Lucky enough I found a shop selling their ex-rentals with it being one. Watching it again, it wasn't as fun (why did I have to spoil my memories), however it stays interesting and of course is unintentionally humorous. Not to say it doesn't chip in with its own sense of laconic humour.

War correspondent David Hollander heads to Nicaragua to cover the Civil war, and while there encounters four soldiers who he has in photographs going back through the last century of warfare. The thing is they haven't aged, and he believes these immortals to be vampires.

Sounds good, but it's limitations do hold it back. It opens up with kinetic camera-work straight out of "The Evil Dead (1981)", and sets the mood early on with a vivid music score and WW2 flashback sequence. Now here comes the good stuff. Director David Prior has his heart in it, despite the static and sloppy feel of his clammy direction. Action set- pieces are ridiculously goofy, as it's got that sense of; "You stand there, while you go over there. Now stop posing with the guns… shoot… and hide behind whatever is in front of you! When you are shot go out in a blaze of glory ". Well, it goes something like that, as he tries to do too much with very little. At least they're lively, and fruitful. Nearly everything takes place in a humid looking woodland backdrop, but towards the end the climax is wrapped around a Gothic castle. On a whole it gives the atmosphere a raw, gritty and claustrophobic strangle hold.

The performances range from outrageously hammy to plain stiff. David Parry's enigmatic performance is perfectly understated as the vampire leader Jonathan Hancock, donning a civil war coat, hat and sword. A bland William Knight is lousy as David Hollander, and truly living his part with aplomb is Stephen Quadros' as a wild-solider boy Walker lifted off Bill Paxton's turn in "Near Dark (1987)". Roger Bayless' cheesy bad guy impression reeks of lethal politeness, and screwed-up facials. At his right hand is the seductive, but deadly Tara played with utter coldness by Michiko. The screenplay does have some glaring holes of bafflement and an obvious ideology undercurrent to the text, and the script is generically macho with many bad lines. The vampire folklore, has one exception that they aren't effected by the sunlight, but a wooden stake does go a long way here.

In the end it's the unique idea of this supernatural hybrid that holds the shoddy production together.

In 1991 in Nicaragua, an American reporter recognizes four soldiers he met in the World War II who have not aged. He realizes that the group is a vampire platoon. The premise of "The Lost Platoon" is very interesting, and there is a good camera work that recalls "Evil Dead". However, the screenplay is silly and direction and the performance of the cast is very weak. The ideology hidden in the plot, defending the intervention of the American government in the Civil War of Nicaragua is also a crap. The cover of the DVD is very attractive and probably is the best of this forgettable flick. My vote is four.

Title (Brazil): "Pelotão Vampiro" ("Vampire Platoon")

Low-budget production values and some ludicrously over-the-top acting, but there's still a good little vampire flick in here, The idea of an immortal platoon that has been following the course of human war for a century definitely gives it points, as does the showboat performance of Stephen Quadros as hotshot soldier Walker and the understated, authoritative calm of David Parry as the troop's Civil-War-veteran leader, But I especially like the casting of vampire soldiers as a tireless force *against* oppressive evil, the low-key humor, and the mythic air that the film gives "los mejores" as the spooked peasants call the lethal, fast-travelling revenants. A nice little surprise; I'm glad we saw it.

The idea of immortal vampire soldiers is fascinating, and the mystery is quite well-kept for a while ; but once the idea is exposed, there's nothing left. A bit better than Prior's usual fare, this one keeps the militarism and racism ideology rampant in his "works" - it seems normal that American soldiers would feed on poor South Americans.