The Lost Platoon

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.

More AIP madness from b director David Pryor. It's got and interesting story behind it, but, its super low budget weighs it down. The extremely corny final battle were they try to pass a civil war fort in Alabama off as some palace in Nicaragua doesn't help either. The two best things here are the final end credits song and the quote "Thought I had the world by the balls, 'til I looked down and I saw that the balls in my hand were my own".

"Lost Platoon" is not a great movie. "Lost Platoon" is not even an average movie. What it is, is an intriguing idea in a bad movie. Survivors of wars from the last hundred years are tracked down in Niaragua by an intrepid war correspondent, who pieces together a photographic puzzle. Surviving as vampires, these soldiers never lose a battle, and never die. This fascinating premise is unfortunately wasted in "Lost Platoon". The low budget gets in the way of every scene, and other than the initial intriguing idea, everything else is redundant, amateurish, or downright silly. Bad acting only makes things worse, and it's really a shame, because this had tremendous, but unfortunately unrealized, potential. My girlfriend did sit through it though, and that's a miracle in itself. - MERK

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.

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.