The Lost Boys (1987)
Directed by Joel Schumacher
The Lost Boys has a rabid fan base, seriously people LOVE this damn movie to the point of obsession. I think it came out at the right time, during the peak of the teen movie craze of the 80s along with the need of something with a unique twist. I’ve seen this a few times, and finally got around to watching it for a review so let’s dive in.
The Lost Boys is about two brothers Michael, Sam and their mother moving in with their grandpa in Santa Carla California. Soon after Michael gets pressured into drinking blood by the local tough guy David, at least after some mind games. Now Michael slowly turns into a vampire like the others. Sam meets Edgar and Alan Frog, two self-proclaimed vampire experts. Now with the help of the Frog Brothers, Sam tries to find the head vampire, kill him and bring his brother back to the world of the living.
As far as casts goes, the Lost Boys is basically a who’s who of 80s stars. Corey Haim plays Sam, Jason Patric plays Michael, Kiefer Sutherland is David, Corey Feldman is Edgar Frog, Jami Gertz is Star, and we even get Mr. Bill S Preston Esq. aka Alex Winter as Marko. The acting is good, and the cast had obvious chemistry. This is the first movie in the “two Coreys” series of movies. Pssssst…my favorite is License to Drive, not really a secret haha. The Coreys went on to have a super close friendship and starred in numerous movies together. Kiefer Sutherland does a great job as the evil/mysterious David. He’s sinister and cool. Jami Gertz is/was beautiful, seriously she never ages. I think they had something in the water in the 80s where these women don’t age. Jami Gertz, Carla Gugino, Lea Thompson, and Lori Loughlin look basically the same years later. Edward Hermann plays Max, love interest of Sam and Michael’s mother Lucy played by Dianne West. Really Corey Haim steals the show for me, he usually does in every movie he’s in. He’s charming, funny and shows great emotion. It is really sad that he had so many personal demons that hindered his career and subsequently ended his life.
The special effects are minimal but…effective? The makeup and look for the vampires, is pretty cool. As a whole this was one of the first movies that gave vampires an attractive, younger look. Gone were the days of Bela Lugosi and Christopher Lee, this had to greatly inspire Twilight, whether that is a good thing or a bad thing…I’ll let you decide. The POV flying scenes of the vampires attacking people are well done and pretty cool. One of the craziest scenes involves the vampires and a bon fire, killing and feeding on a large group on the beach. That’s really when shit hits the fan and David tries to make Michael join in. It is really well shot and intense.
There are a few really interesting scenes in this movie. So spoiler alerts are in effect from here on out. One memorable moment is when Sam and Michael go to the boardwalk for a concert. The band is playing and the lead singer is a jacked-up dude in leather pants, no shirt, long black hair and a saxophone. He’s super oiled up like he’s Hulk Hogan or something, it’s pretty hilarious. Another is where David brings Michael back to their hideout and offer him rice, which he then tells him is actually maggots. You get a gross out shot of the maggots wriggling in a Chinese takeout container, same with noodles and worms. The fight scene at the end is also one of the best parts. You see a vampire pushed into a bath tub full of holy water and garlic, which causes him to dissolve, with an insane special effect! Numerous impalings happen and Max is shown as the head vampire after the death of David doesn’t change Michael back to human. Grandpa has a funny moment at the end where he goes to the refrigerator, grabs a drink and says “One thing about living in Santa Carla I never could stomach: all the damn vampires!”
The Lost Boys is one of the better teen horror comedies, which is probably why it is so loved even today. Although it has comedic elements it is taken seriously throughout the film, which is, at least in my opinion the best way to handle a horror comedy. I really enjoy Corey Haim in pretty much every movie I’ve ever seen him in. One of the things that is a little annoying is the sheer volume of the name Michael being said. The name Michael or Mike in any form is uttered 118 times in this movie. It becomes almost comical at times. Aside from that, the Lost Boys is a fun movie, that is definitely worth a watch for fans of the genre. I give The Lost Boys a B+. It is a classic. I don’t think as highly of it as many do, I don’t have the rabid fandom but I like it enough to rewatch it time to time.
