Film Review | The Lost Boys

Released: 1987
Starring: Corey Feldman, Jami Gertz, Corey Haim, Edward Herrmann, Barnard Hughes, Jason Patric, Kiefer Sutherland, Dianne Wiest
Director: Joel Schumacher
Produced by: Warner Bros. Pictures

“Being wild is in their Blood.”

If I had to pick one genre of movies that I love beyond all else it would be horror. Specifically 1980’s horror. My adolescence was focused on all the classics: Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, The Evil Dead, Hellraiser…I loved them all. All things dark and spooky and gory and intense. I also went through a fairly large vampire phase that rekindled in college when I took a course on the history of horror films. Somehow, however, I had gone my entire life without seeing The Lost Boys, despite hearing about it on and off. After it being suggested to me again (and after I found out my love Alex Winter is in it), I decided to give it a shot. Luckily, it’s on Netflix in the US, so I had no problem popping that right on the tv.

I knew in the first thirty seconds of this film that I would love it. “This is going to be a problem for me,” I told my husband. “This is going to be my new favourite thing.” As soon as that sensual 80’s pop music began and the camera panned over the amusement pier, I knew this was going to be a spiritual experience for me.

The Lost Boys is a 1987 horror film by director Joel Schumacher. It’s hailed now as a cult classic and stars some of the biggest names in the 80’s – Dianne Wiest (Edward Scissorhands, The Birdcage), Kiefer Sutherland, and “The Two Coreys” (Haim and Feldman) make up some of this star-studded cast. It begins with two brothers, Michael and Sam, moving with their mother across the country to Santa Carla, California where they struggle to fit into the new culture. Older brother Michael (Jason Patric; Narc, Sleepers) follows a girl he meets and ends up hanging out with a group of rapscallions that look like a ragtag, hair metal band with a bad attitude. Younger brother Sam (Corey Haim; License to Drive, Silver Bullet) meets two brothers at a comic store – Edgar (Corey Feldman; The Goonies, License to Drive) and Allen Frog (Jamison Newlander; The Blob, Lost Boys: The Thirst) – who warn him of Santa Carla’s biggest secret: it’s full of vampires.

After being duped and peer pressured into joining the gang, Michael quickly discovers that he has been turned into a vampire. Well…a half vampire. Michael, Sam, and the Frog brothers concoct a plan. According to their comic book, if the head vampire is killed, all half vampires will return to normal. Michael isn’t a full vampire until he eats someone so they just have to kill the head vampire as soon as they can. Trouble is, they aren’t entirely sure who that is.

The boys continue to hunt down the vampires as Michael does his best to rescue his love interest – who is also a half vampire – and help destroy the gang. They follow every cliche rule of vampire hunting and come up with an arsenal of required weapons including wooden stakes, garlic, and holy water. All of their information comes from comic books, and the Frog brothers take their mission so seriously that I couldn’t help but laugh every time one of them had dialogue.

Meanwhile, the vampires in The Lost Boys take a page from folklore, employing the use of every ancient vampire trick. David (Kiefer Sutherland, Stand by Me and Mirrors) subtly causes Michael to hallucinate and uses telepathy to communicate with the new gang member several times. Marko (Alex Winter, Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure) has an affiliation with animals and seemingly does the bidding of the vampire who turned him. I loved this traditional element in an otherwise non-traditional vampire film. Mixing in the old elements while creating some new lore really expanded the genre and set a path for new versions of vampire movies to be made.

This movie is really fun. The characters are easy to love, funny, and the actors do fantastic performances. The whole thing has a very Goonies-like vibe and, at the same time, is a tense and exciting thriller. The effects are great and were presented in a way that really helped the movie to age well. In fact, the only thing that is keeping the movie from being entirely unaffiliated with a time period are the amazing costumes. Seriously…Marko’s jacket is ethereal. Careful presentation, well-placed jump cuts, and sweeping camera shots to simulate flying result a lot more mystery and fear of the unknown to the monsters in this film and prevents them from looking silly all after all this time. The audience sees many of the murder scenes as if they are one of the lost boys which makes their eventual reveal that much more impressive. The special effects makeup and attention to detail is truly beautiful.

Rating:

Fool on the Hill:

I give this The Lost Boys five popcorns. Even though this movie seemed tailor-made for me, I think anyone who watches it is going to like it. It’s truly a cult-classic with a great plot, fantastic acting, and good effects. This is a must-see for any horror fan, and I would recommend it to anyone who was looking for something fun to watch or a good Halloween film. Needless to say, I’m thrilled that I decided to put this on and it’s going in my top ten list forever.

Jack Savage:

Is this a good vampire movie? Yes. Is it a good ’80s film? Yes. Is it one of my favorites? No. I am a huge vampire film fan, but I find The Lost Boys to be a bit boring for the first half. Unfortunately, I can’t seem to put my finger on why (after multiple viewings). However, the second half of the film is a lot of fun. The cast does a good job with their roles, the make-up still looks good today, and the soundtrack is very ’80s. If you like the films types I listed above, you won’t be disappointed popping this one into your player.