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The Lost Boys (1987)
I Love the Eighties
Directed By: Joel Schumacher
Starring: Jason Patric, Jami Gertz, Corey Haim, & Keifer Sutherland
MPAA Rating: “R”
Starring: Jason Patric, Jami Gertz, Corey Haim, & Keifer Sutherland
MPAA Rating: “R”
The eighties are best remembered for producing hundreds of dumb-as-nails slasher flicks that sported boobs, blood, and not much else. Many of these films were not that great, but every once in a while the horror genre managed to spit out a truly creative and fun piece of film that is still remembered and even loved today. In 1987, one of those films was released...Joel Schumacher’s The Lost Boys. Featuring a hip cast of rising stars (many of whom are still recognizable...for good and bad reasons, of course) and showcasing a wild visual feast from Schumacher, The Lost Boys is a stylish vampire film that, despite a few flaws here and there, is one of the most fun films to come out of its decade.
Sam Emerson (Haim) and his older brother, Michael (Patric), are none too pleased about having to move to California with their mousy mother, Lucy (Dianne Wiest). They want to stay in Phoenix, especially when they discover that their new home is called the “Murder Capital of the World.” However, the optimistic Michael insists that it won’t be so bad and so the two try to find their place on the local boardwalk, while their mother flirts precariously with her new employer, Max (Edward Herrmann). On the boardwalk, there is a group of leather-clad misfits led by the pale and mysterious David (Sutherland). With the help of two strange comic book salesmen, Edgar (Corey Feldman) and Alan (Jamison Newlander) Frog, Sam learns that this is a group of vampires and, unless he can stop them, his brother may soon be their new member. To save Michael, he must find and kill the lead vampire...but who could it be?
The Lost Boys did something that I do not believe was ever done before it. Instead of portraying vampires as polished aristocrats who lived in expensive castles and drank blood out of golden goblets, it portrayed them as hip teenagers who were very much a part of the California party scene. They were social people, not eerie recluses. We can see how this trend expanded in projects such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer (which owes a lot of its edginess to The Lost Boys, by the way). Filled with references to other horror films and delivering almost constantly witty dialog, The Lost Boys never takes itself too seriously and yet never seems to be too comical. It walks a very thin line, but does it quite well. The Lost Boys almost always seems to understand just exactly what it wants to be and nails it almost constantly.
If there is a problem with The Lost Boys, it is because I had to use the word “almost” in the previous sentence. The film is always on the verge of breaking into deeper, more profound material and yet it restricts itself too often. We never get to see any depth behind the lost boys (with the exception of David) and the film even fails to deliver in showing just how Michael deals with his descent into the vampire lifestyle. Adding just these two elements would have heightened The Lost Boys to an entirely new level. As it is, The Lost Boys still works as stylish entertainment that doesn’t skimp on satire or straight-edged terror. The vampire makeup is sinister, the musical score is affecting, the direction is vivid and colorful, and the performances all work well. If nothing else, The Lost Boys features Keifer Sutherland chewing up the scenery and sporting a wicked blonde hairdo.
Sam Emerson (Haim) and his older brother, Michael (Patric), are none too pleased about having to move to California with their mousy mother, Lucy (Dianne Wiest). They want to stay in Phoenix, especially when they discover that their new home is called the “Murder Capital of the World.” However, the optimistic Michael insists that it won’t be so bad and so the two try to find their place on the local boardwalk, while their mother flirts precariously with her new employer, Max (Edward Herrmann). On the boardwalk, there is a group of leather-clad misfits led by the pale and mysterious David (Sutherland). With the help of two strange comic book salesmen, Edgar (Corey Feldman) and Alan (Jamison Newlander) Frog, Sam learns that this is a group of vampires and, unless he can stop them, his brother may soon be their new member. To save Michael, he must find and kill the lead vampire...but who could it be?
The Lost Boys did something that I do not believe was ever done before it. Instead of portraying vampires as polished aristocrats who lived in expensive castles and drank blood out of golden goblets, it portrayed them as hip teenagers who were very much a part of the California party scene. They were social people, not eerie recluses. We can see how this trend expanded in projects such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer (which owes a lot of its edginess to The Lost Boys, by the way). Filled with references to other horror films and delivering almost constantly witty dialog, The Lost Boys never takes itself too seriously and yet never seems to be too comical. It walks a very thin line, but does it quite well. The Lost Boys almost always seems to understand just exactly what it wants to be and nails it almost constantly.
If there is a problem with The Lost Boys, it is because I had to use the word “almost” in the previous sentence. The film is always on the verge of breaking into deeper, more profound material and yet it restricts itself too often. We never get to see any depth behind the lost boys (with the exception of David) and the film even fails to deliver in showing just how Michael deals with his descent into the vampire lifestyle. Adding just these two elements would have heightened The Lost Boys to an entirely new level. As it is, The Lost Boys still works as stylish entertainment that doesn’t skimp on satire or straight-edged terror. The vampire makeup is sinister, the musical score is affecting, the direction is vivid and colorful, and the performances all work well. If nothing else, The Lost Boys features Keifer Sutherland chewing up the scenery and sporting a wicked blonde hairdo.
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