The Lost Boys (1987)

 The Lost Boys (1987)

Two decades before Twilight arrived, the vampire genre received a boost with the game-changing The Lost Boys. Prior to this 1987 classic, vampires were seen as deadly creatures of the night a la Nosferatu or Dracula- older men with a neater, more distinct style. Joel Schumacher’s vision, for the first time, allowed teens and tweens to take the spotlight within the vampire community. In addition, this is not a straight-out horror feature. The film walks the tight line within the genres of horror, action, and comedy. Thanks to the delightful Frog Brothers, there are some incredible, laugh-out-loud lines that shows the film does not take itself too seriously. I do not think it ventures far into campy territory as well. Just enough scares, enough comedy to make for an awesome cinematic adventure. I was not expecting much, so I was very pleasantly surprised. Also, the creature design is great. I love what they did to the fangs of the vampires. Really creepy stuff!

The film received its origin in 1985 by first time screenwriters Jan Fischer and James Jeremias. The screenplay circulated on the black market until an indie studio picked it up. Later, Warner Brothers came on board to finance the movie. This screenplay was modeled after Richard Donner’s, who was set to direct, The Goonies. The age of the characters reflected that thought. After Donner decided to pursue other projects, Joel Schumacher came on board to direct. He also brought veteran screenwriter Jeffrey Boam to revamp (no puns intended) the script as he wanted the characters “older and sexier.” Schumacher gave his cast freedom to improvise (was an actual requirement for actor Jason Patric) and the producers/studio worried this style of vampire movie would fail. Luckily for them, it became a minor box office success and a cult classic.

Lucy (Dianne Wiest) is a recent divorcee and along with her two kids, Michael (Jason Patric) and Sam (Corey Haim), is forced to move in with her father in Santa Clara, California (which was modeled off Santa Cruz). This town has been shaken by these adolescent bikers headed by David (Kiefer Sutherland) and these mysterious deaths. Sam doesn’t mind until he meets Edgar Frog (Corey Feldman) and his brother at a comic shop and claim that vampires exist. At an amusement park, Michael meets the local girl, Star (Jami Gertz) and she draws him far within the biker gang. Sooner than later, Michael begins to exhibit symptoms of vampirism including sleeping during the day. With influence from the Frog Brothers, Sam must be ready to save his brother. There is a plot line that I do not think is quite as strong, and that is the blossoming relationship between Wiest and a local resident, Max (Edward Herrmann).

I think it was a good idea to make the vampires “too cool for school.” Kiefer Sutherland embraces that notion, and it works very well. Schumacher made an excellent casting choice after watching Sutherland’s bully portrayal in Stand by Me. Corey Feldman continues his strong run of 80’s films. Excellent humor decisions and has a deeper voice! Schumacher was surprised Wiest accepted this role coming off her Academy Award win for Hannah and her Sisters, but her presence is most accepted. I also liked Jason Patric’s performance. His character makes questionable decisions, but I did like his portrayal.

Overall, I enjoyed the heck out of The Lost Boys. It mixes humor and scares effectively without going too far on each end of the scale. The ending is traditional in terms of big sets and loads of action, but the home invasion sequence was done very well. The soundtrack is awesome! Thomas Newman handling the score and some good songs headed by INXS and Foreigner. The story makes a wise decision to turn the vampires into much younger beings which ties into the themes of adolescence, thus making this movie an effective teen flick as well. The character designs are excellent (those fangs!). If you like vampire films or 80’s teen comedies, give Schumacher’s film a taste. You’re bound to be thrilled and to laugh.

“Look at your reflection in the mirror. You're a creature of the night Michael, just like out of a comic book! You're a vampire Michael! My own brother, a …, ….-sucking vampire. You wait 'till mom finds out, buddy!” -Sam

My Grade: A-

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