Two brothers, Michael (Jason Patric) and Sam (Corey Haim), have moved to the lovely beach town of Santa Carla, California with their mother Lucy (Dianne Wiest). The brothers quickly realize that the residents of Santa Carla aren’t quite what they seem–many of them are vampires. The Lost Boys is the story of Michael and Sam as they attempt to deal with the troublesome youth of their new hometown. Death is on the horizon, and they are running out of time.
If you were to tell me that I wouldn’t hate a 1980’s teen drama about vampires, there is no way I would have believed you. Yet, here we have The Lost Boys, a film about vampires, full of cheesy comedy, intentionally subpar performances, and campy effects. You have to understand these things when sitting down to watch The Lost Boys, you have to know that it will never live up to the likes of modern vampire films, and that it’s exactly what you’d expect from a teen drama from the 80’s.
Films like Fright Night and Evil Dead come to mind while watching The Lost Boys–films that have stood the test of time and remain, to this day, cult classics with a massive following. Do I think that The Lost Boys has the same level of production value as those aforementioned films? Probably not–but they exist in the same cinematic space nonetheless.
The Lost Boys is full of cheesy one liners, odd effects, and some acting that doesn’t always lend itself to making a successful film. The film, however, contains a singular, cohesive storyline that does a wonderful job of staying on track, never attempting to add extraneous details that serve no purpose or that only aim to make the film longer. The Lost Boys is incredibly linear–making it easy to follow and much easier to appreciate. The story doesn’t take long to develop–making it abundantly clear who would be the film’s lead, who would help to support him, and who effectively exists in the background (only being used as a tool to help drive the story). Without ever wavering, The Lost Boys remains even keeled from beginning to end, never leading viewers astray, and never giving them reasons to question the validity of this narrative.
With an abundance of characters present throughout the course of The Lost Boys, I believe that it’s possible that Writers Jan Fischer, James Jeremias, and Jeffrey Boam, and Director Joel Schumacher had a few characters to choose from when choosing someone to lead the film. With that being said, I believe that they made the right decision in giving Patric the chance to lead this vampire story. Patric is tasked with successfully leading a vampire film–something that has often eluded actors since the dawn of filmmaking. He, however, finds his groove early on–being the lovable brother, the somewhat menacing bad boy, and more importantly he’s able to take charge and lead this film from beginning to end.
The Lost Boys is not a film that I anticipated liking. Vampires: not my thing. Cheesy 1980’s comedy: typically ineffective. Campy horror: I have to be in the mood. Somehow these things converge, however, and they find a way to work together to create an effective and enjoyable film. I’m impressed with this team’s ability to keep The Lost Boys flowing at an appropriate rate without ever veering from this interesting story. I can’t lie, I’m impressed with The Lost Boys, even if it is a strange, campy tale from beginning to end.
Directed by Joel Schumacher.
Written by Jan Fischer, James Jeremias, & Jeffrey Boam.
Starring Jason Patric, Corey Haim, Dianne Wiest, Barnard Hughes, Ed Herrmann, Kiefer Sutherland, Jami Gertz, Corey Feldman, Jamison Newlander, etc.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐½/10
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