Movie review: ‘The Lost Boys’

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An explosion of new-wave style arrived in a really big way in the 1980s … you found it on TV (“Miami Vice” with its pastels and funky clothes) and even in films (“To Live and Die in L.A.” – click here for my review). In my run-up to Halloween this year (2014), I’ll take a look today at the very stylish “The Lost Boys” from 1987. It’s a vampire flick that’s really well done and breaks some of horror movie molds through its great appeal to the so-called “youth market.” It won’t take much to figure out everything, but the film is made so well that it is solid drama as well as horror.

‘The Lost Boys’
(1987; 97 minutes; rated R; directed by Joel Schumacher and starring Jason Patric, Corey Haim and Diane Wiest)

LOST AND FOUND IN THE VAMPIRE DEPARTMENT

(NOTE: I expanded this review with a little more opinion and trivia as well as updating links on Aug. 1, 2016. I again expanded the review on Oct. 24, 2020.)

From its opening montage of a bunch of eclectic denizens of a California beach town set to “The Doors’” song “People are Strange” covered by “Echo & the Bunnymen,” you know that “The Lost Boys” will be breaking some horror film rules by injecting an ongoing tide of teen cool that lived long after the film went to video.

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While most horror films are constrained by convention, “The Lost Boys” is not. Yes, it has the typical vampire film staples (people disappear; vampires don’t like the sun or holy water; etc.), but “The Lost Boys” pushes the boundary of how it’s cool to be young and enjoy the benefits of a blood-thirsty lifestyle. The fashion styles run a gamut of sharp pastels to biker black and the hair goes from jelled spikes and mohawks to longish styles more fit for Vogue.

In “The Lost Boys,” a woman – Diane Wiest playing “Lucy Emerson” – and her two sons, Jason Patric as “Michael Emerson” and Corey Haim as “Sam Emerson,” are moving to the beachside community of Santa Carla, Calif. They soon find out it is the murder capital of the country and missing persons fliers (yes, you spell the handbill as “flier” and not “flyer,” which is a train) are everywhere.

Patric quickly falls in with a mysterious motorcycle gang of teenagers because of his attraction to a girl – Jami Gertz as “Star.” He finds them intriguing, fascinating and exhilarating. Of course, they’re vampires led by a youthful Kiefer Sutherland, who plays “David.” Through an initiation rite, Patric begins to be converted to a vampire and his only remaining step is to kill someone. Gertz is a half-vampire, too, and looking for a way out of the situation.

In the meantime, Haim begins to suspect Patric is a vampire and hooks up with self-professed vampire slayers the “Frog brothers:” Corey Feldman as “Edgar” and Jamison Newlander as “Alan,” whose parents run a comic-book store. The trio ultimately discovers that there must be a head vampire and they have to kill him to break the spell over Patric and Gertz.

Of course, the head vampire (Edward Herrmann as “Max”) is dating Wiest and after a showdown he is dispatched in a rather unorthodox but effective way. Everything returns to somewhat normal and Wiest’s father closes out the film by saying, “One thing about living in Santa Carla I could never stomach; all the damn vampires.”

Here’s a look at some of the primary cast:

  • Patric is very good here as the moody “Michael.” He’s obviously at that crossroads into adulthood and wants someone and something in his life. Patric, who isn’t exactly an annual Oscar nominee, shows a solid range of acting skills here from expressions to his voice. Not bad, Jason. He has also been in “Speed 2: Cruise Control” with Sandra Bullock and was especially good in his next role after “The Lost Boys” as the rebellious tank crew member in “The Beast” (also called “The Beast of War”) set during the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan.
  • Haim is solid as the vulnerable yet confident boy who uncovers the nest of vampires. His energy is almost contagious and he works really well with the “Frog brothers,” especially Feldman, with whom he would co-star with in “License to Drive” (click here for my review). Haim was also in “Silver Bullet” (a mostly neat werewolf flick with Gary Busey) and “Watchers.” He died young at the age of 38 in 2010.
  • A two-time Oscar winner (not for this one), Wiest is especially convincing as the just-divorced mother who’s resettling her family. Wiest is not only effective, but she knocks off her work here with aplomb and is the most accomplished actor working in this one. She’s played the single mother other times (take “Parenthood” – click here for my review) and this one is near the top. Wiest won her Oscars for “Bullets Over Broadway” and “Hannah and Her Sisters.”
  • Sutherland is truly special with the youthful exuberance of his work here. He can snarl and exude menace as easily as he can be taunting and arrogant. He does a very good job of flipping the switch between his moods and that’s critical to his success here. Sutherland is most recognized from TV’s “24” and has also been in “A Few Good Men,” “Young Guns” and “A Time to Kill.”
  • Gertz has the striking good looks necessary to play the exotic “Star” but she wasn’t able to become either a scene-stealer or do such a powerful job to overwhelm her male counterparts. She has expressive eyes and can really turn a cold shoulder as needed. Still, in the end, she isn’t as effective as much as a better actor could have been. Gertz has also been in “Less than Zero,” “Twister” and TV parts on shows from “Seinfeld” to “Entourage.” She headlined the TV show “The Neighbors.”

Two other actors in the supporting cast make a pretty good impression in “The Lost Boys:”

  • Emmy winning Barnard Hughes plays “Grandpa” and is the stereotypically crusty old man with a younger man’s attitude. He does a really good job from his first scene where he’s playing dead to the last where he’s killed the vampire. Hughes was also in “Tron,” “Midnight Cowboy” and was even in several episodes of “All in the Family” as a priest. He died at 90 in 2006.
  • Herrmann, who was only “Ed” in the credits here, breaks out of his mild-mannered respectful character when he reveals himself as the head vampire at the end. Herrmann, who has done a number of milquetoast characters, does a wonderful metamorphosis. He has also been in “Reds,” the steamy “The Betsy,” “Ri¢hie Ri¢h” and recently the seriously profane “The Wolf of Wall Street.” He died at 71 in 2014 of brain cancer.

Finally, here’s a look at others in the supporting cast worth mentioning:

  • Of the “Frog brothers,” Feldman is the best with his slick-talking patter and he would go on to bigger things while Newlander, the more brooding of the duo, would have only a few roles after “The Lost Boys” (his first film) for 15 years but is now doing roles again. Feldman was also in “Stand By Me,” “Gremlins” and “The Goonies.” Newlander was also in “The Blob.”
  • One of the vampires is Alex Winter as “Marko” (although he was just Alex in the credits). He was the blond half of “Bill &Ted’s Excellent Adventure” and this is not a great role for him. He doesn’t have much to work with and isn’t that good of an actor to begin with. Winter has also been in “Haunted Summer” and “Death Wish 3” in a very limited 21 credits across his 28-year career.

“The Lost Boys” was the 38th ranked film at the U.S. box office in 1987 with $32.2 million in ticket sales, according to Box Office Mojo. It turned a nice profit off its $8.5 million budget. The No. 1 film of the year was “3 Men and a Baby” with $167.7 million. Here are the films from that year that I’ve reviewed for this blog:

Assorted cast and film notes (via IMDb.com):

  • “The Lost Boys” was the first film to pair Haim and Feldman. They would go on to 1980s fame as young stars in teen-oriented films, such as “License to Drive” in 1988 (click here for my review).
  • Directly from IMDb.com: “The merry-go-round sequence foreshadows the order in which the Lost Boys die.”
  • Characters in the movie say “Michael” approximately 118 times. Another reference from com says Sutherland’s character says “Michael” 118 times. I don’t have the interest or the patience to either research this or bother to count as I watch the film.
  • The first names of the “Frog brothers” are homage to writer Edgar Alan Poe.
  • Finally and directly from IMDb.com: “In the cave of the Lost Boys you can see a poster of Jim Morrison who recorded the original version of ‘People are Strange’ with The Doors. And when Star and Laddie are being carried into Sam’s room, you can see a poster of Echo & The Bunnymen who recorded the version used in the movie.”

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