The Lost Boys

  I initially was going to close out 2020 (thank God) by covering Jacob’s Ladder. However, it’s no longer on streaming and due to USPS delays I haven’t gotten the DVD from Netflix yet (yes, I still subscribe to the Netflix mailing service) so I’m covering the next film on my list, The Lost Boys. This is a first time watch for me and was requested by my good friend Erin.

The Lost Boys was written by Jan Fischer (The Golden Girls), James Jeremias, and Jeffrey Boam (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade), directed by Joel Schumacher (Batman Forever), and was released on July 31st, 1987. The Lost Boys was made on a budget of $8.5 million, made $5,236,318 upon opening, and went on to make $32,388,898 worldwide. Upon opening, The Lost Boys received positive reviews from both critics and audiences.

After moving to the town of Santa Carla, California with their recently divorced mother Lucy (Dianne Wiest, Hannah and Her Sisters), brothers Michael (Jason Patric, Rush) and Sam (Corey Haim, Dream a Little Dream) become embroiled with a gang of vampires. Meanwhile, Lucy becomes involved with a man named Max (Edward Herrmann, Gilmore Girls) who Sam and his vampire hunting buddies (Corey Feldman, Stand By Me and Jamison Newlander, The Blob) suspect is a vampire.

On the surface this film checks off a lot of my boxes. Vampires? Check. Over-the-top 80s aesthetics? Check. Young Kiefer Sutherland giving me Spike vibes? CHECK! Unfortunately, I really struggled to connect with the film. 

Objectively I can say that it’s a good film. Schumacher’s direction is a lot of fun and the pacing is good. The cast is great and the large ensemble cast weaves together surprisingly well. Throughout the beginning I was worried that the film would drown in the sheer number of characters and subplots, but they mostly come together in a very satisfactory way. In fact, the only part of the film that really fails for me is the character of Star (Jami Gertz, Twister) whose presence in the film is so negligible that I would forget that she was in the film as soon as she is offscreen.

I suspect that in future viewings I will like this film more, in fact in writing this review I feel like I’m already enjoying it more than when I finished the movie. Perhaps I was in the wrong headspace watching it. Perhaps I was unfairly comparing it to Fright Night. Whatever the reason, it didn’t quite connect with me on this watch, but I’m certainly appreciative of it’s charms. 

Rating: 3 bland love interests out of 5

Other Observations:

• Harrison’s Favorite Scare: Lucy being chased by Max’s dog legitimately freaked me out. Good dog acting.

• Does the Dog Die? Yes, the dog does die. Sorry.

• Grandpa’s (Barnard Hughes, Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit) film ending line (“One thing about living in Santa Carla I could never stomach, all the damn vampires.”) was fucking hilarious. 

• That poster fucking rocks.

• As a massive fan of Buffy (seriously, check out my podcast) I was delighted to see pre-Buffy vamp face on Mr. Herrmann.

• David has a big crush on Michael.

• Next Week: Assuming I get the DVD in time, I will be covering Jacob’s Ladder.