[Nerdspresso] The Lost Boys Sunk Their Teeth Into My Heart

What’s your opinion on vampires in the movies? Do you go old school with Bela Lugosi or are your vamps all morose and sparkly like in Twilight? Do they cross oceans of time like Gary Oldman or rip you to pieces like the white trash bloodsuckers in Near Dark? I’ll always choose hipster vamps that resemble an 80’s hair band. I’m Team Lost Boys all the way.

It’s the spooky season and I know I should be consuming a movie more chilling than Joel Schumacher’s SoCal ode to fanged teen heartthrobs, but The Lost Boys is my jam. It came out in the summer of 1987 when I was an usher at a movie theater. Now that job came with the indignities of wearing a polyester tuxedo, but I also enjoyed an infinite buffet of movies. It was a fair trade in my opinion, even if I did have to clean up the occasional barf in the back row. 

The coolest part of this gig, aside from sneaking popcorn straight from the popper (Relax, I washed my hands), was seeing all the flicks before they came out. Back in the days of film on film, they arrived in multiple canisters, and the projectionist had to assemble the disparate parts into a cohesive whole. Then you’d have to screen it the night before the movie premiered to make sure it was put together properly. 

I don’t know about other places, but my little movie house turned these previews into a party. Once the place closed on Thursday nights, the manager would invite the staff back to watch the movie. Like the waiters at a restaurant sampling the menu items so they could recommend them to the patrons, we got to see the movie before anyone else. It was like Christmas Eve. Some of the best nights of my youth were spent during those late-night hours of 1987. 

This is how I discovered The Lost Boys. Long before Twilight came along, this flick took a bite out of the zeitgeist with its brooding bloodsuckers. Screenwriters Jeffrey Boam, James Jeremias, and Janice Fischer with director Joel Schumacher (who later inflicted bat nipples on the public consciousness with Batman & Robin) reimagined vampires for a new generation. The story picks up in the tiny seaside town of Santa Carla, California. 

People have a way of disappearing from this quaint hamlet. They might be enjoying the delights of the boardwalk one evening and gone the next, which is why Santa Carla is the self-proclaimed “murder capital of the world.” Despite the dangers, youth clamor about the boardwalk, ride the carousel, and catch random pseudo goth rock bands featuring oiled-up dudes wailing seductively on their saxophones. 

Innocent teens Sam and Michael, pure of heart and rich in hair products, arrive on the scene with their mom. Newly transplanted from Phoenix, the family is seeking a new start. Mom is recently divorced and seeking sanctuary with her widowed dad, who lives in a big old house full of taxidermied critters and vintage furniture. Pops has a skunky ponytail and a hankering for root beer and double-stuffed Oreos. You know, just like your grandpa! 

The family visits the boardwalk one night to chat up the locals. Sam finds his way to the comic book shop where he encounters the oddball Frog brothers. Mom wanders into the video store and meets the charming owner. Michael catches the eye of the enigmatic Star and her gaggle of hirsute motorcycle-riding pals. Michael falls in with David, Marko, Paul, and Dwayne (I literally just learned they all had names. Thanks, Google!) but discovers that they like to do more than race bikes, hang off bridges, and eat Chinese food. They’re vampires!

Michael has been lured by the undead, and now it is up to his little brother and the Frog boys to save him. There ensues a lot of brooding, screaming, and shooting folks with water pistols full of holy water. Plus, you could make a drinking game out of how many times characters say the name “Michael”. I once counted (yeah, I’m cool like that) and it’s easily over 100 times. But don’t let that distract you from the vivid costumes, shabby chic production design, and atmospheric gloom rock on the soundtrack. This movie definitely has a vibe. 

The Lost Boys is not scary enough to be a horror movie or funny enough to be a comedy, but it has elements of both, along with plenty of righteous teen posing. It’s a standout ’80’s flick, which holds up remarkably well these days as both a time capsule and a genre staple. A lot of that credit goes to its cast, which included up-and-comers (at the time) Corey Haim, Corey Feldman, Kiefer Sutherland, Jason Patric, and Jami Gertz. 

Of this crowd, only Sutherland has really endured. He parlayed a midlevel film career into legendary status as heroic Jack Bauer on the groundbreaking 24 TV series and is still working today. The Coreys had a moment as teen dreamboats (License to Drive, Dream a Little Dream) but flamed out by the mid-90s. Patric never reached the A-list, but he did okay (Check out his killer turns in Your Friends & Neighbors, Rush, and The Losers). Gertz left acting to make kazillions with her financier hubby, but not before proclaiming “We’ve got cows” in Twister. 

Time has marched on from this nubile ensemble, but there’s no denying that their mojo was at its peak during The Lost Boys. It is also one of the few teen movies where the grown-ups aren’t the human equivalent of cardboard cutouts. These youngsters were backed by veterans Dianne Wiest (a two-time Oscar winner - and she was in Footloose, too!), Edward Hermann (Gilmore Girls), and Barnard Hughes (Tron). 

You can find The Lost Boys on Amazon Prime and AppleTV+ so you can get reacquainted. And you most definitely should. Revisit this favorite from your youth and share it with your kids. See if the Coreys can engage your 21st Century progeny. I watched it recently with my kid, and he deadpanned “Plastic teeth. Fake blood,” but I don’t think vampire movies are his thing. He was way more interested in the details of the custody agreement from Mom’s divorce settlement, which allowed her to take the kids out of state. He’s very big on subtext. 

While I still found it wildly entertaining, I can admit that this movie has more style than substance. These guys more resemble a Bon Jovi tribute band than a tribe of the undead. The Lost Boys is a pretty slight entry in the blood-and-fangs genre, but it gave vampires a major glow-up long before Gary Oldman, Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, and (gasp) Robert Pattinson slipped on fake teeth. Sutherland and his bloodthirsty homies will always be my favorite crew. 

This flick sunk its teeth into my heart back during that warm summer night in 1987. I remember fondly the pure joy of hanging with my peeps in an empty theater after midnight. We radiated with the power of youth and endless possibilities. Or maybe that was just the jumbo soda? Who cares? We had free movies and unlimited popcorn. We were immortal. 

When I watch The Lost Boys, I still believe.

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