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Title: The Lost Boys (1987)
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| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Jason Patric | ... | Michael | |
| Corey Haim | ... | Sam | |
| Dianne Wiest | ... | Lucy | |
| Barnard Hughes | ... | Grandpa | |
| Edward Herrmann | ... | Max (as Ed Herrmann) | |
| Kiefer Sutherland | ... | David | |
| Jami Gertz | ... | Star | |
| Corey Feldman | ... | Edgar Frog | |
| Jamison Newlander | ... | Alan Frog | |
| Brooke McCarter | ... | Paul | |
| Billy Wirth | ... | Dwayne | |
| Alex Winter | ... | Marko (as Alexander Winter) | |
 |
Chance Michael Corbitt | ... | Laddie |
|
|
Alexander Bacan Chapman | ... | Greg (as Alexander Bacon Chapman) |
|
|
Nori Morgan | ... | Shelly |
A mother and her two sons move to a small coast town in California. The town is plagued by bikers and some mysterious deaths. The younger boy makes friends with two other boys who claim to be vampire hunters while the older boy is drawn into the gang of bikers by a beautiful girl. The older boy starts sleeping days and staying out all night while the younger boy starts getting into trouble because of his friends' obsession. Written by Zaphod <aaa@scs.leeds.ac.uk>
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It was the late 2000s, and the inexplicable Twilight frenzy had descended in all its sparkling, full-forced madness. I'm sure we all remember the ensuing scramble to vault onto the paranormal bandwagon, and how quickly the media became glutted with all things supernatural. So it goes without saying that when my mom dragged out a vampire movie, I wasn't thrilled.
But I guess that's just another example why people go around saying "Mother knows best."
The vampire movie was director Joel Schumacher's 1987 film The Lost Boys, and it's now one of my favorite movies. Despite the fact that it's over thirty years old and has been followed by a tidal wave of movies and books on the same subject, The Lost Boys remains a fresh, unique take on vampire lore.
Unlike many recent paranormal stories, the film doesn't try to turn its subject completely on its head in order to carve out an original place for itself. The vampires are dangerous, careless, and strangely magnetic--in keeping with their roots. However, they've also been updated, given a modern edge. Rather than stuffy Transylvanians skulking in castles, they're a motorcycle gang racing around the cliffs of California. Instead of red-lined capes, they wear leather and piercings.
The film opens with brothers Michael (played by Jason Patric) and Sam (Corey Haim)--plus their mom--moving to California to live with their grandfather. Their mother begins seeing a new man, and Michael (the older brother) soon falls in with the aforementioned motorcycle gang. Meanwhile, Sam passes his time with comic books. At the local comic shop, he meets two boys his own age. They introduce themselves as the Frog brothers and warn him that the area has a vampire problem, explaining that they're vampire hunters.
Sam doesn't exactly take their words to heart, but before long, he needs to. The motorcycle gang pressures Michael into drinking from a bottle of "wine" as an initiation rite. He downs it without realizing it's actually blood. However, because he hasn't killed anyone yet, he only becomes a half-vampire. With some help from the Frog brothers (Corey Feldman and Jamison Newlander), Sam and Michael learn that Michael's vampirism will be reversed if they kill the leader of the vampire gang (Kiefer Sutherland).
Plenty of great story elements follow. There's a little bit of something for everyone: plot twists, action, romance, humor--and even water guns filled with holy water. For me, however, one of the most compelling things is the dynamic between Sam and Michael. It's never heavy-handed or all that sentimental—"No chick flick moments," as Supernatural's Dean Winchester famously insisted—but the brothers' relationship is at the core of the movie. Their bonds with their mother and grandfather are also fleshed out, giving the film a strong, family-centric backbone.
Then, of course, there are the vampires: the eternally young "lost boys" the title refers to. For quite a while now, it's seemed like vampires have progressively been getting watered down. This one strolls through sunlight. This one's actually a really nice guy, if you give him a chance. That one drinks from Bambi, for Pete's sake. After being bombarded by all that, I was relieved to find vampires who could be menacing again.
My only complaint is the relationship between Michael and another of the half-vampires, a girl named Star. While she's the one who gets him involved with the gang in the first place, I don't feel like their relationship adds anything to the movie. It seems more the studio tossed it in because they felt like a potential Hollywood hit would need some romance in the mix. However, I think that time could've been put to better use by focusing it more on the vampires themselves, or on brothers' relationship with each other or with their grandpa. All in all, this is one of my go-to favorites for recommendations or movie nights. The horror, action, and humor strike a great balance, and aside from the '80s hair and some of Sam's fashion choices, this one stands the test of time beautifully. If nothing else, it's a blissful reprieve from all the sparkling and humanity of today's vampires—a nod to tradition without bending backwards for it. I recommend this film as the vampire movie for anyone who's sick of vampire movies--because that's exactly what it was for me.