Let's backtrack back to the 80s when mullets were in style and you could have a crazy, hilarious, and pretty decent rock vampire movie which is now a huge cult movie. This was before Kiefer Sutherland became Jack Bauer, and when the Coreys were still together making movies. You will laugh and laugh harder and wonder, 'did vampires really dress like that?'
So the movie begins with Sam and Michael moving to a new town called Santa Carla, California (no, it's not real). Immediately into the film the oldest brother, Michael, falls for the mysterious Star. Things progress and it turns out that oh my god, they're vampires, headed by none other than David (Kiefer Sutherland), the rugged biker vampire. These guys take Michael and make him into a vampire, taking him on the hunt and so forth. Michael resists and as it takes a week or however long to fully become a vampire his little brother (Corey Haim) goes to search for people who know how to help his brother. In come the frog brothers who make it their living to seek out and destroy vampires. Edgar and Alan Frog agree to help Sam, and inform him that the only way to revert their brother to his former state is to find and destroy the head vampire. And thus the story goes and there's a whirlwind of action as they fight vampires, hide the secret from their parents, and finally defeat the bad guys. It's got a lot of sex, a little violence, and a hell of a lot of humor.
Yes, Corey and Corey, the unbeatable duo during the 80s. They're great in this movie. Corey Haim plays the hapless younger brother who doesn't know quite how to deal with his brother being a vampire. Corey Feldman plays the kind of loser, geeky, outsider that helps knows all the answers about vampires and how to spot them and kill them. But besides this the setting is great, the soundtrack is even better (come on, 80s rock people!) and the one liners are hilarious. There are a couple favorites, like when Sam finds out his brother is a vampire he says "My own brother, a goddamn, shit-sucking vampire. Wait 'til mom finds out!" and of course, "Death by stereo!" and who could forget, "No two bloodsuckers go the same way. Some yell and scream, some go quietly, some explode, some implode, but all will try to take you with them." Ah, memorable lines. The acting is decent, I feel like the Coreys pretty much play the same characters. Kiefer Sutherland does a good job as the bad vampire, and Jason Patric is the perfect Michael. Even the small parts that the grandfather and mother play fit in well with the overall movie and they're all a bit bizarre. And I think that's one of the charms of the movie, all the humans are a bit weird, while all the vampires are what we expect of 80s teenagers, sex, drugs, and rock and roll. And really, this is what the movie is all about, the crazy age of the 80s when, if any time period, there probably could have been vampires. Where people did lines of coke on a dead hooker's body. Where no one slept and everyone had sex all night long. Those were the times and you can reminisce about them when you do watch The Lost Boys. But I digress. If you're looking for some hardcore scary vampire movie, then this is not the right movie. They don't really take themselves seriously, but there is enough in the setting and lighting that does give it an eerie quality. Mostly, it's for fun.
So overall, this is probably still one of my favorite movies. I would suggest buying the DVD just for the one-liners. Granted, the acting isn't superb, but it does the job and it's a nice change of pace to see things that aren't done with computer graphics. Sure they look a bit cheesy, but that's the allure of an 80s horror/cult movie isn't it? Plus, like I said before, the soundtrack rocks the casbah!
"The Lost Boys" opens July 31, 1987 and is rated R. Comedy, Horror. Directed by Joel Schumacher. Written by Jeffrey Boam, Janice Fisher. Starring Corey Feldman, Corey Haim, Dianne Wiest, Edward Herrmann, Jason Patric, Kiefer Sutherland.
