Richard Donner’s and Joel Schumacher’s best
film is a coming of age tale of two brothers who run into a family of vampires
after moving to small town California.
This classic
vampire tale was released in 1987; it was produced by Richard Donner, directed
by Joel Schumacher and written by Jan Fischer and James Jeremias.
It manages to be equal parts comedy and horror while telling
an original story about the difficulty of being a teenager trying to fit in
without giving into peer pressure.
The Lost
Boys stars Jason Patric as Michael and Corey Haim as Sam; teenaged brothers who
stumble across an enclave of young biker vampires that are terrorizing a resort
town on the coast of California. Diane Wiest is Lucy, their newly single mother
who decides to move from Arizona to her hippy father’s (played by the hilarious
Barnard Hughes) place to start her life over again. Kiefer Sutherland plays
David, the leader of the vampire gang and Jami Gertz is Star, David’s
girlfriend/ captive who desperately wants out. Corey Feldman is Edgar Frog, the
local townie that befriends Sam and helps him when his older brother gets
entangled in a dangerous love triangle. When David finds out that Michael is
interested in Star, he sets out to recruit him into his gang by tricking him
into becoming a creature of the night.
What sets
this movie apart from the deluge of vampire films that we have seen in the past
decade is the basic story. Instead of making the movie all about the vampires,
Donner and Schumacher focus mainly on the difficulties of adjusting to a new
life hundreds of miles away and the importance of family. This movie would be just
as good if the bad guys just killed for fun. The film works by not trying to be
too clever or too funny or too gross. There is just enough of each to keep
things interesting.
Instead of
being one note, multiple plots are given equal time. Michael, after drinking
blood that he thinks is wine, is starting to become a vampire, something he
definitely doesn’t want. He and Star team up to try to leave the gang while
protecting a much too young vampire. Michael’s young brother Sam knows
something is not right when his brother starts wearing sunglasses indoors,
sleeps all day, and floats outside of his bedroom window.
Lucy decides
to start dating the owner of the video store (played by Edward Herman) where
she works and becomes convinced Sam is trying to sabotage her happiness because
of it. He is, but not for the reasons she thinks.
Sam gets a couple of creepy, comic
book loving brothers to help him take on the vampires while saving Michael
before his full transformation. As one half of the Frog brothers, Corey Feldman
gives the best performance of his career.
The film falters a bit in the third
act because of its Deus ex machina conclusion. The comedic tone helps cover
this up a bit; the movie doesn’t take itself too seriously so this isn’t as big
a sin as in some other movies. The pacing is up-tempo; it doesn’t get bogged
down at any part for too long. There is a perfect balance of comedy and suspense
that movies don’t have lately.
If you haven’t seen The Lost Boys
yet, rent it. This would be a great popcorn movie that doesn’t insult the
viewer.
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