• Release year: 1987
• Director: Joel Schumacher.
• Producer: Harvey Bernhard.
• Screenplay by: Jan Fischer, James Jeremias, and Jeffrey Boam.
• Cinematography by: Michael Chapman.
• Music by: Thomas Newman.

Shotgun Commentary: The Goonies (1985), but make it vampire.

Review

The Lost Boys is one of those films you might hear about A LOT if you happen to be a fan of vampire films. It wasn’t a very popular film in Spain, at least, not enough for people to keep talking about it on a regular basis twenty or forty years after its release.

However, if living in a different country has any unexpected consequence, that is learning about movie “classics” that aren’t even considered in your hometown. Since living in Scotland, I’ve heard of this film three or four times, which might not seem much, but hearing about the same 80s film over once a year plants the seed of curiosity. A seed that has flourished into a screening and its resulting review.

The wild 80s

This feature suffers from its own success. That is, it might have been revolutionary in the 80s, and it is probably great if you watch it at some point in your childhood or early teens. However, if you’ve heard its praises and happen to watch it well into your twenties and in the twenty-first century… You might not feel quite as excited. Still, it does have really strong 80s Americana vibes in a grungish but wholesome way. So, if you are one of those people that still claim that The Goonies is a total masterpiece, you might want to meet its creepy cousin The Lost Boys.

The adventure presented in this movie follows a pair of brothers, Michael (Jason Patric) and Sam (Corey Haim). After a terrible divorce, their mother moves with them to her father’s house in Santa Carla, California. This fictional city is introduced as “murder capital of the world”, a detail that doesn’t seem to bother their mother at all, despite being very much a hippy. They live in peace for about a day and a half until the elder brother, in a testosterone competition, gets himself turned into a vampire.

After that, generic 80s kid Sam needs to team up with the Frogs to figure out how to save him and kill the vampires once and for all. The Frogs are two children who speak like they are narrating an Old Spice commercial and behave like they know what they are doing even though they very much don’t. This might have been hilarious at a time when children playing to be adults was considered cute, but watching it now only gives the icks.

Oldies but goodies

As for the real adults in the story, they are undoubtedly the main event and best addition to the tale. Starting with Lucy (Dianne West), a hippy mother who embodies the idea of a light being. She is always positive, kind, and understanding to a fault. West, whom you might know from the classic The Birdcage (1996) or a more modern Apartment 7A (2024), delivers a fantastic performance that connects beautifully with Edward Herrmann’s Max.

Herrmann plays the expected surprise of the film, a kind man with multitudes that spices up the narrative. Still, Max is not the only adult with an unexpected evolution. Grandpa (Barnard Hughes), the Michael and Sam’s grandfather (duh!), is also a non-stop delight. With every scene, you learn more about this eccentric character, and with each new fact you’ll fall more and more in love with him. A Grandpa spinoff? Yes please!

As for the vampires, they are your average grunge evolution of a greaser. After hearing so much about Kiefer Sutherland’s David, the leader of the vampire gang, the real thing might fall flat. David might have been all the rage in the bad-boy section of 80s eye-candy at some point, but the truth is, he doesn’t have much of a personality underneath a very thin surface layer. Mentioning his sidekicks would be an absolute waste of time, since all they do is agree and laugh like drunk bobble heads.

All in all, The Lost Boys have lost their charm over the years. While it is not a bad movie per se, and the horror comedy is still quite relevant and on point, the simplicity of most characters and their actions makes it tedious to watch if you are not in the right mood.

Advice to take from this movie:

• Trying to prove something to a stranger is about as smart as bashing your head against a wall.
• Always pay attention to your dog’s warnings.
• Never drown a vampire in your bathtub, unless you want your house to be so dirty it’ll be easier to burn and rebuild than to clean it.

What’s your take? Have you watched The Lost Boys? What’s your favourite sci-fi outcast adventure?

Don’t hesitate to let me know your thoughts in the comments section below, or leave a message in my contact page! For more reviews and cinema-related articles, check out the rest of my blog! 😀