The Lost BoysIt's hard enough making friends in a new town without them being a gang of bloodsucking vampires. The Lost Boys is a vampire movie that combines comedy and horror, and tells the story of the Emerson family--including Michael (Jason Patric), Sam (Corey Haim), and their recently divorced mom, Lucy (Dianne Wiest)--and their move from Phoenix, Arizona to the "murder capitol of the world", Santa Carla, California. After Michael makes eyes at the pretty Star (Jami Gertz), he crosses paths with David (Kiefer Sutherland), the leader of a gang of local motorcycle punks, who subsequently turns Michael into a vampire like him.
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Despite what Lucy tells her eccentric father--known simply as Grandpa (Barnard Hughes)--about leaving Arizona because she didn't want to put the family through the messy litigation of the divorce settlement, it's clear that Michael and Sam would rather have stayed. The family enjoys one another's company, but a new town means an uphill climb for kids when it comes to making new friends. Michael and Sam are very different brothers; Michael is quiet and a bit of a loner, while Sam sports some truly garish outfits to go with his spunky attitude. Michael and Sam quickly become bored in Santa Carla; Michael seeks work, while Sam peruses a local comic book shop, where he meets the amateur vampire hunting brothers, Edgar Frog (Corey Feldman), and his brother, Alan (Jamison Newlander). It's no coincidence that The Lost Boys opens with a montage of the counter-culture denizens of Santa Carla alongside missing persons photos, all to the tune of a cover of The Doors' "People Are Strange" by Echo & the Bunnymen, because Michael feels like an outsider in his new home. This is what motivates him to tag along with David and his crew, who are obviously trouble from the start. After David invites him to his sodden lair on the cove, Michael even seems more interested in proving that he's "cool" than paying attention to Star. The Lost Boys draws parallels between vampirism and teenage rebelliousness. Michael tries to keep up with David as they race through the dark on their motorcycles--and nearly off of a cliff. David inducts Michael into his clique of outcasts by sharing a meal (of sorts) with him and giving him a bottle of what appears to be wine. These kinds of rituals are common with teenagers--breaking the rules and feeling out the uncharted waters of adulthood--and is emblematic of Michael's figurative and literal transformation. This scene identifies how a nice guy like Michael can get mixed up with a bad crowd like David's gang. When David and the others take him out to the train tracks, they essentially dare him into putting himself in harm's way. They know that by this point that he has become one of them, and that he won't really be hurt--but they get a thrill out of tormenting him because he doesn't know it. David and his pack resemble a hair metal band from the Eighties, and Michael's brooding exterior makes him reminiscent of Jim Morrison--there's even a poster of The Doors in David's cave. After he becomes "initiated", it is implied that Michael has been spending his nights partying, coming home and sleeping into the afternoon. He grasps for his sunglasses to shield his eyes from the blinding rays of the sun after rolling out of bed, like he were hungover. He becomes morose and sarcastic, creating a divide between him and his family that does not go unnoticed. This might be normal for any other teenager; but after Michael experiences his first bout of bloodlust, Sam realizes that something must be done, or his brother may be lost to him forever.
Sam's role in The Lost Boys is more akin to comic relief, compared with the comparatively more serious tale of Michael's transition into a creature of darkness. Edgar and Alan tease Sam about his presumed lack of knowledge about comic books, but Sam proves them wrong, and they begin a healthy friendship; Edgar also gives him a comic which insinuates that vampires are real and thriving in Santa Carla. After Sam's husky, Nanook, attacks Michael, he discovers that his older brother is losing his reflection, and threatens to "tell Mom" that he's a vampire. The Frog brothers--whose names are a nod to classic horror writer, Edgar Allen Poe--are outlandish in their militaristic dogma to hunt down and slay all the "bloodsuckers" in Santa Carla. They take themselves very seriously, and purport various mythological methods to prove someone is one--which they try on Lucy's boss and new boyfriend, Max (Edward Herrmann), with comical results. Some of their tactics prove effective--like holy-water filled squirt guns--while others are less so; one thing they agree on is that in order to save Michael, the "head vampire" must be slain. Sam and the Frog brothers try to deduce who this could be, which eventually leads to their invasion of David's lair, where Michael rescues Star from the vampires' clutches. Edgar observes that the cave is like one big coffin, and takes advantage of the element of surprise to kill one of David's underlings named Marko (Alex Winter). This provokes the surviving vampires into storming the Emerson ranch when the sun goes down in a siege that is somewhere between Straw Dogs and Home Alone. The Lost Boys depicts their swarming through "vampire point-of-view" shots, previously used when they would swoop down on their prey. Each vampire meets a unique and violently destructive end, thanks to the preparedness of Michael, Sam, and the Frog brothers--and Sam doesn't miss the opportunity to throw in a characteristic zinger when one of them explodes after being electrocuted by a stereo system. The title of The Lost Boys is a direct reference to the group of kids that followed Peter Pan, and is meant to draw a comparison between the boys from Neverland and David's pack of vampires. David and the others live in a state of fantasy, riding high on their invulnerability. Because they no longer having to face realities like growing old or dying, they live in a state of arrested development, and are villainous, cruel, and without empathy. Even though Michael partook in their initiation, by refusing to participate in their murderous rampages, he shows that he has retained his humanity, and is able to dispel the curse on a psychological level where David and the others cannot.
Recommended for: Fans of a vampire movie that marries camp and horror with an Eighties-era MTV aesthetic, including casting both of the teen idols known as "The Coreys". The violence in The Lost Boys is graphic but exaggerated in a comic book-like fashion, and a predominance of memorable--if silly--one-liners keeps the film light.
Sam's role in The Lost Boys is more akin to comic relief, compared with the comparatively more serious tale of Michael's transition into a creature of darkness. Edgar and Alan tease Sam about his presumed lack of knowledge about comic books, but Sam proves them wrong, and they begin a healthy friendship; Edgar also gives him a comic which insinuates that vampires are real and thriving in Santa Carla. After Sam's husky, Nanook, attacks Michael, he discovers that his older brother is losing his reflection, and threatens to "tell Mom" that he's a vampire. The Frog brothers--whose names are a nod to classic horror writer, Edgar Allen Poe--are outlandish in their militaristic dogma to hunt down and slay all the "bloodsuckers" in Santa Carla. They take themselves very seriously, and purport various mythological methods to prove someone is one--which they try on Lucy's boss and new boyfriend, Max (Edward Herrmann), with comical results. Some of their tactics prove effective--like holy-water filled squirt guns--while others are less so; one thing they agree on is that in order to save Michael, the "head vampire" must be slain. Sam and the Frog brothers try to deduce who this could be, which eventually leads to their invasion of David's lair, where Michael rescues Star from the vampires' clutches. Edgar observes that the cave is like one big coffin, and takes advantage of the element of surprise to kill one of David's underlings named Marko (Alex Winter). This provokes the surviving vampires into storming the Emerson ranch when the sun goes down in a siege that is somewhere between Straw Dogs and Home Alone. The Lost Boys depicts their swarming through "vampire point-of-view" shots, previously used when they would swoop down on their prey. Each vampire meets a unique and violently destructive end, thanks to the preparedness of Michael, Sam, and the Frog brothers--and Sam doesn't miss the opportunity to throw in a characteristic zinger when one of them explodes after being electrocuted by a stereo system. The title of The Lost Boys is a direct reference to the group of kids that followed Peter Pan, and is meant to draw a comparison between the boys from Neverland and David's pack of vampires. David and the others live in a state of fantasy, riding high on their invulnerability. Because they no longer having to face realities like growing old or dying, they live in a state of arrested development, and are villainous, cruel, and without empathy. Even though Michael partook in their initiation, by refusing to participate in their murderous rampages, he shows that he has retained his humanity, and is able to dispel the curse on a psychological level where David and the others cannot.
Recommended for: Fans of a vampire movie that marries camp and horror with an Eighties-era MTV aesthetic, including casting both of the teen idols known as "The Coreys". The violence in The Lost Boys is graphic but exaggerated in a comic book-like fashion, and a predominance of memorable--if silly--one-liners keeps the film light.