“Sleep all day. Party all night. Never grow old. Never die. It’s fun to be a vampire.” This was the tag line for 1987’s The Lost Boys, and it was partly accurate. I don’t know that the film makes its case that being a creature of the night is that much “fun.” The quest for blood seems violently exhausting.
Before the Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Interview with the Vampire, and the Twilight saga appeared on the scene there was The Lost Boys, a teen horror film following good guy Michael (Jason Patric) and undead antagonist David (Kiefer Sutherland) battling it out in the coastal town of Santa Carla, California. Santa Carla is a refuge for some young and very hot and sexy vampires. Michael and his younger brother Sam (Corey Haim) have moved there with their recently divorced mother Lucy (Dianne Wiest) and are living with their kooky Grandpa (Barnard Hughes).
A trip to the boardwalk brings the beautiful Star (Jamie Gertz) to Michael’s attention and, mesmerized, he follows her. Meanwhile comics nerd Sam has found a bookstore where he meets Edgar (Corey Feldman) and Alan (Jamison Newlander), aka the Frog Brothers, vampire hunters convinced their town is infested with bloodsuckers. Their mom gets a job at a video store owned by Max (Edward Herrmann) and finds a possible romantic partner in him. (The display of VHS boxes and the prominence of Video Review magazine on the counter brought back many memories of my time working at Movies Unlimited video stores).
Michael’s infatuation with Star leads him to David and his underlings, and a motorcycle challenge that takes him to their lair. There David makes Michael’s Chinese food appear as maggots and worms and entices him to drink a red beverage that is really David’s blood. Once at home, Michael changes. He becomes light averse, and Max notices his brother’s reflection fading in the mirror. This is proof that Michael is transforming; his turning will only be completed if he feeds on human blood. Sam consults with the Frog Brothers, whose solution is “Kill your brother. You’ll feel better.” They conclude that Max is the head vampire and plan to “out” him with garlic and holy water on his dinner date with Lucy. But Max does have a reflection, and no reaction to the items. Clueless Lucy doesn’t understand why her sons are acting so strange, while Max chalks it up to teenage boy stuff.
David tries to entice Michael to feed on some partygoers and he and his henchmen reveal their inhuman faces, but Michael resists. Star tells him that she and Laddie, a young boy she protects, are not completely transformed either. David wanted her to make Michael her first feed, but she refused. Michael takes Sam and the Frogs to David’s hideout and kill henchman Marko (Alex Winter) with a stake through his heart. This awakens the others and they all barely escape. A vengeful David vows to get them all. That night, armed with water pistols filled with holy water and garlic, they await the vampires’ arrival. This leads to a final showdown that also reveals a clever twist. No spoilers here.
Patric, with his matinee idol good looks, is perfect as the obsessed and distressed Michael, while Sutherland is creepily evil and menacing as David. Haim lands all the comedic lines he is given (and for a vampire film, there are a lot of funny moments). Many more lines are provided by Feldman and Newlander’s Frog Brothers, who are so deadpan in their delivery and dress like teen Rambos. The film also takes some liberties with the vampire mythos. Since Michael hasn’t completely transformed (maybe we should call him a demi-vampire), he can walk around in the daytime, albeit with sunglasses. And in most vampire films you must be bitten to become a vampire, not drink a vampire’s blood and just start the process.
Originally the film was supposed to be helmed by Richard Donner and be a vampire version of his own The Goonies. Donner bailed out and Joel Schumacher (St. Elmo’s Fire) was hired. He aged the characters to teens and wanted a more rock ‘n roll take on vampirism. The title is a reference to Peter Pan’s Neverland cohorts.
The Lost Boys spawned a pair of direct-to-video sequels: The Lost Boys: The Tribe in 2008 and The Lost Boys: The Thirst two years later. On a related note, The Lost Boys: The Musical has been in previews on Broadway since March and officially opens on April 26. Vampire musicals have not had much success on the Great White Way. 2006’s Lestat–adapted from Anne Rice’s novels with music and lyrics by Elton John and Bernie Taupin–ran for just 39 performances. Dracula: The Musical lasted 157 shows in 2004, and 2002’s Dance of the Vampires, based on Roman Polanski’s 1967 film The Fearless Vampire Killers only made it to 56 performances. Maybe The Lost Boys: The Musical will escape the very real curse of Broadway.