The Facts:

Synopsis: After moving to a small town in Northern California with their divorced mother, two brothers discover the area is a haven for vampires.

Stars: Jason Patric, Corey Haim, Kiefer Sutherland, Dianne Wiest, Jami Gertz, Corey Feldman, Barnard Hughes, Edward Herrmann

Director: Joel Schumacher

Rated: R

Running Length: 97 minutes

TMMM Score: (8/10)

Review:  If I think real hard and squeeze my eyes shut I can picture myself as a seven year old in the summer of 1987.  Likely wearing a blue and red (okay pink) tie-dyed shirt from Disney World paired with above-the-knee khaki shorts and tube socks topped off with slip-on black loafers I wasn’t exactly the epitome of cool so seeing the movie poster for The Lost Boys at our local mall and subsequent TV ads made me do a double take.  What was this movie featuring vampires and young kids dressed like they hadn’t picked out their clothes the night before about and when would I ever be old enough to see it?  It would be several years later when The Lost Boys VHS finally came home with me and by then I’d learned a thing or two about proper attire.  I also knew a good vampire movie when I saw one.

Brothers Michael (Jason Patric, Sleepers) and Sam (Corey Haim, Lucas) move with their mother (Dianne Wiest, Parenthood) to the seaside town of Santa Carla, California to live with their grandfather (Barnard Hughes, Doc Hollywood).  Leaving their friends and father behind wasn’t an easy step and the boys take some adjustment to the raucous beach town that’s quiet during the day and a party city in the evenings.  Teens flock to the boardwalk to play video games, hear bands, or just hang out and summer is in full swing by the time the boys arrive.  There’s also been an influx of strange disappearances lately but it’s mostly going unnoticed due to the large number of people that pass through nightly.  A few of Sam’s new friends (one played by Corey Feldman, Friday the 13^th: The Final Chapter) suspect vampires are behind the unexplained vanishings and educate him on how to spot a creature of the night.

With Sam preoccupied hunting down vampires and his mother spending more time with a local businessman (Edward Hermann, Overboard), Michael falls for Star (Jami Gertz, Sixteen Candles) a mystery girl who runs with a crowd of punks led by David (Kiefer Sutherland, Flatliners).  For Michael to get to know Star better and be included with David and his troupe, he goes through an initiation that starts to change his sleeping habits as well as his reflection in mirrors.  Now Michael has more than just being the new kid on the block to worry about and when he attempts to quell his burgeoning taste for blood with the help of his brother it only makes David come on stronger…but is David the only big bad vampire in Santa Carla Michael and Sam need to worry about?

Over the years there have been countless movies about vampires young and old but none have truly captured a time and place quite like Joel Schumacher did with The Lost Boys.  Though watching it now it’s clearly a film that’s starting to crystalize in amber, it doesn’t yet feel stale in the least and improves with each watch.  There’s a music video style to the film that keeps it energized from the chilling opening to a surprising finale that throws a few curveballs at the audience courtesy of a clever, tuned-in script from Jeffrey Boam (The Dead Zone), Jan Fischer, & James Jeremias.  There’s an ample amount of comedy as well, with the screenwriters making good use of the talents of both Coreys to go for the teenybopper crowd while leaving the more serious business for Patric and Sutherland.

Like what he did when elevating the John Hughes genre film with the more adult St. Elmo’s Fire, Schumacher takes what could have been a run-of-the-mill bloodsucker flick and turned it into an enduring modern classic horror film.  Featuring a roster of attractive talent right on the cusp of breaking big in Hollywood, Schumacher was never quite as on the money as he was with The Lost Boys.  The soundtrack is great, the pacing is on the money, and the practical special effects add suspense on top of the moderate blood and gore.  It works like a charm and remains an entertaining popcorn blockbuster even if you’ve seen it dozens of times.