After my recent review of Blade (1993), my wife let me know she’s never seen the seminal 80s vampire flick The Lost Boys (1987). So, settle in, sharpen your fangs, and let’s take a look at what made this film such a classic.
Set in late 80s California, The Lost Boys revolves around the Emerson family, including the cool, older brother Michael, the comic relief younger brother Sam, and their sweet-natured mother Lucy. However, a beautiful and mysterious young woman, and a spate of horrific murders, are revealed to be connected to a group of biker vampires led by David (Keifer Sutherland). Joining the fight are Santa Carla’s resident vampire hunters, the Frog Brothers Edgar and Alan, but after Michael is unwittingly turned, the stakes are raised (pun intended) as the Emerson brothers search for a cure.
The pacing of this film is great, if a little by the numbers. It follows what I now think of as the 80s/90s standard formula: By 6 minutes in, you know the main gist of the plot. By 15 minutes, you know the characters and their motivations. By the halfway mark, the main threat is revealed, and in the last 30 minutes it all goes to hell. What this film does do well – very well – is tonal shift. The Emerson family presents three interconnected plots, all handled in a different way. There’s the moody, sexy vampire story of Michael, which has very little dialogue but lots of unspoken tension and body language. The scene that comes to mind is Sam taking a bath while Michael walks up the stairs towards him, no longer able to control his thirst for blood. There’s the sweet story of the divorced Lucy reaching out for a new romance, and is presented with open, good-natured conversation. Finally, there’s the comedy of Sam and the Frog Brothers, full of superhero inspired dialogue and slapstick physical humour. I loved the scene where they crash a baptism so they can stock up on holy water. None of this should work: it should be an absolute mess. But somehow the film stiches it together perfectly, so that it never becomes too dark and broody, and the silly humour only serves for us to let our guard down until it’s time for the fangs and claws to come out.
This is all helped by a truly stellar cast, and this film launched the careers of many of its cast members. Sutherland oozes dangerous charisma as the vampire David, playing off well against the dark confidence of Jason Patric as Michael.
Alright, so what are the weaknesses of this film? Let’s talk about the characterisation: there isn’t any. No really, I recently reviewed Bruce Willis’s Hudson Hawk and that film had more character motivation and development. Hudson Hawk. Let that sink in. The special effects of The Lost Boys are surprisingly average, even by 1980s standards, and I think there’s classic episodes of Doctor Who that would give it a run for its money. I will however give this film a double thumbs up for the 80s synthesiser soundtrack alone.
And what did my wife think? She enjoyed it, mostly for Keifer Sutherland, damn him. She also enjoyed the trippy scenes when Michael is being turned but wasn’t that much a fan of the comedy elements. Overall, it was given a rating of “beautifully 80s.”
What did you think? Leave a comment below, or let me know another classic (or trashy) horror you’d like me to watch!
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