THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
Throughout history, we have various forms of fictional vampires: Every adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula makes them terrifying, Twilight shows their complexity, From Dusk Till Dawn showed them at their most grotesque, while Interview with the Vampire and True Blood showed them at their sexiest.
PLOT
If you ask what makes them cool, a good answer would be Marvel's Blade, but my answer would be The Lost Boys. The film follows divorced Lucy Emerson who moves to the fictional city of Santa Carla with his sons Michael and Sam, and their pet dog Nanook. There, they settle in with her father and she quickly gets a job at a video store, quickly falling for the store's owner Max Lawrence. As for Michael, he falls for a girl named Star who hangs around a biker gang led by David Powers. His gang includes: Marko Thompson (Alex Winter), Dwayne Stephens (Billy Wirth), and Paul Harris (Brooke McCarter). When Sam visits a comic book store, he meets two brothers named Edgar and Alan Frog who claim to be vampire hunters. They lend him comic books to teach him about the undead. Michael's interest pushes him to join David's gang. He is able to officially join them after various and personal challenges that test his courage. He completes his initiation after drinking a bottle of blood. Shortly after this, he undergoes physical changes that include: being sensitive to sunlight, being revolted of the smell of food, having transparent reflection and craving for blood. When he almost attacks Sam, it is clear that he is becoming a vampire. However based on his new comic book knowledge, he believes that he has a chance to undo his curse if killing a head vampire. When sharing this to the Frog Brothers, they put Max through their own tests when initially suspecting it. When he passes, the focus turns to David being the head vampire. Michael is pushed by the gang leader to kill, but he refuses to do so. Star even explains that she is half vampire as well like her brother Laddie (Chance Michael Corbitt) and David has been trying to seal her fate by having her target Michael. Knowing this, Michael leads Sam and the Frog Brothers to their hideout. They do succeed in killing Marko with a stake. This moment of execution awakens the others, but the group of protagonists are able to escape death. They are followed to Lucy's home, but are able to defend themselves with holy water filled water guns and a longbow. As the boys kill Paul and Dwayne, Michael is able to kill David. However, the curse has not been reversed. When Lucy comes home with Max, the latter reveals to be head vampire and explains that he instructed David to turn Sam and Michael, so that Lucy would have no choice but to stay with him. As he prepares to turn her, he is killed by her father by impaling him with a wooden fence post. As the curse gets reversed, the film ends with Grandpa declaring "One thing about living in Santa Carla I never could stomach: all the damn vampires".
THOUGHTS
After seeing so many vampire movies beforehand, I honestly thought I was prepared for it all, but I was far from it. Off of that, I found myself blown away with the final cut. Joel Schumacher was able to shake this up this particular sub genre by keeping you on edge with what you can and cannot see. When you have a dope Thomas Newman score and have ‘Cry Little Sister’ by Gerard McMann play in between, you’re just being reminded that the world is far from safe. The fact that the focused perspective comes from teenagers makes the whole atmosphere refreshing because in that age gap, life is at its most unpredictable. As a teenager, your desires can be your greatest weakness. There ares instances where you don’t stop trying to get what you want and it will lead to ultimate consequences. The way adolescence is captured is honestly beautiful because it is able to embrace that exact time period of one’s complexity. And when you mix that with vampires, you’re reminded how looks can be deceiving. That perfect example comes from both of this film’s villains. Although David is an underling, Kiefer Sutherland gives his all in making him a standout figure. It becomes easy for him to manipulate people like Michael because he has enough charm to do it. And he uses that charm to hide his cruelty. Whenever he showed his true colors, he elevated his factor of being an intimidating figure. When he shouted “You’re dead meat” to the Frog Brothers, that gave me so much chills. He may have not been head vampire, but he always made his presence known and that is what’s made him a memorable vampire. The others stood by him not just out of loyalty, but they loved the power they gained and were willing to anything necessary. So whenever they went for the hunt, it showed how limitless they were. Taking it back from the top, it makes sense for an all powerful leader to share his strength with such rebels. Edward Hermann was able to show Max as one who was acting ahead of the curve for love he failed to gain in his immortal life. He was definitely a master manipulator in comparison to his own disciple since his plan almost worked and unfortunately for him, the allegory does come full circle that desires can lead to doom. With such imposing villains, we had a fair share of protagonists to root for. Jason Patric makes Michael a likable teen because he made him feel the most decent. Despite being a good brother to Sam, he was mostly quiet because he had a hard time finding his place. His lust for Star is what would make him come out of his shell, which can lead to the argument if it was a wise decision. Even though David spent the whole time testing him, he didn’t crack because he enjoyed part of something. But once he saw his true colors, he knew he had to get out before he could ever go all the way in. We enjoy the company of Sam because Corey Haim is able to make him a naive yet lively teen. He is as clueless as we are at the start, but knows exactly when to catch up. Even though he’s scared of the changes his family is going through, particularly his brother, he won’t do nothing when he knows he can try to help. And lucky for him, he made the unexpected of friends that gave him such help. In all honesty, the Frog Brothers were the best thing about this movie due to Corey Feldman & Jamison Newlander playing each other off so masterfully like they’re actual brothers. However long they knew about the vampires prior, they still take things serious throughout as they’re aware that the town needed to be cleansed from such terror. The respect goes to how they’re not so hesitant in executing whatever is a threat. I didn’t mind the presence of Star because Jamie Gertz is able to make her somewhat vibrant in her predicament. She’s mostly passive because she’s in her own pickle trying to save her little brother. Although David wanted her to turn Michael, she found solace in him because they related to each other’s innocence. With the curse being reversed, I’m sure both teens will figure out how to start from scratch. This movie has its fair share of heart, but it always originates somewhere and in this case, it came from Lucy. She may be out of the loop, but Dianne West showed her to be the most loving you’d expect from an onscreen mother. She may have gained some distance from her kids, but she never stopped hoping for the best, which showed how big of a heart she had from the start and passed on. Had she not kept her heart intact from the divorce, I’m sure this would’ve been much more off the rails of an adventure. Last but not least, the final line from Grandpa and would’ve not been so if not for Barnard Hughes. It was a risk for him to be quiet if not telling his family about the vampires, but you can’t help but respect how he pulls off saving his family. The delivery truly pays off more when you rewatch and catch the hints of him being aware of the vampires. I partially don’t blame him because it ain’t easy explaining such a bombshell. This movie is without a doubt one awesome joy ride, but even one as good as this has its own issues that are unavoidable. Like first off, I like the attempt to show that the vampires are strong, but I know the security guard that first gets killed. So I don’t get why he was strong enough to remove the car door when being taken away. In any case, the handle should’ve been removed alone if you want to say he is strong. I do love Grandpa like a lot of viewers do, but even has moments that don’t make that much sense. How is it funny to pretend to play dead in the age he’s in? It won’t be funny anymore if he died on the spot and everyone ignored him. That single prank is more illogical than having a TV Guide without having a television along with it. Speaking of which, why would Sam tell Michael he watches too much Dynasty if there ain’t to TV to watch it? You want to talk about lazy references, that is one of them. Going back to Grandpa, it was hilarious that he knew about vampires the whole time, but the takeaway is that he didn’t warn Lucy when she was dating Max. He said nothing to protect his only daughter and it’s insane. If we’re gonna talk about pointless decisions by villains, David cockblocking Star and Michael is one of them since he wants Michael to be Star’s first victim. And if he knew Max’s master plan, he really should’ve let things play out between them. Also, how did the vampires get away without a trace when they arrived via motorcycles? I know they’re just teasing Michael, but it’s pointless when they could get themselves caught. If we’re gonna go any further, how does no one find Laddie when he’s hanging out with the vampires every night near the boardwalk? I mean no one should be that clueless if there are missing pictures of him all over milk cartons. It was funny when Lucy smells the garlic, but I’m lost that she doesn’t it any further when Sam spends the night. If he’s wearing a necklace of garlic overnight, that ain’t gonna go away fast. It’s even odd how she didn’t recognize the smell of garlic the following night for supper. I was even thrown off on how Star was allowed to enter Michael’s room when he didn’t invite her. If half vampires get a pass, the Frog Brothers should’ve shared that whether or not they were to give Sam a comic book. I am impressed with Sam getting a giant sack of garlic, but where the hell did he get that? If that was a stash the Frog Brothers had at home, I wouldn’t mind a freaking clarification. Other than that, you’re still in for the wildest of experiences out there. In short, The Lost Boys is one of the best vampires movies out there for being naturally flamboyant in comparison to others before and after it’s release. If vampires are your favorite kind of monster, then this will definitely be worth your while.
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