Welcome, readers, to part two of the Halloween retrospective feature. A few days ago, I covered a modern movie gem in the form of Get Out, a satirical, yet truly haunting horror-thriller that I saw worthy of the title of “modern classic”. Next on our list of horror themes is the vampire movie, and as with the other horror sub-genres, I’ll be covering my personal favorites in order to lead in to my upcoming October 31st review. Vampires are something of a difficult subject to handle in films, since the rules and lore of vampires have been so varied and well-trodden over the course of their film history that the qualifiers for a good vampire flick are unfortunately somewhat subjective. Vampires have been subjected to everything from straight-up horror stories to romances and self-aware comedies. I have personal favorites from all three types (with Near Dark, From Dusk ’til Dawn, and both versions of Fright Night being very close to making my pick for vampire day), but Joel Schumacher’s The Lost Boys is what I’m looking at today, seeing as how it’s the one vampire movie I watch every October, and because I can’t bring myself to choose between both versions of Fright Night. Removing the superficial and personal attachments, though, The Lost Boys is still an obligatory Halloween watch for its loving and sometimes even terrifying send-up of vampire lore and tropes.
Michael and Sam Emerson (Jason Patric and Corey Haim) are struggling to adjust after moving with their mother Lucy (Dianne West) to their grandfather’s home in the beach town of Santa Carla, California, and their troubles are only just beginning with the move. The monotony of their new home leads younger brother Sam to a boardwalk comic book shop run by brothers Edgar and Allen Frog (Corey Feldman and Jamison Newlander), and it leads the older Michael to fall in with a biker gang led by the charismatic David (Kiefer Sutherland). The Frog brothers warn Sam that vampires are infesting Santa Carla, and while the boy is naturally skeptical at first, he starts heeding their words after Michael’s meeting with the bikers (involving a drink from a mysterious bottle) results in being averse to sunlight and receiving mysterious powers. Though unnerved at first, the brothers are relieved to discover that Michael is but a half-vampire, and that he can return to normal if they kill the leader of the vampires dwelling in the town. Unsure whether the leader is David or their mom’s new fiancée Max (Ed Herrmann), Sam and Michael enlist the help of the Frog brothers and a remorseful half-vampire named Star (Jami Gertz) to eliminate the vampiric threat before Michael and Star are transformed forever.
Looking back on this film, it’s something of a shame that Joel Schumacher’s reputation as a director has been largely defined by his work on the less-than-stellar Batman movies, since a large part of the success on the horror end of The Lost Boys is its cinematography. Most remarkable is his use of lighting tricks, particularly red light, in order to add a tense atmosphere to even the lighthearted scares, and the camera work during the early vampiric flight scenes and later action scenes is remarkably on-point. There’s almost a “neo noir” sense of tension to the story thanks to those directorial choices, since the search for the vampires’ leader and the fights with the lower vampires are both marked with the kind of tension usually expected of putting teen-aged/child characters in this kind of horror plot. That’s not to say the movie doesn’t know how to have fun, though: the script is oftentimes quite self-aware, and the reactions of the Emerson brothers to the supernatural chaos around them makes for great comedy along with the hammy, over-enthusiastic Frog Brothers. Corey Haim in particular was on-point in this movie, and is responsible for one of the greatest lines in any vampire movie: “My own brother, a g**damn vampire! You wait ’til mom hears about this, buddy!” (Writer’s note: Movie quotes edited for lessened profanity/public reading.) Also quite amusing are the Frog brothers, as it’s hilarious to see the seemingly out-of-touch horror comic geeks be the ones aware of and effective against the source of the film’s conflict. As with Evil Dead, the later action scenes are borderline slapstick scenes in spite of the aforementioned tension, and the performances of Corey Haim and the rest of the cast (Kiefer Sutherland and Corey Feldman in particular) are emblematic of a charming balance of self-awareness and enthusiasm for what kind of movie they’re in. Movies like The Lost Boys remind us that it’s quite possible for a lighter send-up of horror to be just as effective as a movie played completely straight, and the story of the kids’ struggle against the Santa Carla vampires culminates in one of the best twist endings in any horror movie of that decade, something I won’t dare spoil for the unfamiliar.
With knowing winks to the larger vampire canon, charming performances, and a great sense of tone in both horror and comedy, The Lost Boys is a must-see for any vampire fan, or those nostalgic for 80’s movies. One could say it’s an underrated classic to sink your teeth into.
Rich Reviews 