The Lost Boys (1987)

Director:

Joel Schumacher

Writers:

Janice Fischer (story) &
James Jeremias (story) ...

Release Date:

31 July 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Fantasy | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Sleep all day. Party all night. Never grow old. Never die. It's fun to be a vampire.

Plot:

After moving to a new town, two brothers are convinced that the area is frequented by vampires.

Plot Keywords:

Vampire | California | Moving | Death | Amusement Park

Awards:

3 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Jason Patric	...	Michael
Corey Haim	...	Sam
Dianne Wiest	...	Lucy
Barnard Hughes	...	Grandpa
Edward Herrmann	...	Max (as Ed Herrmann)
Kiefer Sutherland	...	David
Jami Gertz	...	Star
Corey Feldman	...	Edgar Frog
Jamison Newlander	...	Alan Frog
Brooke McCarter	...	Paul
Billy Wirth	...	Dwayne
Alex Winter	...	Marko (as Alexander Winter)
Chance Michael Corbitt	...	Laddie
Alexander Bacon Chapman	...	Greg
Nori Morgan	...	Shelly

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35mm prints)

Certification:

Iceland:16 | South Korea:15 | Finland:K-14 (1987) | Finland:K-15 (2004) | Finland:S (1999) | Netherlands:16 | USA:R (#28541) | South Africa:16LV | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Australia:M | Canada:14A (TV rating) | Norway:15 | Singapore:NC-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Mobile, Alabama, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

The original screenplay written by Janice Fischer and James Jeremias was originally about a bunch of "Goonie-type 5th-6th grade kid vampires", with the Frog Brothers being "chubby 8 year old cub scouts", and Star being a boy instead of a love interest. Joel Schumacher hated that idea and told the producers he would only sign on if he could change them to teenagers, as he thought it would be more much sexier and interesting.

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: Before Star gets on David's motorcycle to go to the cave, she isn't wearing a coat. During the motorcycle processional to the cave, she suddenly appears wearing one. However, she can be seen putting on a coat just before this sequence.

Quotes:

Michael Emerson: What's happening to me, Star?
Star: Oh, Michael. Michael, I can't tell you. I don't know how to help you.
Michael Emerson: What's happening?
Star: [whispers] I can't.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Weeds: Last Tango in Agrestic (#2.3)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

Lost In The Shadows (The Lost Boys)

"Holy s##t, it's the attack of Eddie Munster!"

Lucy (Dianne Wiest) moves with her sons Michael (Jason Patric) and Sam (Corey Haim) to California where Michael gets mixed up with local teenage gang, headed by David (Kiefer Sutherland), that is actually a group of vampires.

"The Lost Boys" is an entertaining modern vampire movie with lots of flash, style, 1980's music, and flamboyant effects and interesting design. There's no substance to this picture, but I don't think that the film-makers cared about that. No, they just made a picture strictly catered to the young crowd that is really just for straightforward fun. Don't worry about looking for hidden meanings or symbolism.

David and his gang are a cool-looking bunch with two members (Brooke McCarter, Billy Wirth) who look like they could have been part of a rock group and the third guy is played by Alex Winter - a.k.a. "Bill" of "Bill & Ted".

The young cast is okay; I would only have real criticisms for Jami Gertz's 'performance'. Wiest, as usual, is excellent, and seasoned performer Edward Herrmann kind of looks out of place but he makes up for it with a typically good performance.

Echo and the Bunnymen do a good cover of the Doors' "People Are Strange" and Roger Daltrey does an equally fine cover of Elton Johns' "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me".

"The Lost Boys" is fun if never truly scary.

8/10