Review of The Lost Boys (1987) by Matthew D — 02 Dec 2018
A vampire film filled with 1980's aesthetic.
The Lost Boys (1987) indulges itself in fun campy humor for a horror film that is more entertaining than it is scary. The Lost Boys has more in common with Interview with the Vampire, The Crow, Scream, or The Craft than it does with Dracula or Nosferatu. It blends that raw, dark, colorful, dingy look of movies from the late 80's and early 90's.
Joel Schumacher's direction is very fun and uses the dark caves, dim rooms, and hectic pier areas with neat lighting. The use of night and daytime is quite clever too. You can tell Richard Donner produced the film with the delightful child actors laying on jokes and going on adventures much like Donner's The Goonies. Schumacher does not quite make the parts with the kids hilarious as they come across more goofy and then the horror aspects with the adults are silly instead of frightening.
At least the music is gorgeous and quite memorable. The synths are lightly glazed across the scenes with eerie choirs singing and loud 80's rock music blaring throughout The Lost Boys.
The Lost Boys is mostly known for its excellent cast of young talent. Jason Patric is really cool as Michael the reluctant vampire. Kiefer Sutherland is monstrous and intriguing as the vampire David. Even Alex Winter shows up as Marko the gleeful vampire. Corey Haim is pretty funny as the young lead Sam. Corey Feldman is very funny hamming it up on screen like his roles in The Goonies and Stand by Me, respectively.
Similarly, I liked Jami Gertz is very pretty and mesmerizing as Michael's vampiric love interest Star. She plays it cool and understated, which comes across very natural and sincere. Dianne Wiest is underutilized, but sweet as ever in her portrayal of the boys' mother Lucy.
Overall, The Lost Boys is a highly engaging horror movie and a fairly decently directed film. I think the cast's charms and the era's style is overpowering and dated. However, The Lost Boys is timeless for its ever entertaining vampiric experience.
This review of The Lost Boys (1987) was written by Matthew D on 02 Dec 2018.
The Lost Boys has generally received very positive reviews.
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