Review of The Lost Boys (1987) by Adam R — 24 Jun 2011

Though you're unlikely to find much substance in "The Lost Boys," it is a sweet reminder of a better, simpler time, when the top exponents of '80s pop-rock could be relied upon to enhance any soundtrack, the Brat Pack was just emerging as go-to talents and -- most importantly -- vampires could actually be counted upon to act like sadistic monsters, rather than the Hot Topic-patronizing, mopey whelps they've lately become.

The story is a classic one of an alienated teen attempting to find friendship in a particularly unwelcoming small town. Michael (Jason Patric) just wants to fit in among the cool goth kids in Santa Carla, Calif., a recovering hippie haven with every tourist's dream boardwalk. He finds company in a gang of leather-clad hoodlums led by David (Kiefer Sutherland), a manipulative, often brash bad-boy whose girlfriend Star (Jami Gertz) has caught Michael's eye.

Michael's conformity becomes problematic, however, when he becomes more and more overtly rebellious and begins displaying signs of vampirism. Thankfully, Michael has a loyal friend in younger brother Sam (Corey Haim), who is perfectly content being an outsider and allies with the brusque, occult-savvy Frog brothers (Corey Feldman and Jamison Newlander, the former cementing his place as a truly exceptional child actor in the wake of the massive success of "Stand by Me") to aid his big brother and root out the blood-suckers.

Though more imaginative fantasy movies have come out both before and after "Lost Boys" -- dealing with vampires and other creatures -- it's hard to name another that replicates this one's fun. Take, for example, Francis Ford Coppola's "Bram Stoker's Dracula," a ponderous exercise in horror which, despite imagination and a handful of intriguing ideas, was crippled by wooden performances and an atmosphere suffocated more by tedium than dread.

This film, on the other hand, doesn't suffer from that problem, combining vampires and teenagers far less oppressively and more entertainingly than the execrable "Twilight" series, the difference between the two belying a dichotomy between generations: one dominated by fun and thrills, the other by self-importance and false grand emotion. Take a guess which, film and era included, is preferable to the other.