So many wonderful things happened in 1987. The rejuvenation of the videogame industry. The pseudo-war with Russia was coming to an end. Joel Schumacher created The Lost Boys.
The last item, of course, is the most important here.
A new take on an old concept
Teen movies were a dime a dozen. Each decade goes through that period where it’s absolutely cool for a bunch of young no-names to make real names for themselves in a simple movie. Before The Lost Boys the world had seen a certain movie called The Goonies which introduced audiences to a different type of teen-film, something fun. What the world was missing terribly was a family oriented film that kept you truly on the edge of your seats. Good versus bad, something that said, “Cool!”, but at the same time really meant, “Oh, sh*t!”. Director Joel Schumacher and writers Janice Fischer and James Jeremias put together such a combination onscreen. Casting Jason Patric, Corey Haim (who was hitting his peak at this time), Corey Feldman (who was hitting his peak also) and Kiefer Sutherland would certainly certify The Lost Boys as a bonafide teen film. What made this separate from the teen-pack was that it certainly didn’t stand in the ‘feel-good’ genre of typical teen films. The Lost Boys incorporated vampirism as the central theme to its story. Not familiar? Let me indulge.
Michael and Sam Emerson, with mom Emerson, make their way to Santa Clara, at the time (or at least in the movie) the murder capital of the country. They find a strange small town and an even stranger collection of teen misfits. Michael finds a group of bikers, led by a man named David, who brings Michael into their circle of badassness through the lone female of the group named Star. One night he joins them in their hideout, a earthquake ridden hotel, and goes through their hazing process of drinking what they tell him is blood. Well, the blood turns out to be vampire blood and Michael soon finds that his new group of friends are in fact his new group of vampire friends. Rejecting the vicious urge to feed and to maintain the status quo of killing in Santa Clara, he seeks his brother’s reluctant help to stop David and his band of vamps. Luckily enough for David, Sam meets the Frog brothers, Edgar and Alan, who also happen to know about the vampire problem in Santa Clara. Together they all plan to finally take care of David and the gang and restore Michael back to human form.
Folks this isn’t License to Drive, not by a long-shot.
Despite his horrible reputation in the comic book community for those things that seem to have the title of Batman attached to them, Joel Schumacher brought every element of horror into this new, raw genre of teen films. Commend him for his casting brilliance, his choice of soundtrack, but praise him the most on how he chose to present the vampires. The vampires are sick and scary. They possess everything ugly about vampires in the world today, even uglier in a way than Blade vampires. They look creepy, deformed and just plain vicious. They aren’t Universal’s Dracula, they are simply one of the best looking vampires around. Now, outside of make-up, praise Schumacher for his decision not to show them flying. There’s nothing worse in an 80’s film then blue-screen ugliness. Instead of showing these creeps flying after people, or flying to the Emerson homestead at the end of the film, he simply gives you the POV of their flying pattern. What this does, especially when you see the victims running away from the camera, is put a since of urgency and suspense into the moment. Alfred Hitchcock always said that the scariest things in movies are the ones you can’t see. This certainly proves that statement, especially at the beginning.
So, score one for Schumacher (who is also a joy to watch in the special features).
Also give kudos to his small team of writers, Janice Fischer and James Jeremias. Without this combo at the helm, the script might not have turned out so well. A good writer defines each character. This pair turned out to be great. They brought out the toughness of each character through minimal dialogue (although it took a lot of dialogue for the Corey’s, but that’s okay). Sutherland and Patric probably got the least amount of dialogue in the film, but certainly said the most through the minimum amount. You don’t need much when you have the right words. Kudos for them for creating strong characters and more importantly kudos for them because they took a very rustic concept of vampirism and applied to teens and made one scary-ass film. The first few scenes of the film really do bring out the creepiest feelings, and that’s just the right start for The Lost Boys.
So, with so much greatness what could possibly not fly about the The Lost Boys? Honestly, it has aged a little bit. The fashion is a bit eccentric, there’s tons of neon and Patric just doesn’t look as cool as he once did with those curly locks of his. Don’t even ask about Sutherland’s mullet. Don’t ask. These are the only things that make the film seem a bit odder than it did in 1987. Thankfully the grandfather, played by the late Bernard Hughes (see Tron for more 80’s movies with him), brings the movie to a different level for comedy and craziness. His character helped balance some of this aging through comedy and oddball costumes that look strangely like today’s fashion, but it didn’t hold everything up. Hide when you see Haim’s moo-moo in one particular breakfast scene.
Feeling the Blu-ray, but not selecting
This turned out to be a fabulous transition to HD, moreso than recent older films that have been transferred. The audio really drives home the atmosphere of this vampire film. It screams and screeches through the speakers in horrifying, yet beautiful, fashion. It will make you jump a few times. As for the video, beautifully transferred and preserved. Vibrant colors, especially the neon, and haunting nights (especially the first open attack on a campfire). One particular thing did bother me about this Blu-ray though, I couldn’t find the scene selection. Call me crazy, but I couldn’t access it, couldn’t locate it and since this movie doesn’t really have a main menu, it was sort of depressing to see. I don’t know if I missed it, but after 30 minutes of searching, I couldn’t find it. Very strange indeed.
As for the features, this Blu-ray is loaded. You get interviews with actors and crew, especially a good amount of information from Schumacher. You also get some great commentary about the film and some different features that will make you appreciate the film even more. It’s loaded to the brim and you won’t be disappointed, unlike other recent 80’s transfers to Blu-ray.
Something different for everyone
Not to keep repeating myself here, but The Lost Boys really brought a dark, sinister, comedic at times, approach to the teen movie genre. The ending, while still turning out well, doesn’t completely put you at ease, unlike most 80’s films. You have to respect and honor the way Schumacher put such a masterpiece together and how he got such young egos to cooperate and have a good time doing it. Strange, scary and funny, you will find some warmth in The Lost Boys on Blu-ray.