Several lost boys but, unfortunately, only one lost girl
After a mother and two sons move from Phoenix to coastal town in Northern California, the older son (Jason Patric) gets involved with a gang led by a sinister guy (Kiefer Sutherland) while the younger son (Corey Haim) hangs out with two geeky vampire hunters (Corey Feldman & Jamison Newlander). Meanwhile the mother (Dianne Wiest) starts dating a shop owner (Edward Herrmann). Jami Gertz in on hand as the sole young female.
Released in 1987, "The Lost Boys" is a stylish and hip vampire flick that expertly meshes horror and humor. I usually don't like horror-comedies, but this one works well. The horror is pretty horrifying (in a fun way) while the comedy is consistently amusing. The coastal California locations are superb. However, the excellent train trestle sequence was shot in Alabama (see below).
I generally don't like 80's new wave pop rock, but the soundtrack is enjoyable, particularly the creative Lost Boys Theme, "Cry Little Sister" by Gerard Mcmann (with a catchy chorus sung by children). "Lost in the Shadows" by Lou Gramm is good as well. INXS, Roger Daltry and Echo and The Bunnymen also have songs on the soundtrack, the latter group doing a mid-80's version of The Doors' "People Are Strange," which is very close to the original song and actually sounds like its Jim Morrison singing. The sax-playing beefcake sequence features one-hit wonder Tim Cappello playing "I Still Believe."
Speaking of beefcake, this zeroes in on my problem with this flick: There are multiple lost boys, but only one lost girl. Although Gertz is good-looking, she's always wearing a long skirt and so we never get a good look at her beyond her face (not talkin' 'bout nudity), with the exception of a campfire sex scene that doesn't work because it's premature and overall lame. Needless to say, a mid-80s horror flick without adequate females is scandalous. Director Joel Schumacher needed to take notes from the six Friday the 13th movies that had been released by the time "The Lost Boys" was shot. Oh, wait, Schumacher is, um, nevermind.
While the movie was largely shot in Santa Cruz, California, the vampire cave entrance was 350 miles south at Rancho Palos Verdes whereas the train trestle sequence was shot in Bayou Canot, Mobile, Alabama. The boys were able to jump into the underlying fog because the river was only 12-15 feet below, although the movie gives the impression that they were way higher up. Interior shooting was done in the studio at Burbank.
It's short 'n' sweet at 1 hour, 37 minutes.
GRADE: B
2025-03-14
