The Lost Boys

Until today, I’d never wondered where the title The Lost Boys came from. When I was younger I watched The Lost Boys hundreds of times and never gave the title a second thought. Why shouldn’t the movie be called The Lost Boys? After all, the anthem of my generation had the similarly named apropos-of-nothing title “Smells Like Teen Spirit.”

Turns out that one of my favorite childhood movies was originally a very different film. Just as 50 Shades of Grey started out as Twilight fan fiction, The Lost Boys was originally conceived as Peter Pan, but with vampires.

Guess that explains all the flying.

Unfortunately, most of the Peter Pan elements were scrapped when the movie was rewritten to appeal to teenagers. Originally conceived as Goonies-type misfits, the main characters in The Lost Boys were aged up into teens Michael (Jason Patric) and Sam (Corey Haim). When their mother (Dianne Wiest) moves the boys from Phoenix to Santa Carla, California to live with her father following her divorce, Sam and Michael initially struggle to make friends. Sam falls in with Edgar and Allen Frog, who run the local comic shop for their parents. Michael, however, falls in with a different crowd. While trying to win the affection of Star (Jamie Gertz), Michael butts heads with David (Kiefer Sutherland), the head of a local gang. David encourages Michael to join their gang. There’s just one catch: David and his buddies are vampires. Michael must now find out how to defeat the head vampire while avoiding his brother, who may or may not want him dead.

Watching The Lost Boys for the first time in several years brought back a lot of memories. With its corded phones, VHS stores, and surf punk gangs, The Lost Boys is firmly rooted in the 1980s. Unlike other movies of that era; however, the anachronisms of The Lost Boys feel more charming than glaring. The setting takes a lot of credit here. The real-life Santa Cruz boardwalk (fictionalized as the boardwalk of Santa Carla) is a great supporting actor, like Taxi Driver’s New York or LA Shory’s Los Angeles. A pre-Batman and Robin Joel Schumacher pans the camera lovingly over every aspect of the boardwalk, from the rides to the ocean to the beaches. The Lost Boys was the first movie I ever saw that was filmed at a place I knew (since I grew up in California and spent a summer or two on the boardwalk), which made the film all the more endearing.

Along with the scenery, the soundtrack is ever-present, another supporting character. I can’t talk about the soundtrack and not mention the extended scene with Tim Cappello (pictured) singing “I Still Believe” while shirtless, oiled, and wailing on the saxophone. The scene is ridiculous and epic, perfectly encapsulating the Eighties. The cover choices are interesting and lead to a lot of confusion when I was younger. Being a big fan of Echo and the Bunnymen’s cover of “People Are Strange,” the first time I ever heard original by the Doors I thought it was an inferior ripoff. The soundtracks segues between trippy carnival music and synth-heavy 80s tunes, as perfectly blended as the rest of the film.

The Lost Boys might not be as scary as it was when I was a kid, but it’s still a classic in the horror/comedy genre. There’s an earnestness to the characters, a devotion to the scenery and a unique take on vampires that harkens back to Dracula and Nosferatu. The vampires in The Lost Boys aren’t modern, pretty vampires; they’re dirty, grungy, and unrefined. While I enjoy the myth of the sophisticated vampire as much as the next person, I also enjoyed the bat-like vampires in this movie. They may not be Peter Pan’s Lost Boys, but one thing’s for sure: they don’t sparkle.

tl;drs

Quick summary: When their mother moves them to Santa Carla, California following her divorce, Michael and Sam are worried they’ve inadvertently moved to “the murder capital of the world.” Their fears are proven right when it comes out that the town is swarming with vampires.

Too many writers? Two wrote the story and three wrote the screenplay, which is acceptable. It’s amazing how all the Peter Pan elements were lost from script to screen though.

Recommended if you hate: vampires that sparkle

Better than I expected? It’s certainly not as scary as when I was 9. The film’s anachronisms add charm, rather than detract from the film.

Worse than I hoped? I noticed a few plot points on this rematch that make little sense, but again, nothing to take away from the overall tone of the movie.

Would it work better in a different medium? There’s already been two direct-to-DVD sequels, and the “new person in town fighting the Big Bad” thing has already been done.

Verdict: Lots of reasons to watch Lost Boys, from the soundtrack, to the cast, to the sheer 80s-ness.

Related Reading: “Before ‘Twilight,’ ‘Lost Boys’ made vampires fun” LA Times