Released in 1987, Lost Boys is the crossbreed of a teen flick and horror film that reveals a bloodsucking biker gang and their rampage of Santa Clara – a city filled with gothic teens, mullets and missing person’s fliers. Single-mom Lucy (Dianne Wiest) and her two sons Sam (Corey Haim) and Michael (Jason Patric) move to the city to live with their grandfather (Barnard Hughes): The Old Fart who uses Windex as an aftershave.
Lucy gets a job from video-store owner Max (Edward Herrmann) and starts to date him while her boys learn more about he vampire-infested city. Sam meets Edward & Allan Frog (Corey Feldman & Jamison Newlander) who are, “Fighters for truth, justice and the American way.” The two boys are obsessed with vampire hunting, a trait that turns out to be very useful.
While Sam learns basic defenses against vampires, Michael becomes the local vampire biker gang pet by falling for one of their victims: Star (Jami Gertz). Vampire leader David (Kiefer Sutherland) tries to seduce Star as he uses peer pressure to trick Michael into becoming a vampire. Soon it’s up to Sam and the Frog brothers to save Michael and destroy the vampires.
Lost Boys features a healthy dose of gore from the slaughtering of vamps while boasting a hip attitude; the tagline to the film says it all, “Sleep all day. Party all night. Never grow old. Never die. It’s fun to be a vampire.” These vampires sleep upside down like a bat in a cave, light on fire when introduced to the sun, have no reflection and have their flesh burned with holy water. Some of the gory ends to vampires come with stakes through the heart while more comedic ends see death by stereo. The ‘80s teenage vamp flick is far from frightening but it is a classic and entertaining movie.