This October we here at Dark of the Matinee are counting down our 31 favorite horror films. Join us daily as we countdown from #31 starting on October 1, 2012 leading up to #1 on Halloween!
Coming in at the number 30 spot on our countdown of the top 31 horror films is Joel Schumacher’s 1987 vampire classic, The Lost Boys, starring a Jason Patric, Corey Haim, Kiefer Sutherland, Jami Gertz, Corey Feldman, Dianne Wiest, Edward Herrmann, Alex Winter, Jamison Newlander, and Barnard Hughes. I realized I just listed the entire cast basically, but I assure you, they all deserve being acknowledged.
#30 – THE LOST BOYS (1987)
Dir. Joel Schumacher
In case you’ve been living under a rock, or maybe in a luxurious hotel that has sunken underground as a result of an earthquake, let me get you caught up to speed on The Lost Boys.
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The film follows Michael Emerson (Patric) and his brother Sam as their mom, Lucy (Wiest), moves them from Phoenix, Arizona to Santa Carla, California to live with their grandpa (Hughes) following her divorce from their father. Santa Carla, as I’m sure you all know, is the murder capital of the world. You raise all the dead in Santa Carla and you’re going to have a population problem and a zombie one too!
As a way to explore their new home, Michael and Sam check out a concert at the local boardwalk. There Michael becomes mesmerized by Star (Gertz), a girl he sees grooving to the music, while the rest of fall under the spell of some very erotic saxophone playing.
Michael begins to attempt to woo Star, but quickly realizes he’s going to have to deal with David (Sutherland). At the same time Lucy is being swept off her feet by a local video store owner named Max (Herrmann). While all this courting is taking place Sam is being scoped out by the Frog brothers, Edgar (Feldman) and Alan (Newlander), who warn him that Santa Carla is over run by vampires.
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| "I can't believe nobody brought napkins." |
This all leads up to a fantastic vampire battle finish that includes death by stereo.
It means a great deal to me that The Lost Boys made it onto our list. While certainly not the best vampire film ever made, it holds a special place in my heart and is probably my favorite vampire movie of all time. Schumacher, working with a wonderful script from Janice Fischer, James Jeremias, and Jeffrey Boam, made vampires cool and hip. What people are trying to turn vampires into today, and failing quite miserably at it I may add, was already done perfectly right here back in ’87.
For me, The Lost Boys is one of those rare movies where everything comes together to work just right. Schumacher showed great skill and potential (which would eventually come crashing down years later) as he blended horror and comedy. Every actor gave a strong performance, with Feldman stealing the show as he so often did in the 80’s. The kills are creative and the effects still look great 25 years later.
Some may argue that it’s a little dated now, but I see it as more of a time capsule of the 80’s. It’s like looking back at a time and period that can never be recreated.
The Lost Boys presents us with vampire lore that most of us are fairly familiar with and then gives it a slight twist to make it all their own. They showed us vampires in a way we had never seen before and we haven’t seen since. And for this, The Lost Boys earns a rightful spot in our top 31 horror films of all time.
I leave you with this treat...
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