The Lost Boys

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Let's just get this little matter out of the way - remember that one guy who ruined the hell out of Batman back in the late 90s? Well, he directed this title, and it's often seen as one of his best, if not best films. The period was the late 80s, and horror was at an interesting peak where titles like 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' and 'Friday the 13th' were slowly becoming self-aware and almost farcical. 'The Lost Boys' is just one of those titles that came along at the perfect time for it. It knew it's target audience, went for it, and it has since become a cult classic among horror fans.

Continuing on with... I dunno, "Feldman Month"? It should also be mentioned that he's not actually in this a whole hell of a lot, if you couldn't tell by the movie poster. But the movie itself is well-known to be "one of his best titles", so here we are on the third of his "best and brightest trifecta".

The lead of this film is actually Jason Patric as Michael, but he's followed closely by his supporting actor, Corey Haim as Sam. It's the classic tale of the new kids moving into a strange town and experiencing peculiarities among the community. It's actually quite the common horror trope, but it's a trope that arguably works well due to the easy introduction of overall unfamiliarity with new surroundings. This lends itself to true creepiness. Anyway, this time around, it's a group of trouble-making teens lead by David (Kiefer Sutherland). Long story short, they turn out to be vampires. Feldman enters the scene with his sidekick as the Frog Brothers, Edgar and Allan (Jamison Newlander). They're a couple of comedy relief kids who seem to be the only two in town that know about the vampires.

These vampires end up taking Michael on the ride of his life by turning him, but Michael tries to curb his bloodlust and fight it in order to protect his little brother. This has always been a concept I've enjoyed - the idea that the vampire in question has to curb his/her behavior in order to protect those he/she loves. Add to that the overall humor of this movie, and just the fun, dark ride it takes you on, and you've kinda got a classic 80's flick.

I highly recommend this one to anyone who may be delving into 80s horror and introducing themselves to the likes of Freddy, Jason or Michael. If 80's horror movies were a level of 'Tetris', 'The Lost Boys' is one of those straight lines that gave us the Tetris we waited patiently for. It's full of a good share of 80s cheese, too. Some scenes may vary on their cringe-worthiness. But please realize that some of the stranger things in this movie are what make it so charming, and what make it the cult classic that it has become.

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