The Lost Boys (1987)

Directed by Joel Schumacher. Starring Jason Patric, Corey Haim, Dianne Wiest, Kiefer Sutherland, Corey Feldman, Jamison Newlander, Edward Herrmann, Jami Gertz, Barnard Hughes, Brooke McCarter, Alex Winter, Billy Wirth. [R]

Divorced mom Wiest and her kids (Patric, Haim) move to beachside Santa Carla, CA, the “murder capitol of the world” where pale and attractive goth-punk-biker-rebels wander the boardwalk. Among their ranks, sultry brunette Gertz and darkly charismatic leader Sutherland entice Patric to join their world, which he discovers too late happens to be the world of vampires. Entertaining junk proved a trend-setter and advanced the careers of several of its young stars; scene-stealers Feldman and Newlander (as the pseudo-macho, vampire-slaying Frog brothers) and Hughes (as a feisty grandpa straight out of the feisty grandpa casting pool) provide plenty of comic relief amid the darker and more gruesome material. Schumacher directs with a stylistic eye (and ear) toward MTV; atmosphere is sufficient, and it’s laudable that more is suggested than shown until the go-for-broke climax, but these bloodsucking beasties aren’t as horrifying as they should be (if they lived inland, their boardwalk haunt would probably be the nearest Hot Topic instead); in fact, the scariest thing onscreen might be Haim’s fashion statement. First of nine films to feature both Feldman and Haim (“the Two Coreys”). Executive produced by Richard Donner. Followed over twenty years later by two straight-to-DVD sequels.

69/100