ON THIS DAY IN HORROR - July 31st
"THE LOST BOYS" released in 1987
Sleep all day. Party all night. Never grow old. Never die... It’s fun to be a vampire.
Watch The Lost Boys trailer below!
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After the divorce of their parents, Arizona teenagers Michael (Jason Patric) and Sam (Corey Haim) move with thier mother, Lucy (Dianne Wiest) to the California seaside town of Santa Carla, to live with their Grandpa (Barnard Hughes). The first night in town the brothers attend a rock concert on the Boardwalk, where Michael becomes infatuated with a local girl Star (Jamie Gertz). His attempts to talk to her are stalled by the appearance of Star's boyfriend David (Keifer Sutherland) and his motorcycle gang, Marco (Alexander Winter), Paul (Brooke McCarter) and Dwayne (Billy Wirth). Meanwhile Sam meets the Frog brothers, Edgar (Corey Feldman) and Alan (Jamison Newlander), a pair of self-proclaimed vampire hunters who run a comic book store for their parents. Later, Michael manages to approach Star and is goaded by David to join them on a motorcycle race, where Michael is almost killed. Taking him back to their home, David offers Michael a drink from an ornate wine bottle. Although he is warned by Star not to, Michael drinks anyway. The next day Michael starts to feel the effects of the 'wine' with an impulse to drink blood and almost attacks Sam until the family dog Nanook saves him. Michael leaves to confront Star, while Sam calls the Frog brothers for help which they conclude that Michael is only a half vampire after drinking David's blood, and won't fully turn until he makes his first kill. In an attempt to force him into killing, David takes Michael to stalk a group of beach goers and instigates a feeding frenzy, but Michael manages to resist. Michael, Sam and the Frog brothers are forced to confront the gang of vampires and kill David, believing it will lift the vampire curse from Michael and Star before it's too late!
Sam Emerson: [to Michael] Look at your reflection in the mirror. You're a creature of the night Michael, just like out of a comic book! You're a vampire Michael! My own brother, a goddamn, shit-sucking vampire. You wait 'till mom finds out, buddy!
Top: Michael (Jason Patric) moves to Santa Carla;
Above: Sam (Corey Haim) discovers his brother is turning
into a vampire
The original inspiration for the movie's title came from James Jeremias, who caught upon the simple notion that if Peter Pan could fly, visited Wendy and her brothers at night, and never grew old - then what if Peter Pan was actually a vampire. In Jeremias and co-writer Janice Fischer's first draft of the screenplay, the character of David was actually called Peter and the rest of his gang were named after various other Lost Boys from JM Barrie's novel, and the two brothers were Michael and John (which was later changed to Sam) and the mother's name was Wendy. Jeremias and Fischer's draft also included the vampires as a bunch of "Goonie's-type 5th-6th grade kid vampires", with the Frog Brothers being "chubby 8 year old cub scouts", and Star being a boy instead of a love interest. Director Joel Schumacher however hated that idea and told the producers he would only sign on if he could change them to teenagers, as he thought it would be much sexier and more interesting. Executive producer Richard Donner had originally intended to direct the movie himself, but as production languished, he moved onto Lethal Weapon (1987).
David: Initiation's over, Michael. Time to join the club!
[turns to Michael, revealing his vampire self!]
Top: David (Kiefer Sutherland) and the other lost boys reveal their other side!;
Above: Star (Jamie Gertz) explains to Michael that they are both half-vampires only
until they make their first kill.
Kiefer Sutherland was originally reluctant to star in it until he heard that the director had lined up INXS and Jimmy Barnes to sing some of the songs on the soundtrack (including the hit song, "Good Times"). Kiefer had spent a summer in Australia when he was a child and became fans of their music. Sutherland's hesitation may have also been caused by the fact that despite being one of the lead cast members, he has the fewest lines amongst all leading and supporting cast members - yet at the same time, he has the most dialogue among the four vampire lost boys. Jamie Gertz actually suggested Jason Patric to Schumacher (who at the time was looking to cast a blonde lead) for the role of Michael, having both previously starred in Solarbabies (1986). Keenan Wynn and John Carradine (a veteran of vampire films) were both original choices for Grandpa, a character that was written in by screenwriter Jeffrey Boam during later drafts, until Barnard Hughes was cast. The Lost Boys would also be Corey Haim and Corey Feldman's first film together, which marked the start of a popular 80's trend "The Two Corey's" in which Feldman and Haim starred together in a number of teenage films.
[fleeing from the vampire's cave]
Alan Frog: We blew it, man, we lost it!
Edgar Frog: Shut up!
Alan Frog: We unraveled in the face of the enemy!
Edgar Frog: It's not our fault, they pulled a mind scramble on us! They opened their eyes and talked!
Top: Self proclaimed vampire hunters, the Frog brothers,
Alan (Jamison Newlander) and Edgar (Corey Feldman);
Above: Alan Frog: [after Laddie vamps out] Holy shit! It's the attack of Eddie Munster!
The majority of the film was shot in the city of Santa Cruz, California, and in the surrounding Santa Cruz Mountains, with the amusement park scenes being filmed at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk (the same boardwalk which featured in the Dirty Harry sequel Sudden Impact). Both the bandstand that Timmy Cappello sings "I Still Believe" the first time Michael sees Star and the Frog Brothers comic book shop were destroyed in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. Several thousand local residents answered the casting call for family types, street people, punks, surfers, roller skaters and one "brain dead hippie". Some 2,000 of the applicants were signed for several nights work on what was the largest film production ever brought to the area at that time. Corey Haim later characterized his experience on the shoot as "one of the greatest personal times in my life". Precluded from the nightly parties held by the older actors, Haim bonded with Corey Feldman as they stayed in the hotel watching movies and visited the local arcade. Filming for The Lost Boys concluded in April, 1986 after three weeks of production.
TRIVIA: Billy Wirth's character Dwayne is never actually mentioned by his name in the entire movie!
Top: David and the rest of the lost boys (L-R) Dwayne (Billy Wirth), Paul
(Brooke McCarter) and Marco (Alexander Winter) confront Michael at the
end of the feeding frenzy; Above: Death by stereo!
Check out the full "death by stereo" clip from The Lost Boys here, at IHdb's video section!
G Tom Mac, aka Gerard McMann, wrote the theme song "Cry Little Sister" to the movie after only reading the script and without ever seeing a frame of the film. Other songs on the soundtrack would include, "People Are Strange" by The Doors, "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me" performed by Roger Daltrey and written by Elton John, "Walk This Way" remix of Aerosmith's song by Run-D.M.C., and "Ain't Got No Home" hilariously sung in the movie by Corey Haim.
Critical reception for The Lost Boys was generally positive on its release. Roger Ebert gave the movie two-and-a-half out of four stars, praising the cinematography and "a cast that's good right down the line," but ultimately describing Lost Boys as a triumph of style over substance and "an ambitious entertainment that starts out well but ends up selling its soul." Rotten Tomatoes critical consensus was the film was "Flawed but eminently watchable, Joel Schumacher's teen vampire thriller blends horror, humor, and plenty of visual style with standout performances from a cast full of young 1980s stars." The Lost Boys would gross over $30 million at the box office, making the film a certified hit.
Above: Director Joel Schumacher (center) on set with the cast of The Lost Boys
Plans for a Lost Boys sequel were already in the early stages of development during production of the film. Notably, when Kiefer Sutherland's character David is impaled on a pair of antlers he does not explode or dissolve in any way (like the other vampires had when destroyed). He was intended to not be dead, which would be picked up in a sequel, The Lost Girls. Scripts for this and other sequels circulated, and the original film's director, Joel Schumacher, made several attempts at a sequel during the 1990's. A direct-to-DVD sequel, Lost Boys: The Tribe, was released more than 21 years after the release of the original film with Corey Feldman returning as Edgar Frog, with a cameo by Corey Haim as Sam Emerson (who in the sequel is now a vampire himself). Kiefer Sutherland's half-brother Angus Sutherland played the lead vampire in the film. Feldman would star and produce the next film, Lost Boys: The Thirst, this time with Jamison Newlander also returning as Alan Frog.
ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE: 72%
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