Director: Joel Schumacher
I’ve seen The Lost Boys a couple of times now and as much as I wanted to really like it, I just couldn’t. It was obvious that it was never going to become my favourite movie of all time but I still feel like I’ve missed the reason it is a favourite for so many. It has cult status, I get that. It mixes comedy with horror, yeah I get that too. I love horrors and I love comedies, why can’t I love this?
That being said, it isn’t the worst film I have ever watched. I could watch it, I could enjoy some parts. But overall I just found it a bit boring.
The film centres around two brothers who have moved to California and end up fighting some teenage vampires. I guess the film wasn’t supposed to be taken seriously, but because of this it just feels a bit too cheesy. In a way it reminds me of the Scary Movie film franchise – more of a spoof than a defining film. I completely understand that we were never meant to be scared to death but the film is almost too comical. In fact the clothing scared me more. Oh, the lovely ’80s fashion, hey?
What pains me more is that the cast isn’t even a bad cast. In fact it’s a pretty good cast. I absolutely adored Alex Winter in both Bill & Ted films and I am excited about the thought of a third film coming (hopefully) some time soon. Corey Haim is so young and looks so sweet in The Lost Boys that I think he is my favourite character. In the defence of the cast, I think they play their parts as best as they can. I’m just not really a fan.
The plot just feels a little bit too loose and a little bit too forced. The special effects seem to suffocate the acting and the humour in some of the scenes, especially towards the end.
If the The Lost Boys was made a touch scarier then maybe I would enjoy it. I can see why Schumacher did what he did, but it wasn’t for me. I liked the humour, but the balance of this and the horror appears to be a bit off. I don’t know, maybe I’m just a sucker for a good, or bad, vampire.
pickoftheflix 
It reminded me of a Duran Duran pop video, with the band flying around dressed as vampires. Very much a product of its times. (What are the numbers for before your titles by the way?)
Best wishes, Pete.
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Now I come to think of it, yes it is. Oh, the numbers. Basically, I’m watching Empire’s 301 Greatest Movies of All Time and then reviewing them. The number is their ranking on the list.
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That explains it…Thanks.
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By the way, do you ever read Curnblog.com? Here is a link to my contributions on there.
http://curnblog.com/author/pete-johnson/
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Oooh, no I’ve never read it. I’ll definitely check it out though. Thanks for the link!
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I definitely agree. This is a prime example of not so hot ’80s movies. I did like the two Coreys though.
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Yep! Oooooh, they were my favourite part!
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It’s a long time since I saw it, but my memory tells me it was a great film. In saying that I was of that age at the time and it was a favourite amongst my peers, so maybe I just went with the flow. The one thing that still stays with me though is the music and maybe that was part of it’s appeal at the time.
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Yeah, I get that for some it’s a great movie, friends of mine often think I’m mad for not being a fan but I guess it’s just each to their own… Saying that, the music was good, I definitely enjoyed that.
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Had its flaws but do have a soft spot for this film. can see why others wouldn’t though.
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On the other hand, I can see why people would like it, just not my cup of tea unfortunately!
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Great post.
I think a lot of the passion for the film stems from two points: if you saw it on it’s original release or if you saw it in your early teens. On it’s original release it was something new and exciting; a genre that was relatively new, which was exciting if you were the age group portrayed in the film.
If you saw it in your early teens, I think it resonated in a different way. For me it’s always been much more of a film about alienation and that point in your teens when you desperately want to fit in, to have a clique. The fact that the plot is encased in a vampire story is almost secondary. In many ways this was the 80s version of Twilight: vampires for teens.
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Thank you!
I completely understand where you’re coming from and what you’re saying does make a lot of sense. I kind of hate myself for not being a fan, but I do wonder if I watched it when it came out I would feel different about it!
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We like what we like! To be fair, I think I saw it when I was about 13/14 (so well after it was initially released) but at the impressionable age.
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