“Being wild is in their Blood.” Synopsis: After moving to a new town, two brothers discover that the area is a haven for vampires.

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Calamity Brains:

I’m going to be up front here: a significant portion of the grade I gave The Lost Boys is due to the music. Not that the movie is terrible by any means, but the ’80s soundtrack is just excellent.

I would normally call a movie like this a coming-of-age story, but the truth is none of the main characters actually seem to grow as people. Instead, the plot is just a problem that needs to be solved: Michael (Jason Patric) is turning into a vampire and Sam (Corey Haim wants to cure him instead of killing him.

Despite the lackluster character development, all of the acting is decent. David (Kiefer Sutherland) is delightfully creepy, and it’s hard not to feel for Lucy (Dianne Wiest) as she tries to rebuild her life. The motivations for Michael’s actions are pretty dubious most of the time – my prevailing theory is he has a bit of a crush on Kiefer Sutherland – but that’s not uncommon for a teen movie.

The backdrop for the movie is a ride-filled promenade and cliffs by the sea, which are visually interesting and provide a great contrast for the darker themes of the movie. The sets specifically constructed for the movie leave a little to be desired – the vampires basically live in a Goonies-style cave. (Like the Goodies, the vamps also never say “die.”) Whoever did the props clearly had a lot of fun, though; there’s quite a bit of taxidermy and some rather unorthodox decorations.

The special effects are a mixed bag – most of the vampire stunts like hanging and flying look good. The script specifies that all vampires die differently in what I’m assuming was a way for them to shoehorn in random effects. But when it comes down to it, 90% of the special effects in The Lost Boys are cross-fades and contacts.

Still, it’s hard not to like The Lost Boys. The intense ’80s-ness of the movie, the snarky jokes, and the sympathetic characters combine to make this one a surprisingly strong flick.

Calamity Brains’ Rating: B+
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