67. The Lost Boys; movie review

THE LOST BOYS
Cert 15
97 mins
BBFC advice: Contains moderate violence and horror

Do you remember when every row of shops had a video store?
Mrs W and I mused on when and how we had first seen The Lost Boys and agreed that we must have rented a VHS from the outlet at the top of our street.
We moved in together at the end of 1986 and were married in 1988 so would have been saving like crazy and couldn't afford too many trips to the cinema.
Yes, this was long before the days of Cineworld Unlimited and Odeon Limitless passes. Indeed, it was eight years before Cineworld was founded.
Anyway, video shops were as much a moment in time as The Lost Boys was - the extravagant hair, the American soft rock and the omnipresent Coreys - Feldman and Haim.
Joel Schuhmacher's movie also provided the springboard for many later movies such as the Twilight series.
But has it passed the test of time? I have to be honest and say not really.
It isn't just the cultural references which trap it in the 1980s - it doesn't look as edgy as modern movies - largely down special effects which are laughable by today's standards.
Lost Boys is the tale of two sons (Jason Patric and Haim) who are taken by their mum (Dianne Wiest) to start a new life in a seaside town which, unknown to them, has become the "the murder capital of the world".
Pretty soon, the elder boy (Patric) gets in with some bad lads (led by Kiefer Sutherland) after following a pretty girl (Jami Gertz) unaware that they are vampires.
Meanwhile, his bother (Haim) brings in help from self-acclaimed vampire experts (Feldman and Jamison Newlander) when he fears that bloodsucking is afoot.
Schuhmacher's movie is more pantomime than horror with a dab of romance chucked in - hence its appearance at cinemas on St Valentine's Day.
But it is much more a flick back to the 1980s and a reminder of very big hair.
I have to say that it was a decade which I hold dearly but I'm so glad that fashion moved on.

Reasons to watch: Brings back all those 80s fashions
Reasons to avoid: It is pretty light

Laughs: Three
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 7/10

Did you know? The original screenplay originally centred around a group of Goonie-type 5th-6th grade kid vampires with the Frog Brothers being chubby eight-year-old cub scouts. Star was also a boy in the movie instead of a female love interest.

The final word. Kiefer Sutherland: "Jason Patric and I both wish we’d known how lucky we were. Being in a film like The Lost Boys. We took it too seriously and we didn’t enjoy the moments. The luckiest, most exciting moments anybody ever could possibly have. And we just didn’t see it." Big Issue

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