It’s pretty rare for a horror comedy to be so very funny while also serving up a genuine sense of terror with every laugh. Though the comedy does intend to spark raucous chuckles, most of it is based around the uneasiness of the situations present. The final showdown in the finale is hilarious, but only because our characters are in such severe danger and are at risk of being torn apart if they don’t step lively. “The Lost Boys” is a flawless vampire film that is so steeped in the eighties, and still manages to retain the timelessness just the same. It’s about two brothers being pulled in opposite sides of the war against good and evil, and their accidental introduction to a city that’s the stomping ground for a clan of century old vampires.
Michael and Sam have moved in to Santa Clara with their newly divorced mom, and after losing their money decide to move in to their grandfather’s house. Their grandfather is an eccentric old man prone to unusual rituals and keeping all kinds of hunting equipment and stuff animals around his house. That night when Sam and Michael venture out to the carnival, Sam meets the Frog Brothers, two paranoid comic book collectors that warn Sam the town he’s moved in to is the “Murder Capital of the World.” Meanwhile, Michael meets a gorgeous young woman named Starr who runs around with a gang of punks with their own reckless regard for life. This all while disappearances around town have left authorities baffled.
Director Joel Schumacher has a large grouping of sub-plots to engage audiences in, introducing us to an array of colorful characters, all of whom serve a purpose to the general narrative. The clan of “lost boys” we meet, as led by David (a young Keifer Sutherland) are intriguing and menacing individuals that begin to work toward transforming Michael in to one of their pact. The group of juveniles with a penchant for stalking the night represents freedom of attitude, pure hedonism, and even no real boundaries in regards to sexuality. Schumacher make them very alluring if horrifying young men, all of whom garner their own secrets. This becomes ever more apparent (and shocking) as they bring Michael in to the fold, allowing him a peak at their rituals and vicious way of life.
Corey Haim is great as the young Sam whose own fear of monsters and the dark has to be conquered as he aims to save Michael from becoming a vampire and transforming in to the clan of cave dwellers. Schumacher injects priceless humor all the while keeping the vampires valid threats capable of mutilating our heroes at any time, and they only have their wits to guide them. And their wits have to be sharp since the vampires in the film are vicious and blood thirsty. The infectious energy is also what really makes “The Lost Boys” a raucous and entertaining horror comedy as it’s fast paced, simple, and teamed with a fantastic script you can quote until the cows come home. “The Lost Boys” is a master mold of horror and comedy, and it’s yet to show its age, despite embracing the decade’s fashion and aesthetic whole hog.