Day 4 of 31 Days Of Vampire Movies features not the first punk rock vampire movie, nor the best (that one shows up on Day 11, stay tuned!) but one that is a perfect encapsulation of the zeitgeist of the era. That era, specifically, being 1987, and this movie being The Lost Boys.
Where to even begin on this one? 1987 was, for a brief moment in time, the 80’s-est of the 80’s decade. A year where punk crashed into rock and roll, where the neon, synth-drenched excesses of California slammed straight into the beginnings of boomer nostalgia for the 1960s, and where goth melodrama peeked out from behind the curtains in anticipation of its ascendance in the 90s.
It’s a great fucking movie, is what I’m saying. You’ve got Kiefer Sutherland playing the baddest of the bad boys, a forever-teenaged punk wreaking havoc on a seaside coastal town with his gang of motorcycle-riding vampire cronies, a wholesome family trying to rebuild their lives and relationships in the wake of a divorce, two of the infamous Coreys, taxidemery, and a sweaty lubed-up dude in a speedo playing the most bitchin’ saxophone solo this side of Gerry Rafferty’s Baker Street. (Side note, did you know the session musician who came up with that riff was only paid $75 for the gig? He was robbed.)
The Lost Boys has a great 80’s soundtrack, and its a great time. It’s funny, bloody as hell, and doesn’t apologize for even a second about what it is. You couldn’t make a movie like this any other time (believe me, they tried. Skip all of the sequels. Just pretend they don’t exist, you’ll only be half as depressed.) Best of all: the dog lives!
Who’s a Good Boy? Who’s the Best Boy?