In the hollow moonlight, evil lurks waiting to strike on some unsuspecting victim. The victim screams, but nobody hears. Her flesh becomes food, her blood a drink. It's a food chain in which normal human beings are a step below the vampire. Believe in them or not, they do exist. Sometime around 1958, a vampire bat attacked and killed a man in the south of Africa. The man perished, his body laid to rest before the eyes of some forty mourners and the priest that performed the ceremony. Days later and 66 miles away from the dead man's grave, another man was brutalized and partly devoured. His blood was completely drained. Hours later, when local police were investigating the murder, several locals described seeing a stranger passing through the small alleyways of their village. The description that each gave closely resembled the corpse that was laid to rest just a few days before. Each person that was interviewed said that the stranger was a man but that there was something different about him. His eyes were dark, lifeless, and his face had a blank stare. The local medicine man declared that this corpse was the walking dead, now looking to sustain his newfound existence by preying on other humans for their blood. Now, do you believe in vampires?

Ok maybe not, but I probably had you going for at least a couple of seconds. If vampires do exist, I'm sure they would be a bit different. Instead of lurking around South African villages, they would live on the beach, drink all night, listen to The Doors, and hang from railroad trestles, competing to see who can withstand the force of a freight train passing overhead. At least that's the way that I'd want to live if I were invited to join such a demonic group of blood fiends. It certainly is the method for Director, Joel Schumacher, in his modernized late 80's hipster vamp flick, The Lost Boys. While Dracula was historically represented as an older gentleman, it's my understanding that vampires maintain a youthful state, making it one of the biggest benefits of joining the dark legion. The Lost Boys not only put a younger foot forward in vampire history, but they do it on dirt bikes to an intense soundtrack, and in the sandy enclave of the fictitious beach town of Santa Carla (a.k.a. Santa Cruz). After seeing the film for some umpteenth time when I was a teenager, I felt an overwhelming urge to head for a small California beach town where I could hang out all night seeking suitable victims and rage on the beach with punk rockers.

Even though it appears that vampires live a life of youthful indulgence, there is a lot of hard work and effort that go into the job, such as avoiding any form of daylight, skipping church, giving up garlic, and staying far away from wooden stakes. But really, that doesn't seem like too much work in exchange for a life in the fast lane. The Lost Boys provides an updated account of vampire life, this time on the California coast in a town that represents the late 80s California at its finest: amusement parks, the beach, grunge, and rock n roll. The film does its job with bloody great acting from a young cast. Kiefer Sutherland, as the head vamp and perfect villain, does a tremendous job of creating undead qualities mashed with punk rock attitude which only trickles down to the rest of his gang which includes Billy Wirth (Dwayne), Alex Winter (Marko), and Brooke McCarter (Paul). For the CEV (Chief Executive Vampire), Edward "you must be Max" Herrmann, this film is only a blip on his career screen, but none-the-less he plays his small role with precision.

Since I can't forget to mention the "good guys', the always popular Corey Haim and Feldman perform at their usual clip, one as a younger brother infatuated with comic books (Haim), and the other as one half of the Frog Brothers duo (Feldman). Meanwhile, Jason Patric (Michael) appears to enroll himself as the surrogate husband to Jamie Gertz (Star), and dad to Laddie (Chance Michael Corbitt). The aging hippie mother is played by Dianne Wiest, who comes within a log of becoming the queen bee of the Santa Carla Vampire posse. She is only saved by a nutty grandpa who delivers the kicker, "One thing about living in Santa Carla, I never could stomach all the damn vampires!"(Everyone laughs.)

One thing is certain, you really can't go wrong with a film whose tag line reads like this: "Sleep all day. Party all night. Never grow Old. Never Die." It's basically a teenager's fantasy. However, since I can still claim an age that begins with a two, when the sun goes down today and I head out for the night, I'll be looking for something a little red to drink for that undying thirst of mine.

For more information on this film, go to:

The Lost Boys

Volume B Issue 11 November 2002 Copyright 2002 Gx Webzine All Rights Rsvd.

Volume B Issue 11 November 2002
Copyright 2002 Gx Webzine All Rights Rsvd.