Reviews: The Lost Boys (1987) Movie Review
Subgenres: Vampires, Cult Classic, Suburbs, Teens
HellHorror’s review of The Lost Boys (1987) breaks down the plot, scares, cast performances, and its lasting impact on the horror genre.
The Lost Boys (1987) is a 1h 37-min rated R American comedy horror film that was/is a 1980’s American teen classic. Director Joel Schumacher (The Phantom of the Opera (2004), Phone Booth (2002), Batman Forever (1995), Batman & Robin (1997)) executed this vampire movie about a group of bike riding blood-thirsty vampires phenomenally. Those who read my review should know by now that I am a huge vampire fan. The Lost Boys is a vampire movie that made it to my top ten of favorite movies. I grew up loving this film, and my love for the movie has not outgrown as yet.
David (Kiefer Sutherland - 24 (2001-2010), Phone Booth (2002), Mirrors (2008)) has one mission in his mind, and that is to recruit Michael who recently moved to Santa Carla, California (a fictional place) from Arizona. Michael’s (Jason Patric - In the Valley of Elah (2007), Speed 2: Cruise Control (1997), Narc (2002)) made a move to a town that is known for a high murder rate with his brother Sam and newly divorced mother, Lucy. I am not sure why this mother moved her kids to a place that has an outstanding amount of missing kids - pictures of missing kids are plastered everywhere.
Lucy (Dianne Wiest - Edward Scissorhands (1990), I Am Sam (2001), Bullets Over Broadway (1994)) does not have much money and lives with the kid’s grandfather and works in a video store. Lucy found herself a new guy, video store owner Max (Edward Herrmann - Gilmore Girls (2000-2007), The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), The Aviator (2004)) who can eat garlic. Michael was lured into a Cavern and was eventually tricked into drinking vampire blood that we all know it - changed his life!
Sam (Corey Haim - License to Drive (1988), Lucas (1986), Crank: High Voltage (2009)) made friends with The Frog Brothers and tried to warn Michael about Vampire David and the other vampires from the beginning. Sam discovers his brother’s transformation and is, of course, freaked out, but they join to try to find a cure and had no choice but to turn to the Frog brothers for help. Will the team be able to save Michael and his new love or will they all meet their demise by the hands of David?
The Lost Boys was shot at several locations including:
- Mobile, Alabama, USA - Bayou Canot - train trestle
- Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - Burbank, California, USA - interiors
- Santa Cruz, California, USA
- 333 Golf Club Drive, Santa Cruz, California, USA - Grandpa’s house
- Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, Santa Cruz, California, USA
- Atlantis Fantasy World - 1020 Cedar Street, Santa Cruz, California, USA - Frog Brothers Comic Book Shop
- 17 Municipal Wharf Suite D, Santa Cruz, California, USA - Max’s Video Store
- 526 Seabright Avenue, Santa Cruz, California, USA - Whale snout protruding from building
- 6610 Palos Verdes Drive South, Rancho Palos Verdes, California, USA -Vampire cave entrance
- 49 Municipal Wharf Suite B, Santa Cruz, California, USA - Max and Lucy’s dinner date
- Iron Horse Trailhead - Valencia, California, USA - Railroad Trestle
Featured movie quotes for The Lost Boys are here.
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Sources Used to Shape This Review
Insights in this review are drawn from director interviews, fan commentary, production notes, and long-form breakdowns across genre-specific platforms. Content is written uniquely and reviewed for accuracy.
- The Lost Boys Rating Scores
- Our Score: 9/10
- Overall Score: 7.70/10
- IMDB: 7.2/10
- MetaCritic: 6.3/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 7.5/10
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