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With: Corey Haim, Corey Feldman, Jason Patric, Jami Gertz, Kiefer Sutherland, Edward Herrmann, Dianne Wiest, Barnard Hughes, Jamison Newlander, Alex Winter, Brooke McCarter, Billy Wirth
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Written by: Jan Fischer, James Jeremias, Jeffrey Boam, based on a story by Jan Fischer, James Jeremias
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Directed by: Joel Schumacher
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MPAA Rating: R
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Running Time: 98
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Date: 07/31/1987
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Beach Board-Stalk
By Jeffrey M. Anderson
I first saw The Lost Boys on VHS back in the 1980s and didn't much care for it; I far preferred 1987's other, lesser-known vampire film Near Dark. I took a chance watching it again on Blu-ray all these years later, and I landed in pretty much the same place. It's a great-looking film, with scenes set in video stores, comic book shops, and rock 'n' roll-inspired vampire caves. Joel Schumacher's stylish touch is all over the place, with fun pop songs scattered throughout (the sight of a greased-up, saxophone-playing Tim Cappello performing his cover of "I Still Believe" has not aged well).
I think what bugged me about the film is that it has two sides. One is a comical side, with the younger actors (Corey Haim, and Corey Feldman and Jamison Newlander as the Frog Brothers) as bumbling, slapsticky vampire hunters. And the other is a brooding romance, with Jason Patric mooning over Jamie Gertz — both vampire recruits — and facing off with the menacing Kiefer Sutherland. The two parts never click together, and neither by itself is very good. Dianne Wiest plays Haim and Patrick's long-suffering single mom, Edward Herrmann is her new romantic prospect, and Alex Winter (later Bill in the Bill & Ted movies) plays a vampire sidekick with very little dialogue. Feldman's Edgar Frog character returned in two sequels.
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment released a two-disc set with a new 4K transfer and a bonus Blu-ray (as well as a digital copy). Bonuses — most from the 2008 Blu-ray — include a great Schumacher commentary track, a whole batch of featurettes, mutli-angle video commentaries by Haim, Feldman, and Newlander, and a very cheesy music video for Lou Gramm's "Lost in the Shadows."
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