Retrospective: The Lost Boys
Imagine modern television without the works of Joss Whedon and those he's influenced. Imagine no Buffy, Angel, Firefly or derivatives such as Charmed. Imagine fewer arc plots, less 'empowered female' characters, less cool. Horrible, isn't it. You just imagined a world in which The Lost Boys was never made.
Sleep all day
I can remember when it came out. I was 13, and it was all over the place. It was also a 15 certificate, so I had to wait a bit to watch it, eventually, I think, I saw the first TV broadcast, as did, well, everyone at school. It was so cool. It was the first pre-recorded video I bought, and the soundtrack is one of the few I own.
Tonight, I came home and watched it again (this took rewiring the video back into the old TV in my bedroom, feel honoured), for the first time in years. So, does it stand up to the test of time?
Party all night
First, the plot. It's simple, really. Divorcee takes her two sons to move back home to Grandpa just outside Santa Carla, the 'Murder capitol of the world'. Son the younger meets up with some (very) geeky comic book friends, who claim to be vampire hunters. Son the younger chases after a (very) gorgeous girl, joins her biker gang, and it turns out they're vampires. Mother (aging hippy flake) starts dating (and working for) a boring video store (remember them?) owner, who is far too dull and nice to be involved in the plot, so everyone has to assume he's the cheif bad guy. Grandpa spends most of film being nuts, visiting a neighbouring widow for the occasional shag, and then saves the day at the end. I was going to write a long analysis of it, but some quick googling found Wikipedia and this guy both have good ones. The latter is suitably piss-taking, so there y'go. It's also got lots of pics, some animated, including The Worst Rock Singer in Film Ever candidate of my choice.
Never grow old
Has it aged? Hell yes. The fasion, the outlook, the 'cute girl must be rescued', the effects. So very dated. Is it still cool? Oh yeah. When I first watched it, I identified with Sam (the younger). Now, naturally, it's Micheal (the older), but, y'know, the brooding long haired bloke in a leather jacket who gets the girl? Yes please. Even if he does wear a white t-shirt and my hair is better. It's not a good movie. The acting is frequently sub-par, the effects can be poor (but then, 1980s, so pretty good for the time), and the pacing has problems, but the dialogue is great. Especially in the set up sequence.Sam:Wait, you have a TV?
Grandpa: No. I just like to read the TV Guide. Read the TV Guide, you don't need a TV.
(This is true, but I read reviews on my friends list and buy DVDs, so...) David: What, you don't like rice? Tell me Michael, how could a billion Chinese people be wrong? Come on!
David: How are those maggots?
Michael: Huh?
David: Maggots, Michael. You're eating maggots. How do they taste?
This is the first bit that gives Micheal a hint there's something wrong. His rice is a bunch of crawling maggots. Then when he throws it to the ground, it's rice again. In the next bit, David's noodles appear to be worms. He still drinks the 'wine' that's actually vampire blood though. Well, he needs to, the film would end here otherwise.
Despite its age (and the quality of my old video), it's still visually stunning. Some dodgy effects, but not many, very well shot and edited, and the soundtrack cuts in and out very well. In fact, the soundtrack remains one of the few movie soundtracks I've bought, and despite my tastes changing a lot since then, I still like a lot of it. Besides, it was this that got me into The Doors (Echo and the Bunnymen cover People are Strange, and the vampire lair has a picture of Morrison in the backdrop, something I doubt I knew at first viewing).
Although it does plod a bit, and the Frog brothers grate (a lot, but I never did like Corey Feldman), the film is great fun, and the final showdown, complete with the final line denouement, is great comedy horror viewing.
Never die
So, significant influence today? Well, yeah. Joss has been quoted in the past saying Lost Boys was an inspiration (the vampire mythos is completely different), although the best I can find online is a quick aside and a snarky review. SFX and similar print mags have covered the connections well, and they're palpable on rewatching. Modern vampire movie, sexy, biker vamps, a reluctant vamp who'd rather not turn evil, a rock soundtrack, the whole shebang. Even the look of the vampires is similar.
It's fun to be a vampire
Without Lost Boys, no Buffy? Probably. Not proven, of course, but it's definately there as an influence. And without Buffy, no Doctor Who. And probably a much paler TV palette across the board, the massive success of Buffy helped reboot genre TV and allowed for character growth and arc plots in a much stronger way than US TV traditionally went for. An iconic, influential movie, with sexy men, a gorgeous girl, some great dialogue and a cranky old bloke who saves the day. What's not to love?
As for the quote in my banner? It's not actually in the film. But it was on the movie poster, on all the publicity and is on the VHS box.
It's one of my favourite films. I commend it to the house.
Sleep all day
I can remember when it came out. I was 13, and it was all over the place. It was also a 15 certificate, so I had to wait a bit to watch it, eventually, I think, I saw the first TV broadcast, as did, well, everyone at school. It was so cool. It was the first pre-recorded video I bought, and the soundtrack is one of the few I own.
Tonight, I came home and watched it again (this took rewiring the video back into the old TV in my bedroom, feel honoured), for the first time in years. So, does it stand up to the test of time?
Party all night
First, the plot. It's simple, really. Divorcee takes her two sons to move back home to Grandpa just outside Santa Carla, the 'Murder capitol of the world'. Son the younger meets up with some (very) geeky comic book friends, who claim to be vampire hunters. Son the younger chases after a (very) gorgeous girl, joins her biker gang, and it turns out they're vampires. Mother (aging hippy flake) starts dating (and working for) a boring video store (remember them?) owner, who is far too dull and nice to be involved in the plot, so everyone has to assume he's the cheif bad guy. Grandpa spends most of film being nuts, visiting a neighbouring widow for the occasional shag, and then saves the day at the end. I was going to write a long analysis of it, but some quick googling found Wikipedia and this guy both have good ones. The latter is suitably piss-taking, so there y'go. It's also got lots of pics, some animated, including The Worst Rock Singer in Film Ever candidate of my choice.
Never grow old
Has it aged? Hell yes. The fasion, the outlook, the 'cute girl must be rescued', the effects. So very dated. Is it still cool? Oh yeah. When I first watched it, I identified with Sam (the younger). Now, naturally, it's Micheal (the older), but, y'know, the brooding long haired bloke in a leather jacket who gets the girl? Yes please. Even if he does wear a white t-shirt and my hair is better. It's not a good movie. The acting is frequently sub-par, the effects can be poor (but then, 1980s, so pretty good for the time), and the pacing has problems, but the dialogue is great. Especially in the set up sequence.Sam:Wait, you have a TV?
Grandpa: No. I just like to read the TV Guide. Read the TV Guide, you don't need a TV.
(This is true, but I read reviews on my friends list and buy DVDs, so...) David: What, you don't like rice? Tell me Michael, how could a billion Chinese people be wrong? Come on!
David: How are those maggots?
Michael: Huh?
David: Maggots, Michael. You're eating maggots. How do they taste?
This is the first bit that gives Micheal a hint there's something wrong. His rice is a bunch of crawling maggots. Then when he throws it to the ground, it's rice again. In the next bit, David's noodles appear to be worms. He still drinks the 'wine' that's actually vampire blood though. Well, he needs to, the film would end here otherwise.
Despite its age (and the quality of my old video), it's still visually stunning. Some dodgy effects, but not many, very well shot and edited, and the soundtrack cuts in and out very well. In fact, the soundtrack remains one of the few movie soundtracks I've bought, and despite my tastes changing a lot since then, I still like a lot of it. Besides, it was this that got me into The Doors (Echo and the Bunnymen cover People are Strange, and the vampire lair has a picture of Morrison in the backdrop, something I doubt I knew at first viewing).
Although it does plod a bit, and the Frog brothers grate (a lot, but I never did like Corey Feldman), the film is great fun, and the final showdown, complete with the final line denouement, is great comedy horror viewing.
Never die
So, significant influence today? Well, yeah. Joss has been quoted in the past saying Lost Boys was an inspiration (the vampire mythos is completely different), although the best I can find online is a quick aside and a snarky review. SFX and similar print mags have covered the connections well, and they're palpable on rewatching. Modern vampire movie, sexy, biker vamps, a reluctant vamp who'd rather not turn evil, a rock soundtrack, the whole shebang. Even the look of the vampires is similar.
It's fun to be a vampire
Without Lost Boys, no Buffy? Probably. Not proven, of course, but it's definately there as an influence. And without Buffy, no Doctor Who. And probably a much paler TV palette across the board, the massive success of Buffy helped reboot genre TV and allowed for character growth and arc plots in a much stronger way than US TV traditionally went for. An iconic, influential movie, with sexy men, a gorgeous girl, some great dialogue and a cranky old bloke who saves the day. What's not to love?
As for the quote in my banner? It's not actually in the film. But it was on the movie poster, on all the publicity and is on the VHS box.
It's one of my favourite films. I commend it to the house.