My love for ‘80s pop culture runs deep. Thanks to the music I grew up with, it has been a part of me for my entire life. But I didn’t start to fully realize this love until about age 12 or 13 when Ferris Bueller’s Day Off spring boarded my John Hughes obsession and made visiting Chicago my life’s dream. I mean, just look at it!
Hughes’ love letter to Chicago led me down a path to other movies, actors, music, fashion choices, books, etc. that would eventually become favorites of mine. Now, I am happy to introduce “Angelina’s ’80s Archive”: a column where I will (re)visit an ‘80s movie or topic each week, review it, and have some fun along the way.
In honor of Halloween month—oops, I mean, October, this week’s movie is The Lost Boys.
Here’s the “Bitchin’ Bio”:
Release Date: July 31, 1987
Synopsis: Michael and Sam Emerson move to Santa Carla, California with their recently divorced mother, Lucy, only to find out that the beach town is known as the “Murder Capital of the World.” Their grandfather is weird, but the boys quickly find out that Santa Carla’s secrets are even weirder as changes in Michael’s behavior after a night out with some rowdy locals begin to correlate with the horror comic books that Sam has been given by self-proclaimed vampire fighters Alan and Edgar Frog.
Degrees of Kevin Bacon: 1. Kiefer Sutherland, who plays David, the leader of a young biker gang, costars in Flatliners (1990) with Bacon and Julia Roberts.
Come For: The first joint appearance of Corey Haim and Corey Feldman, who would famously come to be known as “The Two Coreys.”
Stay For: NANOOK—Sam’s dog and the true hero.
Had I seen it? No! For a long time I had this movie in the back of mind as something I would like, but I had never seen it until last week when I decided I needed to watch something spooky to get me in the Halloween spirit. I was making flashcards while I had it on, but I may have ended up ditching the study set in favor of this cutie (see below).
Did I like it? Absolutely. The Lost Boys was right up my alley. Punk outfits + supernatural elements + seriously funny moments = one really entertaining movie. Haim’s delivery and all-in performance make him the best part of the film for me (he kills a bubble bath sing-along), but I also loved seeing Edward Herrmann outside of the Hartford, Connecticut world of his Gilmore Girls character, which I had always associated him with. The Emersons feel like a real family amongst the unbelievable circumstances in their lives, which is a credit to Haim, Jason Patric (Michael) and Dianne Wiest (Lucy). The incredible costumes in this movie, specifically of the updated vampires, aid in creating a compelling world—so compelling that The Lost Boys convinced me to start this column and I watched it again a few days later. I liked it even more the second time around.
I would definitely recommend The Lost Boys. It is by no means a terrifying psychological horror, but it is effectively suspenseful with a few genuinely scary moments, making it a great watch for this time of year. Paired with its fabulously ‘80s aesthetic (watch out for a shirt that reads “Born to Shop”), a plot that is not totally predictable, and light humor, this movie is an all-around fun watch. Give it a try; I’ll be waiting like this until you do:
And don’t forget to join me next week for another installment of Angelina’s ’80s Archive, where we’ll be looking at Ralph Macchio’s The Karate Kid.
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