In observance of that autumn spell when we celebrate the primal, compulsive instinct of fear, Rainestorm once more highlights 31 days of spooky scares to season the eerie atmosphere of Halloween.
For those who tuned in last year, I subjected you to a daily dose of diabolical dread and devilish distress. Just as every good horror movie deserves an inferior sequel, I offer this follow-up of also-rans, not bads, and perhaps a couple of you’ve-gotta-be-kidding-mes.
Unleashed: 1987
What evil lurks: It’s hard to believe now but there was once a time when Joel Schumacher could make a popular film that was actually good. The vampire genre had been more or less languishing in spoof purgatory before Tom Holland came along with Fright Night to make them scary again. But who would have thought that the man behind the brat-pack classic St. Elmo’s Fire would make vampires not just sexy but sexy-cool? Jason Patric and Corey Haim star as Michael and Sam, brothers who relocate to the fictional town of Santa Carla following their mother’s divorce and fall in with the local riff-raff. As the leader of said hooligans, Kiefer Sutherland sports a punk blond spike coiff to counter the blues rock Jim Morrison locks that made everyone think Jason Patric should have been cast as The Doors frontman in Oliver Stone’s biopic a few years later. The ultimate stars of the show, however, are the seemingly parentless Frog brothers, Edgar and Alan (Corey Feldman and Jamison Newlander), self-anointed vampire authorities who school young Sam on local undead lore. If all this sounds ridiculous and humorous, it is… in the best possible way.
Highlight from hell: Michael’s initiation into the vampire coven involves some rather interesting insect dinner hallucinations.
Terrifying trivia: The names of the Frog brothers, Edgar and Alan, are a reference to classic author Edgar Allan Poe.
Diabolical dialogue: “Kill your brother. You’ll feel better.”
Son of: The Return of the Living Dead (1985). The Lost Boys transliterates the punk influences of this classic zombie film into the vampire genre with far superior results.
Shoddy sequel syndrome: Glitter blood? Really?
3 responses to “Son of 31 Nights, 31 Frights: The Lost Boys”
You forgot to write about what makes this movie so memorable: The fact that Jason Patric is so freakin’ hot when he drinks the blood from the wine bottle. Oh yeah…lick lose lips, Michael.