The Lost Boys' theme of dead things walking is more apt than anyone could have predicted. At the time a gallery of teenage pin-ups and promising talent, the film has now become a showcase for prematurely deceased careers.
That aside, Joel Schumacher's follow-up to St. Elmo's Fire stands as a genre landmark, one that bled new life into a mythos grown as old and musty as its undead protagonists. Not as nuanced or bold as Kathryn Bigelow's Near Dark (released the same year), what this brought to the table was style, sass and a sense of humour.
One of the first movies to successfully bridge the horror/comedy divide, this MTV-enhanced vamp outing dared to poke fun at its heritage, tempering the scares with some big laughs.
The third act is somewhat lazy but, taken as a whole, The Lost Boys remains a supremely watchable example of something the '80s did right. It also showcases Kiefer Sutherland in the most seductive and memorable role of his career, vampire leader David.
