Inspiring Films: The Lost Boys

Sleep all day. Party all night. Never grow old. Never die. It's fun to be a vampire.

Okay, if you haven't seen The Lost Boys and you are at all interested in 1980s movies or vampire films that don't involve sparkling emos, you're missing out. It's a bit of a cult film these days, but it is more than worth hunting down. Take a cast of 1980s hearthrobs, including Kiefer Sutherland, Jason Patric, and the two Coreys – Haim and Feldman, in case you're not  familiar - and add a blend of horror and a fantastic soundtrack and you get this.

In case you're still a skeptic, I'd like to offer you a soundtrack for the rest of this post:

Okay, now to the movie.

As much as I hate to say it, our protagonists aren't the interesting ones in terms of fashion, so I'm going to breeze by them in favor of spending a bit more time on the vampires. I do hope you'll forgive me.

Here are our protagonists.

The younger one is Corey Haim as Sam, whose style can really be summed up with the phrase "Arizona in the 80s."

The older one is Michael, played by Jason Patric. He's essentially got the beginner version of the style worn by our vampire gang, being the brother drawn into their world by the magnetic Star. Think buying your first leather jacket and getting your first rebellious ear piercing, still wearing your old t-shirt.

Of course, what's a vampire movie without vampire hunters? And we've got the most hilariously serious pair in the business, the Frog brothers as played by Corey Feldman and Jamison Newlander. Not the most stylish pair in the movie, though. They spend the movie in more...

or less...

Rambo-esque attempts at tough guy outfits. Even if they're not necessarily the people to take style inspiration from, though, they're hilarous.

And finally we get to my favorite part, and the most stylish: sexy, dangerous, big-haired vampires on motorcycles.

Seriously, look at them in their 1980s rock and roll vagabond glory. Who wouldn't want to party forever with that crowd?

Our love interest, is played by Jami Gertz. In this, she is mysterious and very sexy as Star, a half-vampire who runs with the titular lost boys. She's got a sort of ethnic hippie style, all long broomstick skirts and lacy camis and the occasional shawl.

Seriously, guys, look at that hair. Apparently it's natural.

She's got piles of jewelry and flowy skirts, and she glitters through the movie like a sexy vampire gypsy. This is bohemian at its 1980s finest.

As for our villains, we have this very attractive vampire.

Kiefer Sutherland as David, the leader of the vampire gang, is pretty darn fantastic. Not only is he easy on the eyes, but he's intense, cocky, charismatic as all get out. The real highlight of his costume is the badass black long coat that he wears through pretty much the entire movie. It's the sort of piece that really commands attention without being loud. He's just dark, powerful, and monolithic. ... okay, one more picture of him for good measure.

I make an exception to my usual rule about mullets (ie "No.") for this guy.

Not that he's the only awesome one in this movie. Far from it. One charismatic leader and his soon-to-be-ex does not a gang of sexy vampires make.

 

These guys form the backbone of the vampire gang, both providing muscle and cannon fodder for the final battle.

Brooke McCarter as Paul, whose hair is enormous, is what I have heard referred to as "the most jaunty of the group." He's got a fantastic leather jacket festooned with a belt and all manner of metal details, including a row of very punk safety pins running down the side. It's very 1980s rock and roll, as it should be.

Billy Wirth as Dwayne essentially holds the function of the pretty one. He doesn't say much, doesn't do much, but he sure does look good with his jacket half-open through most of the movie. Other than his frequently-open jacket, which has this awesome patch down the sleeve, the thing that struck me most about his style was the fang single earring dangling down to the left of his face for most of the film. Wild boy style on a pretty former model? Yes, please.

Alex Winter as Marko is the right hand man to David, it seems. He's another one with a crazy single earring, a white feather this time, but the thing we all notice about him is...

 

Seriously, that coat? Yes. It's covered, top to bottom, with random fabric and patches. He's even got a few crazy wisps of yarn falling from his shoulder. For a fairly quiet character, he's certainly got the loudest outfit.

And special, final mention has to go to Laddie, played by a very young Chance Michael Corbitt. Look at this kid's military-inspired jacket:

Little vampire's got style.

Like I said, if you haven't seen it, go forth. This movie is full of stylish 1980s vampires and, more than that, is a really fun watch. If you have seen it, I probably sparked a desire for you to watch it again. I don't know if I should be sorry or not.