The Lost Boys... Lives UP!

 

Michael... Michael... Michael.

For our 2nd episode of Live UP: After Dark, we reviewed The Lost Boys and declared that it Lives UP!

As the more enthusiastic viewer of The Lost Boys, I want to dive in on how this movie contains so many 1980s cliches... yet somehow still seems unique.

Failing the Bechdel test... on bikes!

Joining the other boys for an adventure: 

So many 80s movies feature the adventures of roaming groups of outsider/weirdo/unpopular boys - riding bikes! - and if we're lucky, there's 1 female character amongst them. But don't worry... she won't talk too much. We saw this trope everywhere, from Pee-Wee's Big Adventure to Goonies to E.T.

The Lost Boys has this super-bro vibe with only 2 female characters who never talk to each other.

Stranger Things grabbed this cliche and ran with it. Then they added Eleven and Max. 

When cliche becomes nostalgia

The Lost Boys feels different than others 80s movies because it explores the toxic side of joining the gang. David and his friends harass and taunt Michael. The peer pressure feels uncomfortable. And then, of course, they murder a bunch of people... so maybe joining the fun group of adventurous outsiders is actually a bad thing. 

Also, guys! Wear your helmets!

Two Coreys are better than one.

Crazy-ass 80s Fashion:

The costumes in this movie almost feel like a parody of 80s fashion. Corey Haim's tween character has fallen so far over the fashion cliff that it prepped us to all think that the Saved By The Bell gang dressed like normal high schoolers. 

Screech. What the hell are we wearing?

But back to The Lost Boys.

Director Joel Schumacher was a graduate of Parsons School of Design and started his career as a fashion designer, not a movie director. His costume choices in The Lost Boys - trench coats, cut off shirts, punk spiked black leather - are deliberately over the top - and much more flashy than other films at the time.

That said, even Schumacher described Corey Haim's character as a "Mall Fashion Victim". It's meant to look funny. 

Meanwhile... I can't even with the hair. 

Mullets galore.

The new guy in town starts a love triangle:

It was a reoccurring side plot from Footloose to The Karate Kid... the new kid moves to town, spots a pretty girl, and it turns out she's dating a jerk. Now the he has a secondary goal: win the girl!

The Lost Boys turns this on its head because Michael arrives and spots Star... but then spends more time trying to impress her boyfriend, David. And David seems equally obsessed with Michael. Think of Michael coming hot and yelling "Just you" at David... or the 118 times David says Michael's name in this film. The Michael-David bromance is way more intimate than either of them are with Star. 

Vampire menace a trois

There's so many other great 80s cliches in this film, from the Sexy Sax Guy to Dianne Wiest playing the nice mom. Go check it out for yourself - it lives up!

Listen to our review of  The Lost Boys here, on Youtube, or on your favorite streaming platform!

Follow us: @liveuppod on Instagram, Facebook... or subscribe to our channel on Youtube.