The transition from Dracula to Edward Cullen seems to be lacking in some pivotal points. How did teenagers become a central role in the vampire theme? Obviously Dracula by Bram Stoker is aimed towards an older audience with its not-so subtle bisexual tendencies, New Age women, and overall sexual tension. The films featuring vampires after Dracula such as Nosferatu (1922), The Last Man on Earth (1964), or even Fright Night (1985) weren’t exactly geared towards a particular teenage population, much less the teenage girl which soon became the typical consumer. So what caused a shift in mainstream vampirism to become attractive to a younger audience?
The Lost Boys (1987) happened. This movie totally introduced a new era of viewers to the vampire genre as a whole. The movie features classic 80s heartthrobs such as Jason Patric, Corey Haim, Jami Gertz, Alex Winter, and Corey Feldman, and it also has an amazingly 80s soundtrack. Despite having a mostly teenage cast, the movie doesn’t shy away from central vampiric themes like classic campy gore and violence
good old fashioned heteronormative romance/sexual tension
a little bit of homoeroticism
and your classic oiled up, beefy strongman blaring Tim Cappello's "I Still Believe" on the saxophone.
So, how did this movie exactly become so well-known and a cult classic? Thank the Brat Pack for that. The Brat Pack refers to specific teenage actors and actresses in the 1980s such as Molly Ringwald, Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy, Andrew McCarthy, Emilio Estevez and Demi Moore. The most famous Brat Pack movies were The Breakfast Club (1985), St. Elmo's Fire (1985), and Sixteen Candles (1984). Brat Pack movies were usually coming-of-age films about typically white teenagers growing up in the disillusioned 1980s. The Lost Boys fit this description in an unusual way with the addition of vampires, but it paid off in the end. The story of awkward, good-looking, wise-cracking kids only becomes more complicated and twisted with the taste for blood thrown in the mix. This film was released at exactly the right time for teenagers to become engrossed in the world of vampires. While The Lost Boys did make its debut at Brat Pack peak, it certainly wouldn't be regarded as one of those films, mainly because none of the true Brat Pack members are in the movie, and its distinction of fantasy and horror in the film. True Brat Pack films were more grounded in reality with few exceptions.
Many modern vampire shows, books, and movies owe their fame in the young adult world to this cult film. In my opinion, media that has had success concerning the teenage consumer such as Blade (1998), Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003), Twilight the novel series (2005-2008), and True Blood (2008-2014) would not have had the same success if The Lost Boys hadn’t been created in the style it was and at the time period it had been.
Many modern vampire shows, books, and movies owe their fame in the young adult world to this cult film. In my opinion, media that has had success concerning the teenage consumer such as Blade (1998), Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003), Twilight the novel series (2005-2008), and True Blood (2008-2014) would not have had the same success if The Lost Boys hadn’t been created in the style it was and at the time period it had been.
First of all, I'd like to say thank you for appreciating the wonderful movie that is The Lost Boys. I forced my friends to watch this with me a couple of years ago and did not receive the reaction I was hoping for, so it's great to know that there are people my age who enjoy this classic. Reading your blog was a pleasant surprise for me, I never even gave it a thought that this could have been the movie that kick started all other teenage vampire movies. It's a really interesting thought and it honestly makes me like the film even more than I did before!(Also, great use of gifs.)
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