Jason Patric and Corey Haim, letting that last line sink in at the end of The Lost Boys. Photo: Warner Bros.
As the quintessential vampire movie of the MTV generation, The Lost Boys has a great deal to offer: the sounds of INXS and Echo & the Bunnymen, Kiefer Sutherland looking sexy-scary even though hes sporting a mullet, the first appearance of both Coreys in recorded film history, and Tina Turners saxophone guy tearing it up on a Californiaboardwalk stage. But perhaps the most impressive element in The Lost Boys is the fact (yes, I said fact) that it contains the best last line of any vampire movie ever made.
Have I watched every single vampire movie that has been committed to film? Admittedly, I have not. But I still stand by this statement because the last line of The Lost Boys puts one of the absolute most perfect buttons on a movie of any kind, vampire or otherwise.
For those whose memories of The Lost Boys are a bit murky, allow me to set the scene for that final moment. (Note: If you havent seen The Lost Boys, put aside whatever digital device you are reading this on, go watch the 1987 Joel Schumacher film in its entirety, then please resume reading this article.)
The Lost Boys was and still is very much a teen movie. With its MTV-friendly soundtrack, 80s-bohomeetshard-rock style, and a cast of attractive young stars, it was one of the first vampire flicks designed as a coming-of-age story and marketed heavily to high schoolers. Its surprising that it took so long for vampires to occupy the teen-movie space; teenagers sleep late, like to go out at night, arent always great about hygiene (long nails, bad breath, etc.), and will often drink weird liquids when pressured by their peers. In some ways, theyre all basically vampires.
It makes complete sense in this movie that an outlier like Jason Patrics Michael, who has just moved to Santa Carla, California with his younger brother, Sam (Corey Haim), and their freshly divorced mom, Lucy (Dianne Wiest), could be persuaded to join Sutherlands blood-slurping David and his vampire posse, especially given Michaels attraction to semi-converted vamp Starr (Jami Gertz). The vampire lifestyle is kinda goth and hard-core and hot in The Lost Boys. Being goth, hard-core, and hot in the 80s was very appealing.
But despite its being a teen movie, the adults in The Lost Boys are not afterthoughts. The grown-ups are played by formidable actors. Wiest, appearing in her first motion picture after her Oscar win for Hannah and Her Sisters, is a believably nurturing, struggling mom, albeit more patient than most would probably be. Edward Herrmann does a spectacular turn from nice potential boyfriend for Wiest to grotesque, childhood-ruining head vampire. And then theres Barnard Hughes, an Emmy- and Tony Awardwinning actor who plays eccentric Grandpa, a budding taxidermist, a man who uses Windex as aftershave, and the owner of a sputtering car with a horn that squawks outLa Cucaracha. Hughes was 72 when The Lost Boys was released,the films oldest principal cast member. And yet in this extremely teen movie, it is he who gets the last, best line.
In the minutes leading up to that line, the vampires and the anti-vamps Michael, Sam, and the Frog Brothers (Corey Feldman and Jamison Newlander) face off in a climactic showdown. A lot of shit goes down during this sequence, which unfolds in the home occupied by Sam, Michael, Lucy, and Grandpa. A vampire murder involving garlic soaked in holy water results in blood shooting out of every faucet in the house. There is an infamous death by stereo; an in-flight fight between David and Michael; and the ultimate killing of the head vampire, Herrmanns Max, by Grandpa, who drives his beat-up car through a fence and into the house, driving a stake through Maxs heart. By the end of it all, the characters are breathing heavily, and the audience may be too.
During the comedown from all that violence, Grandpa walks into the kitchen, grabs a root beer from the fridge, and chugs it down, completely ignoring that all the appliances and walls are coated in vampire blood. Lucy, Michael, and Sam follow him into the kitchen, wondering if hes all right. Then he says, One thing about living in Santa Carla I never could stomach: all the damn vampires. The fridge closes slowly, its interior light fading out on the slack-jawed faces of Lucy, Michael, and Sam in what feels very much like an homage to The Godfathers final scene. End of movie.
I saw The Lost Boys in theaters multiple times when it was first released, and every time, this line, rightly, got a huge laugh. Grandpa could have mentioned the vampire issues in Santa Carla at literally any point. Like before his daughter decided to move herself and her two sons there, or right after they arrived, or when he acknowledged that the town is the murder capital of the world, or when Michael started to engage in behavior that reeked of vampiric tendencies, or during the scene in which Michael and Sam carry Starr and her young charge, Laddie (Chance Michael Corbitt), into the house after extricating them from the underground lair occupied by David and the other night crawlers. There are so many opportunities for him to say, Oh, by the way, be careful. Theres a real chance you could become a Dracula while youre living here. But he doesnt.
The absurdity of all that makes the line land in the way you need a line like that to land at the end of a horror movie. It provides a release after all the tension that preceded it and lets everyone watching exhale and stop fearing the next jump scare. It also cements that The Lost Boys belongs in and really excels at a genre that isnt horror at all.
Although there are some mildly scary moments in it, The Lost Boys is largely a comedy. I recently watched it after not having seen it all the way through in a few years, and the gags and comedic dialogue hold up much better than any of the moments that were deemed frightening at the time. The absolute self-seriousness of the Frog brothers: very funny. The dinner scene when Sam tries to prove Max is a vampire by serving him garlic and dumping holy water on him: hilarious. Grandpas tendency to put weird taxidermied animals on Sams nightstand, constantly scaring him to death: a wonderfully macabre touch that is very amusing. It helps that all of the actors really get the tone and can rise to the humor baked into so much of the movie.
We tend to revisit this film at the time of its August anniversary, during the month of Halloween, or in conversations about vampire pop culture. But what makes The Lost Boys the kind of movie you want to revisit over and overisnt the INXS, or the Kiefer, or the Coreys, or even all the damn vampires. Its the way that, as that kicker of a last line does, this movie still allows for so many damn laughs.
Read more:
The Best Last Line in a Vampire Movie Is in The Lost Boys - Vulture
- Nosferatu: First Footage Shows Off Bill Skarsgard as the Vampire - TheWrap - April 12th, 2024
- Vampire Weekend and Amber Coffman Cover Grateful Dead's Peggy-O - Pitchfork - April 12th, 2024
- Watch: Goose Welcome Vampire Weekend for Half-Hour Jam on Night Four at The Capitol Theatre - jambands.com - April 12th, 2024
- Woman found dead in Italian church was dressed like vampire and looking for ghosts - Express - April 12th, 2024
- Goose Welcome Vampire Weekend for Half-Hour Jam on Night Four at The Capitol Theatre (A Gallery + Recap) - Relix - April 12th, 2024
- A Guide to Vampire Weekend's Most Jewish Songs and Lyrics - Alma - April 12th, 2024
- Review: Vampire Weekend's 'Only God Was Above Us' sinks its teeth into nihilistic perspectives - Washington Square News - April 12th, 2024
- Watch Vampire Weekend Join Goose for a 31-Minute Redition of "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" | Exclaim! - Exclaim! - April 12th, 2024
- Vampire Weekend's Only God Was Above Us: Review - Consequence - April 12th, 2024
- Vampire Weekend Covers The Grateful Dead's 'Peggy-O' On SiriusXM - Digg - April 12th, 2024
- Vampire Weekend Covered Grateful Dead With Amber Coffman On SiriusXMU: Watch - Stereogum - April 12th, 2024
- Savannah Basley Co-Stars in SyFy's REGINALD THE VAMPIRE Season Two - BroadwayWorld - April 12th, 2024
- Review | Vampire Weekend's 'Only God Was Above Us' is sure to get stuck in your head - UI The Daily Iowan - April 12th, 2024
- Vampire Survivors Contra Crossover DLC Will Come to PlayStation Later in the Summer - Push Square - April 12th, 2024
- OGWAU Is Vampire Weekend Keeping Things Fresh - HeadStuff.org - April 12th, 2024
- Vampire Survivors is Crossing Over With Contra - GameRant - April 12th, 2024
- Vampire Survivors Headed to PS5 and PS4 This Summer - News - VGChartz - April 12th, 2024
- Vampire Survivors teams up with Contra for new DLC and fangs its way onto PlayStation consoles this summer - VG247 - April 12th, 2024
- The face of a 500-year-old vampire with a brick between her teeth - Metro.co.uk - March 24th, 2024
- Scientists recreate face of 16th-century vampire buried with brick inside mouth - WION - March 24th, 2024
- Montreal daily apologizes following backlash over Netanyahu vampire cartoon - The Times of Israel - March 24th, 2024
- This Major Aspect of 'Interview with the Vampire' Makes It Better Than the Movie - Collider - March 24th, 2024
- Stare Into the Screen Not the Sun: Vampire Weekend to Livestream Special Solar Eclipse Show - Rolling Stone - March 24th, 2024
- Vampire Dormitory Anime Cast to Cover Every Little Thing Song for Ending Theme - Crunchyroll - March 24th, 2024
- Vampire Weekend will livestream Austin eclipse show - Brooklyn Vegan - March 24th, 2024
- 10 Essential 80s Vampire Movies You Might Have Missed - Flickering Myth - March 24th, 2024
- Vampire Weekend, Slightly Stoopid, Portugal. The Man, and more shows announced at Dillon Amphitheater (so far) - Summit Daily - March 24th, 2024
- 'Interview With the Vampire': Meet the Real Armand With Assad Zaman (VIDEO) - TV Insider - March 24th, 2024
- Xbox Game Pass gets cowboy vampire-slayer classic today, just in time for weekend - ReadWrite - March 24th, 2024
- Vampire Weekend Tease Punky, Jammy New Offshoot With An Imaginary Backstory - Stereogum - March 24th, 2024
- The GLAAD Wrap: Trailers for The Acolyte and Interview with the Vampire, New Music from Xana, Anglica Garcia ... - GLAAD - March 24th, 2024
- Interview With the Vampire Season 2 Will Unlock Deeply Hidden Memories - Gizmodo - March 24th, 2024
- Netanyahu caricatured as vampire in Canadian newspaper: 'Every Jew understands the meaning' - Ynetnews - March 24th, 2024
- Vampire Weekend tease a new offshoot project with an "imaginary back story" - NME - March 24th, 2024
- Scientists Reconstruct Face Of 16th Century 'Vampire Woman' Buried With Brick In Mouth - Study Finds - March 24th, 2024
- Here's a haunting, beautiful Interview With The Vampire season 2 trailer - The A.V. Club - March 24th, 2024
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Most Important Moment Features One Word - Den of Geek - March 24th, 2024
- TV Shows Like 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' That'll Suck You In - The Lineup - March 24th, 2024
- Remember When Pedro Pascal Was on Buffy the Vampire Slayer? - Remezcla - March 24th, 2024
- Interview With The Vampire Season 2 Goes Bigger Than Ever, See The Extended Look Into Fan-Favorite Series Return - Giant Freakin Robot - March 24th, 2024
- Fury Over Antisemitic Canadian Newspaper Cartoon Depicting Netanyahu as Blood-Sucking Vampire - Algemeiner - March 24th, 2024
- INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE: Memory Is The Monster In Stunning Extended Season 2 Trailer INTERVIEW WITH ... - CBM (Comic Book Movie) - March 24th, 2024
- Interview with the Vampire Season 2 Extended Look: Memory Is Monster - Bleeding Cool News - March 24th, 2024
- Interview with the Vampire trailer season 2 trailer is brimming with queer lust and the return of Lestat - Gay Times Magazine - March 24th, 2024
- Everything we're obsessed with in the new 'Interview With the Vampire' trailer - Pride.com - March 24th, 2024
- Pedro Pascal Was Saved By Buffy The Vampire Slayer - Giant Freakin Robot - March 24th, 2024
- AMC reveals an extended look at Interview with the Vampire Season 2 - Claire and Jamie - March 24th, 2024
- "Interview with the Vampire" Season 2 Trailer Previews the Return of AMC's Anne Rice Series on May 12 - Bloody Disgusting - March 24th, 2024
- Scream directors explain how their new vampire horror movie fits into the Universal Monsters universe, and share ... - Gamesradar - March 16th, 2024
- 'Blood Hunt' Connecting Cover Holds the Line Against the Vampire Armies - Marvel.com - March 16th, 2024
- Vampire Therapist - Official Distortions Trailer - IGN - March 16th, 2024
- How Mel Brooks and Twilight inspired a vampire visual novel mixing funny with therapy - Rock Paper Shotgun - March 16th, 2024
- Game Theory: Yes, please, bring on the Vampire Survivors clones - The A.V. Club - March 16th, 2024
- Son 'stabs dead his mum he believed was a vampire biting him at night' - Metro.co.uk - March 16th, 2024
- Man accused of killing mother in Siletz believed she was a vampire - KOIN.com - March 16th, 2024
- 11 Best Songs of the Week: Ride, Vampire Weekend, Drahla, Waxahatchee, and More - Under the Radar Mag - March 16th, 2024
- Vampire Weekend Give Upbeat History Lesson About Cruelty Through the Ages on New Song Classical - Rolling Stone - March 16th, 2024
- Vampire Therapist - Counsel the undead and help them rest in peace - ReadWrite - March 16th, 2024
- Watch: Vampire Weekend Share Classical, Third Preview Single from 'Only God Was Above Us' - Relix - March 16th, 2024
- Oregon man claims mom was vampire before he's alleged to have killed her - Toronto Sun - March 16th, 2024
- Court docs: Man accused of killing elderly mother in Siletz believed she was a vampire - Fox 12 Oregon - March 16th, 2024
- Vampire Weekend present the orchestral single, "Classical" - The Line of Best Fit - March 16th, 2024
- Vampire Weekend releases new song & video from upcoming album, 'Only God Was Above' 105.7 The Point - 105.7 The Point - March 16th, 2024
- The 'Vampire Survivors' soundtrack is coming to vinyl this month - NME - March 16th, 2024
- Blood Hunters #2 introduces an all-new vampire hunter and shows what happens when vampires drink the Hulk's blood - Gamesradar - March 16th, 2024
- Vampire survival game V Rising sinks its teeth into a full-blooded 1.0 release this May - Rock Paper Shotgun - March 16th, 2024
- Vampire Weekend have released a new album cut, 'Classical' - Dork Magazine - March 16th, 2024
- Vampire Survival Game V Rising Is Leaving Early Access On May 8th - MMORPG.com - March 16th, 2024
- Vampire Therapist Releases New Distortions Trailer - Bleeding Cool News - March 16th, 2024
- Vampire Survival Game V Rising Launches Into 1.0 This May Before It Hits PS5 Later This Year - Game Informer - March 16th, 2024
- Vampire Weekend glance at the cruelty of history on Classical - Beats Per Minute - March 16th, 2024
- Vampire Horror Abigail Is 'Very R-Rated', Says Tyler Gillett: 'We Want The Blood To Stick To You' - Empire - March 16th, 2024
- After 2 years, this vampire anime based on one of our favorite manga is getting the second season it deserves - Gamesradar - March 16th, 2024
- Man brutally kills mother, believing she is a vampire - The News International - March 16th, 2024
- Vampire Survivors is the next Nintendo Switch Online Game Trial in Europe - Nintendo Everything - March 16th, 2024
- Interview with the Vampire stars tease "fierce" and "feisty" season 2 - Gay Times Magazine - March 16th, 2024
- New action RPG combines the best of Diablo and Vampire Survivors - PCGamesN - March 16th, 2024
- 'Your vampire ball is over' Putin to Western elites - azrbaycan24 - March 16th, 2024
- 8 Interview With The Vampire Book Moments We Can't Wait To See In Season 2 - Screen Rant - March 8th, 2024
- Inside Ukraines terrifying Vampire drones unit striking fear into Russian troops who liken them to chi... - The Sun - March 8th, 2024
Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero