What Is The Lost Boys Really About & How Did It Inspire A Generation Of Vampires?

Strange as it may seem, there was a time when vampires weren't smoking-hot garlic haters who could lure their prey in with a single tortured smolder. For a long time, they bore a widow's peak, a long cape, and more often than not, hypnotized their victims with the look of either Bela Lugosi or Christopher Lee. 

There was a sweet spot in time, however, when that all changed — when vampires became tall, dark, and handsome and wore earrings so long they were at risk of getting caught on their oversized trenchcoats. Pumping fresh blood into a popular genre, Joel Schumacher gave the world "The Lost Boys," what many consider to be the best vampire movie of all time, and turned the genre into a brand-new beast. 

Released in 1987, the film saw the late Corey Haim fend off a gang of teen vampires led by Kiefer Sutherland, who turns his already cool big brother Michael (Jason Patric) into a creature of the night. Providing a brilliant balance of comedy and horror to the tune of The Doors' "When You're Strange" and a sprinkle of musclebound saxophone, "The Lost Boys" still stands as one of the greats. But while it might have brought something new to the genre that it was so eagerly sinking its teeth into, screenwriter James Jeremias was taking from another classic and beloved tale, with fewer fangs and more fairy dust.

Stop me if you've heard this one before, but there's a story about a gang of youths who refuse to grow up and spend their time flying around being a nuisance for adults. It's that core element of J.M. Barrie's "Peter Pan and Wendy" that James Jeremias pulled from when penning that immortalized nightmare in Santa Carla and blending it with another book that would go on to be adapted as well.

Speaking to Empire in 2019, Jeremias said, "I had read Anne Rice's 'Interview with the Vampire,' and in that, there was a 200-year-old vampire trapped in the body of a 12-year-old girl." Here is where he sketched out a treasure map that led him to his own wild story. He continued, "Since 'Peter Pan' had been one of my all-time favorite stories, I thought, 'What if the reason Peter Pan came out at night and never grew up and could fly was that he was a vampire?'"

The story started to show teeth, but not the sharp, razor-edge ones it'd be known for. Jeremias imagined a vampire story by way of "The Goonies," with the Frog brothers being 8-year-old twin boy scouts instead of the camo-wearing comic book nerds they became. That and more came to fruition after the late Joel Schumacher got involved and found "The Lost Boys" as older, sexier creatures of the night, providing a different message entirely.

Before Joel Schumacher signed on to helm the project, Warner Bros. was originally eyeing Richard Donner to direct, given his huge success with "The Goonies." He saw something very different from the family-friendly outing Jeremias had planned, however, and it was a concept that stuck, right up until he had to step away due to scheduling conflicts with "Lethal Weapon." After that, Schumacher was offered the job, throwing new ideas into the mix. He pictured the vamps being much older, riding around on motorbikes, and with hair as wild as their late-night parties were.

Santa Carla was their Neverland, a spot crammed with lost souls isolated, not knowing what to do with themselves. All the young adolescents in town were up to no good; it was just that David and his cohort had a hunger for something different. This group wanted to stand out from the crowd as much as they wanted to go under the radar, riding motorcycles when flying was a way better option. Self-destructive and sticklers for authority, they were a perfect allegory for what comes in your teenage years. 

Schumacher forced "The Lost Boys" to grow up in order to tell a story about villains who didn't want to do so. Resultingly, the film made an argument for this classic monster that would only become more prominent as the years went on — you kind of wanted to be one.

Thanks to Schumacher's stake in the project and Jeremias' story of eternal youth among the youths, "The Lost Boys" set a new model for brooding fang-bearers forever. Throw a box full of noodles in any direction, and it's hard not to see that any sexually charged bloodsucker from then on looked to David and his gang for inspiration. Spike from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" was, according to Joss Whedon, "a little Billy Idol, a little Kiefer Sutherland in 'The Lost Boys,' and every guy in a black coat" (via Slayage). Also, Twihards can get caught up in the intense stares between Edward Cullen and Bella Swan all they want, but they don't hold a candle to the 1980s' sexual tension between Jason Patric's Michael and Jami Gertz's Star.

But while Schumacher's stint in the world of vampires may have led an army of hormonally charged nosferatu to follow in the footsteps of "The Lost Boys," it can't be denied that no film since has managed to make vampires this freaking cool. Sure, vampire hunters have come and gone, and some toothy terrors have been villains you've loved to watch, but none could match Santa Carla's tearaway teens who worshipped Jim Morrison and were having the time of their immortal lives. In the end, "The Lost Boys" proved it really was fun to be a vampire.