With its rock ‘n’ roll-meets-Victorian sensibility, The Lost Boys ushered in a new generation of pop culture vampires.
When Joel Schumacher agreed to direct The Lost Boys (1987), his first task was to flip the script. Penned as a goofy tale of grammar school blood suckers, Schumacher was intrigued with the idea of Peter Pan-gone-vamp, but was not interested in doing a kids’ movie. He was coming off a hit film with St. Elmo’s Fire and thought that the The Lost Boys would be more exciting with similarly sexy crew of hot young actors.
But Schumacher didn’t stop there with his more grown-up direction. He brought in veteran cinematographer Michael Chapman to shoot The Lost Boys in rich, lush colors. He put his vampire heroes on motorcycles. Instead of a bat cave, they inhabited the ruins of an old resort, described by Schumacher as a ‘Death In Venice-style, Victorian atmosphere’. And rather than dressing them in frock coats, capes, and frilly blouses, this fang-toothed death squad was decked out in the heavy metal finery of 80s teen rebellion. With this, Schumacher created a new mood that would completely change that way these mythical creatures were drawn in cinema, literature, and pop culture.
Costume designer Susan Becker worked directly with the actors to come up with their looks, giving each of the four main vampires a budget and sending them to Melrose Avenue to pick out their outfits. For leader of the pack David (Kiefer Sutherland), it probably wouldn’t have mattered what he wore. With unparalleled charisma and seductive smirk, what lady wouldn’t offer herself up for a bite on the neck? David’s look is understated, yet devastatingly cool, a long black overcoat, leather pants and gloves, which were worn to disguise Sutherland’s broken hand after he had fallen off his bike. And of course, he had that iconic blonde mullet. Of all the vamps, David most closely aligned with the ‘English gypsy’ aesthetic that Schumacher — a former costume designer himself — had envisioned, inspired by natty 80s band Arcadia and German fashion magazines .
Conversely, cohorts Paul, Dwayne and Marko (Brooke McCarter, Billy Wirth, Alex Winter) have a West Coast American look, Sunset Strip vagabonds in big hair, leather jackets and ripped jeans festooned with patches, studs, and safety pins. Fittingly, when these vampires are put to death, they bleed glitter. Literally. In keeping with the rock ‘n’ roll mood, special effects makeup artist Greg Cannom put glitter in all of the stage blood used in the film, adding glam’my overtones to this new generation vampire look.
Becker took a different approach for the mere mortals. Half-vamp Michael (Jason Patric), is a jeans and t-shirts kind of guy who buys a leather jacket and pierces his ear to fit in with the anarchistic boardwalk crowd. A pair of Ray-Ban Clubmasters are used to shield his nocturnal eyes from the sun. Patric’s chiseled features and dark, wavy locks lend a Jim Morrison vibe, and given The Lost Boys association with the Doors (the use of ‘People Are Strange’, the Morrison poster hanging in the lair), one wonders if he was cast partially because of the resemblance.
Younger brother Sam (Corey Haim) is another story. A wacky mix of ‘Miami Vice’ and Pretty in Pink, Sam’s ‘mall fashion victim’ look reflected his family’s move from suburban Phoenix to coastal Santa Clara. ‘He’s a fish out of water, and he doesn’t like being in this rural setting,’ Schumacher has said. (In one scene, he is even wearing a t-shirt that reads ‘Born to Shop’). Sam’s Frog Brother pals (Corey Feldman and Jamie Newlander) are always ready for a vampire hunt in their Rambo-meets-Che Guevara battle garb. According to Feldman, Schumacher instructed him to watch Sylvester Stallone and Chuck Norris movies to prepare for the part.
Star (Jami Gertz) is also a half-vampire and the moment Michael spots her in a concert crowd, he’s mesmerized. And how can he not be? Star floats through every scene like some sort of magical, bohemian princess wearing pulled-from-the-attic pieces that look effortlessly thrown together — camisoles, piano shawls, sparkly hippie skirts, piles of beads. Both she and little Laddie, top off their looks with antique military jackets which play to Schumacher’s grungy, romantic Victorian vision.