The 80s Vampire Horror Movie Everyone Loves, Stream Without Netflix
Every decade has killer genre films, but some are so good and influential that they define that entire decade. For example, The Lost Boys is more than a slick film featuring dangerous, attractive, ravenous bloodsuckers: it’s also filled with so many vintage stars that it’s the perfect 80’s time capsule. But you don’t need a shovel to dig up this particular time capsule…all you have to do is stream this creepy classic on Tubi today.
The Murder Capital Of The World
What is The Lost Boys about, you might ask? The story begins with a single mom and her two kids moving in with their grandfather to a small town on the West Coast, one with the not-so-affectionate nickname “Murder Capital of the World.” The town’s rep has plenty to do with the local band of brutal bloodsuckers, and when one of our new kids on the block starts hanging out with these immortal delinquents, his only hope may be his brother’s newfound friendship with some adolescent vampire hunters.
The Legendary Cast
One of the reasons I claimed that The Lost Boys is a perfect time capsule is because of the cast. The head biter in charge is played by Keifer Sutherland, and one of his carnivorous cronies is played by Alex Winter, best known for playing alongside Keanu Reeves in Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure. Oh, and just in case you didn’t think this movie was dripping with enough ‘80s nostalgia, the local pint-sized vampire hunters are played by Corey Haim and Corey Feldman.
A Genre-Defining Hit
Back in 1987, audiences picked up what The Lost Boys was putting down. Against a budget of $8.5 million, it earned a very respectable $32.2 million. Such success made a sequel a sure thing, but the planned theatrical follow-up The Lost Girls never happened, leaving us with only two lukewarm direct-to-DVD sequels (whose chief star is Feldman) that came out decades later.
While critics are not always kind to the horror genre, The Lost Boys managed to seduce them with its wit and charm. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a critical score of 77 percent. Those critics were generally won over by director Joel Schumacher and his slick film that “blends horror, humor, and plenty of visual style with standout performances from a cast full of young 1980s stars.”
A Fun Watch Today
My own assessment is very similar: I sadly didn’t watch The Lost Boys when it first came out (in all fairness, I was only six years old), and I only watched the film in its entirety a few years ago. For me, the initial attraction was the cast full of big, decade-defining names. But I was a little nervous about what Schumacher would do with such a cast, especially after he nearly killed one of the world’s biggest franchises with Batman and Robin.
I Still Believe
REVIEW SCORE
The Lost Boys, though, was a revelation: it has plenty of visual style that (unlike in the director’s Batman movies) manages to enhance the story rather than distract from it. Plus, it effortlessly blends genres, delivering a classic teen coming-of-age film combined with that of a vampire thriller. And speaking of vampires, the movie throws in a few twists that make it, unlike any fang-filled film before or after.
Will you find The Lost Boys as seductive as I did, or is this the kind of movie that you’d like to see explode in the sunlight? The only way to find out is to stream it for free on Tubi. Fair warning, though: no matter how much you love or loathe this film, you’re going to have that “Cry Little Sister” opening theme stuck in your head for…well…forever.
