Bela Lugosi's Dead

Call the fashion police, there's a vampire around...

I'm a sucker for a vampire flick (ha ha, see my joke there??) . Today we had the treat of going to a one-off showing of the Lost Boys at the cinema. Now, I'm of the opinion that if you were a certain age in 1987, you are divided into two camps: those that liked "The Lost Boys", and those that liked "Dirty Dancing". No guesses as to the camp in which I decided to hammer my tent pegs.

So, 19 years later, the verdict? Well, the fashion is, at the very least, frightening. If you've ever seen the episode of Friends where Chandler and Ross are 80's throwbacks (The One With All The Thanksgivings), then you're half-way there to the real horror at the heart of this film. The mullets are unforgivable - Alex Winter (later "Ted" of Bill & Ted) was later tried by the fashion police and sentenced to starring alongside Keanu Reeves for his crimes against hair. The background music is 80's electro-clunk. The band at the Santa Clara gig are more-hair-than-talent-rock. And they saved up their effects budget ($7.50 by the looks of it) for the final scenes.

BUT....it's still a cracking film. My remembrance of the film was dominated by the feeling that Keifer Sutherland had been miscast - but I have now changed my mind. I'd forgotten the strong performances by the younger cast members (the two Coreys, Haim and Feldman, in particular), the Jaws-like structure (it's a long time before the "reveal") and the great tongue-in-cheek comedy, played absolutely straight. Two examples:

Edgar Frog (Corey Feldman): As a matter of fact, we're almost certain ghouls and werewolves occupy high positions at city hall.

Sam Emerson (Corey Haim): My own brother a goddamn, shit-sucking vampire! Oh, you wait 'til mom finds out, buddy.

There is a direct line from Lost Boys to Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV series, let's ignore the film) in terms of the humour, the use of a strong young cast and the use of a vampire mythology without patronising the audience. No "quick, we must get some holy water which is anathema to these creatures of the night" moments.

All together now: (dum, dum, dum, dum) People are strange, when you're a stranger, faces are ugly, when you're along....