Since it's debut over 30 years ago, The Lost Boys has become not only an indelible part of the horror and vampire genres, but pop culture at large. In the early '80s young people had become the main focus of films, thanks to teen-centric dramas by filmmakers like John Hughes touching on the turmoil of their lives. In 1987, director Joel Schumacher decided to take that focus with a unique ensemble movie involving family drama, a surfing town, and vampires.
One of the most memorable portions of the film involved its costuming and vampire effects. The concept of vampires looking contemporary was a new spin on the archetype, making the film a benchmark for their depiction. The film was also instrumental in launching the careers of many of its young stars. Its perfect combination of comedy, horror, drama, and action have made it a timeless classic able to be shared by generations of fans. Read on for 10 hidden details behind the costumes of The Lost Boys.
THE VAMPIRE MAKEUP WAS VERY UNIQUE
Director Joel Schumacher was adamant from the beginning that since he'd hired "very attractive" young men to be part of the vampire gang, the vampire makeup needed to be an amalgamation of "sexy" and "monstrous". The makeup artists began with the forehead ridges and soon discovered that it wasn't "streamlined enough" for Schumacher's taste.
One thing the "Klingon" look of emphatic forehead ridges with no other makeup/prosthetic component below the eyes. Therefore, the pronounced cheekbones needed to tie into the forehead ridges. Everything was made with a combination of foam and silicone applied directly to the face with adhesive.
THE VAMPIRE TEETH AND FANGS WERE SPECIFIC
An essential part of any vampire transformation is the sudden appearance of fangs! The fangs used in The Lost Boys were very specifically designed to be almost serpentine. They were placed as caps over the second tooth from the front, and not the third, as seen in most other media depicting vampires. Smaller, pearl-shaped teeth were selected instead of larger ones to make them sit more naturally in the actor's heads.
Since the roles of "the lost boys" were so physically demanding, their long nails couldn't be simple store-bought press-ons. Each day the actors were in their chairs for hair and makeup, makeup artist Ve Neill also made sure they received manicures so that their nails couldn't come off during filming. They were made to look like razor-blades so that they could use them to slice their victims' throats.
THE VAMPIRES WERE MADE TO LOOK LIKE ANGELS
In an odd twist, the vampires depicted in The Lost Boys were meant to look like a cross between angels and demons. These "demonic angels" were supposed to represent the innocence of the teenagers' youth but also the sordid path they'd gone down.
The way this was achieved, besides through the hair and makeup process, was with the use of lenses. They were specifically designed to be bright orange, yellow, and red, and capture the vampires' animistic hunger that burned within them. According to Keifer Sutherland, they could only be worn for about ten minutes before they sucked all the moisture out of the wearer's eyes.
THE LOOK OF THE VAMPIRES INSPIRED BUFFY
If the vampires in The Lost Boys seem to look a lot like the feral, fanged fiends in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, that's because it's intentional. Josh Whedon has said that the film perfectly captured the way that he thought young vampires should look and act like.
The phrase most often used to refer to the vampiric transformation the lost boys went through was to "vamp out", a phrase that was carried over into the Buffyverse behind-the-scenes as makeup artists imitated the knobby ridges, pronounced cheekbones, and glowing yellow eyes associated with them.
THE LOST BOYS WERE BASED ON THE PETER PAN STORY
In original drafts of the script, The Lost Boys was supposed to be a retelling of the Peter Pan story, with the lost boys being young teenagers, about the ages of Edgar and Allen in the film. This made Edgar and Allen's age reduced to about 7 or 8. The idea was that any boys that ed Peter Pan in Neverland never grew up because they were vampires.
This plot didn't fly with Joel Schumacher, who refused to do the film until it was "revamped" to appeal to a sexy young audience. Still, the the idea that the boys were a ragtag group of misfits inspired their clothing, which was a mixture of the rock and roll and grunge aesthetic.
THE YOUNG LEADS HAD A LOT OF CREATIVE INPUT
Jason Patric, cast in the role of Michael, was only 19 when he agreed to do the film. Initially he didn't want to do a film about vampires, "flying around with fangs and everything", but when director Joel Schumacher offered to give him some creative input, including where the fashion and writing was concerned, he couldn't it up.
Patric would go on to be able to make alterations in the script, select certain songs on the soundtrack, and also determine what his character would dress like. The input of young teens in a movie about young teens was key to making it seem authentic and reaching its target audience.
DAVID'S LOOK WAS A MIXTURE OF BILLY IDOL AND RIC FLAIR
Keifer Sutherland was just 18 when he eagerly agreed to do The Lost Boys. Joel Schumacher thought he could accurately pull off the surfer/rocker vibe with his soft-spoken mannerisms that could quickly flash to reckless aggression.
Schumacher wanted David to have long white hair to better signify that he was dead. Unfortunately, after bleaching his hair white Sutherland said he, "looked like a professional wrestler", so they went for platinum blonde. Billy Idol was just becoming popular, so Sutherland had his hair cut in his signature look and kept long in the back, which made for one epic mullet.
DAVID'S GLOVES HAVE A UNIQUE STORY
Keifer Sutherland did all of his own motorcycle riding and stunts in the film. During one particular scene Sutherland, trying to get the attention of a cute girl on the Boardwalk, popped a wheelie which he maintained up and down the street until she noticed him.
Unfortunately he went too far, hit a train track, and laid his bike down. A surfboard maker made him a polyurethane cast, which resulted in his bike getting a clutch and a break on the left side halfway through the film because he couldn't operate the right one. For the duration of those scenes he would have to wear gloves.
VAMPIRES WERE INFLUENCED BY THE FASHION OF THEIR TIME
Interview with the Vampire hadn't yet come out, so audiences weren't yet accustomed to watching vampires through the ages of their existence, either updating their clothing with the times like Louis, or preferring to languish in ruffles and waistcoats forever like Lestat.
The Lost Boys focused on making sure the vampire characters dressed exactly like they did when they were turned into creatures of the night. Their rocker fashion reflected their lives as humans; they still listened to records, they still liked to hang out in their lair plastered with band posters away from adults, and they still liked to party.
COREY FELDMAN BASED HIS CHARACTER ON RAMBO
This film was the first time that "The Corey's" appeared on screen together. They would later star in a series of teen films involving the pair, but teaming up to slay vampires was the beginning of their real life friendship and their film career together.
Joel Schumacher wanted to reference other '80s movies throughout the film, which is why you see tributes to St. Elmo's Fire in Corey Haim's room, and copies of The Goonie's in the comic shop. He wanted to base Corey Feldman's character on an action hero like Rambo, so he suggested the actor rent Sylvester Stallone and Chuck Norris movies.
