As a product of the 80's I have an obvious special affinity for the movies of the decade. Like any budding horror fan I got my start with the old mythology and the classic Universal movie monsters, that meant vampires and werewolves. My first of many Double Tap reviews pays homage to these two beasts as well as the Lost Boy who is tragically forever Lost, Corey Haim. First up the 1985 film adaptation of Stephen King's novella Cycle of the Werewolf cleverly entitled Silver Bullet. Death comes to the small town of Tarker's Mill in the form of a werewolf and no one knows it or will even accept such an outlandish notion except for wheelchair bound 10-year old Marty Coslaw (played innocently here by a fresh-faced Corey Haim in his 3rd role ever). This was one of my all time favorite werewolf movies as a kid, though upon current review it does have it's faults. My biggest gripe is the werewolf design upon it's big reveal, looking somehow more bear or dog-like than lupine in form. Up until the just after the midway point of the movie we've only seen a lone eye or a flash of teeth or over-sized hairy paws ripping the faces off his victims, then we get to Marty's fireworks safety demonstration and while still absolutely frigging terrifying at the time, it's no American Werewolf in London. But it's few flaws don't get in the way of the movie.
Cycle and Bullet are similar in their format, being told in monthly segments according to the full moon and the wolf's reign of terror; though the timeframe is slightly different depending the format. Cycle begins in Janaury and ends the following year just after midnight, Bullet ends on Halloween. The story remains the same, following young Marty Coslaw as the werewolf terrorizes the small town of Tarker's Mill. Some of the parts of the novella are omitted or changed with the film, but what else is new there?
The novella, however, is definitely something of a must that needs to be in any self-respecting horror fans library. The reason? The beautifully styled paintings used for the monthly illustration in the book by horror comic book legend Berni Wrightson.
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| Somehow methinks this was not what was in mind with the expression "Gimme that old time religion" |
Next up is the Peter Pan inspired vampire 1987 classic Lost Boys, which also happened to feature Corey Haim here playing the naysaying nonbelieving younger brother (who seems to have some thing for Rob Lowe) that his new hometown is a haven for vampires. His brother Michael just wants to fit in with the cool-looking crew of longhaired, earring-sporting, leather jacket clad bunch of motorcycling misfits. Kiefer Sutherland nails it in his performance as David, the leader of the rebellious immortal bloodsucking Lost Boys. Corey Feldman and Jamison Newlander play the local comic loving, vampire hunting Edgar & Allen Frog brothers (this was also the first instance of the two Coreys, which later would only make for reality show material years down the line).
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| “Sleep all day. Party all night. Never grow old. Never die. It’s fun to be a vampire." |
Lost Boys still stands out to this day as a great vampire and coming of age film. Now in my 30's I can definitely attest to the them of the movie and the teenage angst associated with accidentally getting mixed in with the wrong crowd while just trying to fit in.
I would watch this movie anytime it was on TV, my favorite though was on TBS Dinner and a Movie where they would try to cook a dish themed to the movie being shown. For the Lost Boys I recall it was a Steak Tartar (Vampire? Stake, steak? Get it? Ah that joke's older than Bela Lugosi's dusty corpse)... I might have to try the recipe out sometime.
Rating per Chas. Balun's Gorescore 2001:
Silver Bullet: Two and a half skulls, 6 out of 10 on Gore
Lost Boys: One skull, 2 out 10 on Gore
Silver Bullet definitely wins this one with an aforementioned decapitation pre-credits, one child mauled beyond recognition, a vigilante seeking team of townspeople slaughtered (including the notable death of a pre-Reservoir Dogs Lawrence Tierney by being beat down with his own baseball bat entitled The Peacemaker by the werewolf), the town sheriff, & a suicidal pregnant woman. Watch the highlight reel here
Lost Boys isn't shy on the splatter either! At first we're only granted a few shots of unfortunate victims simply being assailed from above, but later after Michael's trial run with the gang is over and it's Time things get real ugly in a hurry in a particularly gruesome campfire slaughter while the Run DMC remix of Aerosmith's Walk This Way plays on a nearby boombox. The climax and the deaths of the vampires is actually foretold just before the action starts by Edgar Frog (Feldman): "I think I should warn you all, when a vampire bites it, it's never a pretty sight. No two bloodsuckers go the same way. Some yell and scream, some go quietly, some explode, some implode, but all will try to take you with them."
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| Death By Stereo: Inspired a punk band's name, thank you Haim (hey that rhymed) |
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| Go Team David, the only 'Team' I'm on! |
I close this article with a fanmade music video I found of The Lost Boys done to Tim Cappello (the dirty sax man with the oiled muscles and the epic perm-mullet) and his song I Still Believe which was quite good and slightly ironic since the main criticism of the movie is that it too closely resembles a music video... can't win them all I suppose... but I suppose the message here is the answer to why we all still love horror, we still believe in getting scared and having fun while doing it. Sweet dreams, pleasant nightmares and stay tuned for the next Double Tap Review where I hit with a Double Dose of Dekker, Fred Dekker that is when Night of the Creeps goes up against The Monster Squad.
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