The Lost Boys is a supernatural horror film directed by Joel Schumacher, produced by Harvey Bernhard with a screenplay written by Jeffrey Boam, Janice Fischer and James Jeremias, from a story by Fischer and Jeremias. The film’s ensemble cast includes Corey Haim, Kiefer Sutherland, Corey Feldman, Jason Patric, Jami Gertz, Dianne Wiest, Edward Herrmann, Billy Wirth, Brooke McCarter, Alex Winter, Jamison Newlander, and Barnard Hughes.
The title is a reference to the Lost Boys in J. M. Barrie‘s stories about Peter Pan and Neverland, who, like vampires, never grow up. Most of the film was shot in Santa Cruz, California. The Lost Boys was released and produced by Warner Bros. Pictures on July 31, 1987 and was a critical and commercial success, grossing over $32 million against a production budget of $8.5 million and has since then been described as a cult classic. The success of the film has spawned a franchise with two sequels (Lost Boys: The Tribe and Lost Boys: The Thirst), and two comic book series.
Thomas Newman wrote the original score as an eerie blend of orchestra and organ arrangements. The music soundtrack contains a number of notable songs and several covers, including Good Times, a duet between INXS and former Cold Chisel lead singer Jimmy Barnes which reached No. 2 on the Australian charts. This cover version of a 1960s Australian hit by the Easybeats was originally recorded to promote the Australian Made tour of Australia in early 1987, headlined by INXS and Barnes.
Tim Cappello‘s cover of The Call’s I Still Believe was featured in the film as well as on the soundtrack. Cappello makes a small cameo appearance in the film playing the song at the Santa Cruz boardwalk, with his saxophone and bodybuilder muscles on display. This scene was shown in Family Guy episode Prescription Heroine.
The soundtrack also features a cover version of The Doors‘ song People Are Strange by Echo & the Bunnymen. The song as featured in the film is an alternate, shortened version with a slightly different music arrangement. Lou Gramm, lead singer of Foreigner, also recorded Lost in the Shadows for the soundtrack, along with a video which featured clips from the film.
The theme song, Cry Little Sister, was originally recorded by Gerard McMahon (under his pseudonym Gerard McMann) for the soundtrack, and later re released on his album G Tom Mac in 2000. In the film’s sequel Lost Boys: The Tribe, Cry Little Sister was covered by a Seattle-based rock band, Aiden and appeared again in the closing credits of Lost Boys: The Thirst.
Tracklist:
- Good Times by Jimmy Barnes and INXS (The Easybeats)
- Lost in the Shadows (The Lost Boys) by Lou Gramm
- Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me by Roger Daltrey
- Laying Down the Law by Jimmy Barnes and INXS
- People Are Strange by Echo & the Bunnymen (The Doors)
- Cry Little Sister (Theme from The Lost Boys) by Gerard McMann
- Power Play by Eddie & the Tide
- I Still Believe by Tim Cappello (The Call)
- Beauty Has Her Way by Mummy Calls
- To the Shock of Miss Louise by Thomas Newman
