Of all the holidays celebrated worldwide, no single day is more loved by the UTG staff than Halloween. With the arrival of the year’s best month, the time has finally come to begin rolling out a plethora of features and special announcements we have prepared in celebration of our favorite day, including the one you’re about to read.

Now in its third year, 31 Days Of Halloween is a recurring feature that will run throughout the month of October. The hope and goal of this column is to supply every UTG reader with a daily horror (or Halloween-themed) movie recommendation that is guaranteed to amplify your All Hallows’ Eve festivities. We’ll be watching every film the day it’s featured, and we hope you’ll follow along at home.

[Warning: the material within is likely NSFW]

Day 5: The Lost Boys (1987)

Being the new kid in town is never easy, but it is particularly difficult when everyone in town wants to eat you. This is the predicament facing the protagonists of Joel Schumacher’s heinously overlooked vampire melee, The Lost Boys, which hit theatres nationwide in the summer of 1987. Written by Janice Fischer and James Jeremias, this enduring bloodbath centers on brothers Michael (Jason Patric) and Sam (Corey Haim), who have been plucked from their home in Arizona and relocated to Santa Carla, California following their mother’s messy divorce. As the two teens attempt to navigate their wonderfully eccentric grandfather’s household, both take to their new surroundings in different ways. Sam occupies himself with his comic book collection, while Michael gets a bitchin’ ear piercing and ambles around the boardwalk like a total badass, eventually falling for the beautiful and mysterious Star (Jami Gertz). It’s at this point where things really start to pick up, and though I’ll spare you the details for fear of ruining all the fun, as you probably guessed, everything is not as it seems in “The Murder Capitol of the World.”

Though a lot of movies claim to have it all, The Lost Boys truly is the whole package. A charming marriage of humor and horror, this cult gem kicks off like a runaway rail cart, and maintains a breakneck pace for the duration of its 93-minute runtime, relying on a well-balanced blend of witty banter and stomach-turning gore to stay afloat where other vampire movies flounder. The acting is top notch right down the line, making even minor characters memorable, while smart dialogue adds a welcome amount of giggles amidst the bloodshed. If this in itself wasn’t enough, the mullets in this film are both plentiful and breathtaking, flowing majestically in time with one of the most righteous soundtracks of the ’80s.

Apart from being a lot of fun, this movie also comes with a healthy dose of artful carnage, which never arises at the expense of storytelling. Ever wonder if a stereo system could make your head explode? Curious as to what would happen if an undead monster dissolved alive in your bathtub? Have you lost sleep thinking, “Man, wouldn’t it be awesome to see Jack Bauer bite into a bald man’s skull?” If you answered yes to any of these questions, then The Lost Boys is absolutely for you. Remember, “when a vampire bites it, it’s never a pretty sight,” and though this may be true, I promise, it’s infinitely entertaining.

Over the past few years, cinema bloodsuckers have slowly been transformed from horrific killers into teenage heartthrobs, so this Halloween, curl up with The Lost Boys and reminisce on the glory days when they were both.

Editorial written by: Kyle Florence
Last year’s Day 5 film: Stephen King’s It

• Author
• Recent Posts

Kyle Florence

Kyle Florence is a proud Wisconsinite, a dinosaur enthusiast, and a lover of all things weird and whacky.

Latest posts by Kyle Florence (see all)

• UTG PREMIERE: Vulture Whale – ‘Aluminium’ - May 20, 2016
• UTG PREMIERE: The Pinx – “Southern Gent” - May 10, 2016
• UTG TRACK-BY-TRACK: Right On, Kid! – ‘On The Brighter Side Of Things’ - April 27, 2016