The Lost Boys

The Lost Boys stars Corey Haim (Lucas, Silver Bullet, License to Drive), Dianne Wiest (Footloose, Parenthood, Bright Lights Big City), Jason Patric (Solar Babies), Keefer Sutherland (Stand By Me, Bright Lights Big City, Young Guns), Corey Feldman (Gremlins, Goonies, License to Drive, Stand By Me) and Jaime Gurtz (Solar Babies, Less Than Zero). Wiest is a recent divorcee named Lucy Emerson who moves to Santa Carla, California with her children Michael (Patric) and Sam (Haim) to live with her dad.

It’s hard enough to be the new kid in town, and Sam’s (Haim) got his share of troubles. Almost immediately he meets the Frog brothers (Feldman and Jamison Newlander) the self proclaimed vampire killers who tell him, “We've been aware there's some very serious vampire activity in this town for some time." Now the vampire activity touches close to the Emerson home.

Big brother Michael (Patric) is being groomed by the vampire gang. The boys led by David (Sutherland), terrorize the coastal town, taking victims at will. They set their fangs on making Michael a fellow blood sucker. Lured by Star (Gertz), Michael slowly begins the transformation.

The David’s gang and Michael’s transformation is being threatened by the team of Frog, Frog and Emerson. See the totally awesome battle between good and evil as Michael’s fate is played out.

Big budget, lot’s of action and bodacious aerial vampire flight and fight make this movie a definite must see. It’s also great to see some of the vampires get what they deserve.

The Lost Boys is a very funny comedy. Great lines include, “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 .”

My favorite scenes include the “Lonely Frog” song, the comic store where the Frogs meet Sam and about any scene with the vampire hunters. I think you’ll agree.

The Lost Boys has a totally awesome soundtrack “Cry Little Sister” gave this movie its music identity. Hey, that’s what it’s known for.

The Lost Boys is rated R

C.H.U.D. Special Edition

After some Facebook buzz about the movie C.H.U.D., I decided to rent it from Netflix. You see, I belong to a Facebook group called HHC 3ID 1985 to 1990. It's for veterans of the famous US Army unit originally stationed in Leighton Barracks overlooking Wurzburg, Germany.

I remember seeing C.H.U.D. as a soldier back in the barracks room. I believe my friends had rented it back in 1985 (originally aired in 1984). However, after viewing it 26 years later, I don't remember any of the scenes. Actually, I do remember the opening credits and first victim.

The movie tries to be witty, but I wasn't sure if it was supposed to be a cheesy 80's comedy or an actual thriller. I'm pretty sure it was scary and state of the art back in the day, but now it's kind of hokey. The scenes were gory, but not scary. Mostly they were disturbing. There's a little blood, body parts and etc. But the disturbing parts were because of the other low budget effects.

The movie is kind of a pre-reunion of the hit movie Home Alone arriving 5 years later and a launch for a host of new actors. Daniel Stern and John Heard have starring roles. Also making appearances are a young John Goodman, Patricia Richardson and Jay Thomas.

C.H.U.D. is an 80's movie as far as being made in the 1980s. Because of the New York City setting, there isn't much 80's pop culture identity. Definitely no 80's sound track, 80's songs or anything profoundly identifiable from that era. However, it is fun to see some of the brandy from Downy, Budweiser Beer, U Haul, Izod polo shirts and other products. Telephones with cords, old television sets, answering machines and archaic technology abounded.

C.H.U.D stands for Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dweller, or so we are led to think. However, there is an alternate meaning to the acronym. The story begins with the disappearance of a police captain's wife. After weeks of homeless people going mission, hers is the most visible missing person's report. Add in a criminal turned minister to the homeless (Stern), a photographer (Heard) and his model wife, a bad collection of government and city employees and you've got a classic horror movie.

The motley crew discover that the EPA has spilled radioactive material which has led to a nasty symptom. The city's homeless are mutating into monsters. These aren't zombies by any sense of the meaning. They are downright monsters with no hair, scaly skin and glowing eyes.

I'm not sure why this movie has an R rating. Probably because of the times. Slight gore and swearing probably were the concerns. If you enjoy low budget horror, get C.H.U.D.