Released in 1987, The Lost Boys was a commercial and critical hit that thrust the vampire film back into the pop culture sphere, with its rocking soundtrack and style-rich story of teen vampires feeding on the populace of fictional beach town Santa Carla, California, one that still ranks high in the lists of best vampire movies.
Directed by Joel Schumacher, The Lost Boys tells the story of Michael (Jason Patric) and Sam (Corey Haim), brothers who move from Arizona to Santa Carla with their recently divorced mother (Diane Weist). While a culture clash was expected, what these brothers didn’t bet on was their new home to be a haven for vampires, led by the seductive David (Kieffer Sutherland.)
With The Lost Boys celebrating 35 years since its release, let’s take a look at what its cast has been up to since then.
Jason Patric as Michael Emerson
Jason Patric starred as Michael Emerson, the eldest teen son of divorcee Lucy (Diane Weist) and older brother to Sam (Corey Haim). Michael falls in with a group of teen vampires, led by David (Kiefer Sutherland), after he becomes infatuated with the beautiful Star (Jami Gertz).
The grandson of Hollywood legend Jackie Gleeson, and the son of The Exorcist star Jason Miller, Patric took an unconventional approach to his career post The Lost Boys, opting to star in more independent projects such as war film The Beast, the black comedy Your Friends and Neighbors, alongside Ben Stiller and Catherine Keener, and the action thriller Narc alongside Ray Liotta. Patric also starred in a number of mainstream projects, among them, the ensemble drama Sleepers that also starred Brad Pitt and Robert DeNiro, and infamously Speed 2: Cruise Control with Sandra Bullock and Willem Dafoe.
Recent projects include starring in the second season of the M. Night Shyamalan series Wayward Pines, and the crime thriller The Vanished, alongside Thomas Jane and Anne Heche.
Corey Haim as Sam Emerson
Corey Haim starred as Sam Emerson, the flamboyent younger brother of Michael, who joins up with teen vampire slayers, the Frog Brothers (Corey Feldman and Jamison Newlander), to rid Santa Carla of the undead.
Haim was a teen star througout the 1980s due to his performances in Silver Bullet, License to Drive, and Dream a Little Dream. The latter two films also starred Haim’s The Lost Boys co-star Corey Feldman, with the media dubbing the pair “The Two Coreys,” which was also the name of the reality series they would star in during the late 2000s.
Haim struggled with substance abuse for the majority of his life, resulting in lacklustre film roles throughout the 90s and 2000s, eventually leading to Haim’s tragic death in 2010.
Kiefer Sutherland as David Powers
Kieffer Sutherland starred as David Powers, the mysterious and seductive leader of a youth bike gang, who happen to be vampires, that stalk the boardwalks of Santa Carla looking for their next victims.
The Lost Boys, coupled with the previous years Stand By Me, announced the arrival of Sutherland as an intense character actor whose penchant for playing villains was particularly prelevant throughout his career. Sutherland would go on to star in the Western Young Guns, alongside Emilio Estevez and Charlie Sheen; the ensemble thriller Flatliners, alongside Julia Roberts and Kevin Bacon; and the courtroom thriller, A Few Good Men, with Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson.
It would be TV where Sutherland found his biggest role to date as special agent Jack Bauer in the 24, earning numerous awards for his performance including an Emmy, Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild. The son of famous Canadian actor Donald Sutherland, the ever-busy Sutherland continues to work in both TV and film, while also providing voice work in video games Call of Duty and Metal Gear Solid.
Corey Feldman as Edgar Frog
Corey Feldman starred as Edgar Frog, one half of the “Frog Brothers,” two teen vampire slayers who bring Sam (Corey Haim) up to speed on the undead activities in Santa Carla.
Prior to The Lost Boys, Feldman had already established himself as a successful young actor with notable roles in Gremlins, The Goonies, alongside Sean Astin and Josh Brolin, and Stand By Me, which also starred fellow The Lost Boys actor Kieffer Sutherland. The Lost Boys would mark Feldman’s first movie with Corey Haim; the duo starring in several more films together led to the media dubbing them “The Two Coreys.”
Much like the late Haim, Feldman’s career throughout the 1990s and beyond consisted mainly of B-grade movies alongside very public struggles with drugs and alcohol. Feldman would receive further notoriety in 2020, when he released the documentary My Truth: The Rape of 2 Coreys, in which it is alleged that Feldman and Haim were subjected to sexual abuse as children by several men in the entertainment industry.
Jamison Newlander as Alan Frog
Jamison Newlander starred as Alan Frog, one half of teen vampire slayers, the “Frog Brothers,” who team up with Sam (Corey Haim) to kill the vampire menace is Santa Carla.
The Lost Boys remains Newlander’s most prolific role of the actors career, with a transition to theater roles on stages in New York, Vermont, Kentucky, and California. Newlander would later reprise his role as Edgar Frog in Lost Boys: The Thirst, a straight-to-DVD sequel that also starred Corey Feldman and released to little fanfare in 2010. Later films include the horror-Western Bone Tomahawk, which starred Kurt Russell, and the TV movie A Tale of Two Coreys.
Jami Gertz as Star
Jami Gertz starred as Star, the female vampire in David’s group who falls in love with Michael (Jason Patric).
Prior to The Lost Boys, Gertz established herself as a rising actress with notable roles in Crossroads with Ralph Macchio; Solarbabies, alongside her Lost Boys co-star Jason Patric; and Less Than Zero with Robert Downey Jr. The prolific Gertz kept herself busy throughout the 1990s with notable roles in Sibling Rivalry alongside Kirstie Alley, and the box-office smash Twister with Bill Paxton.
Gertz would find her niche in TV with roles in medical drama ER; the legal comedy-drama Ally McBeal (for which she received an Emmy nomination), and sci-fi comedy The Neighbors.
Alex Winter as Marko
Alex Winter starred as Marko, one of the teen vampires in David’s (Kieffer Sutherland) gang who is the first to be killed by Sam (Corey Haim) and the Frog Brothers (Corey Feldman and Jamison Newlander).
After The Lost Boys, Winter would star in what would be his signature role of Bill S. Preston, Esq. in Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure alongside Keanu Reeves. He would reprise the role in sequels Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey and Bill & Ted Face the Music. Winter would go on to become a prolific filmmaker in his own right, directing acclaimed documentaries Deep Web: The Untold Story of Bitcoin and Silk Road, The Panama Papers, and Zappa.
Diane Weist as Lucy Emerson
Diane Weist starred as Lucy Emerson, the mother of Michael (Jason Patric) and Sam (Corey Haim), who is unaware of the horrific secret that Santa Carla is a haven for vampires.
Weist is one of the most acclaimed actresses of stage and screen, having already received an Oscar for her role in Woody Allen’s Hannah and Her Sisters. Weist would continue to have memorable performances in Edward Scissorhands alongside Johnny Depp, a reunion with Woody Allen in Bullets Over Broadway, which scored her a second Oscar, and Rabbit Hole with Nicole Kidman.
Recent performances from Weist include the TV series In Treatment, for which she won an Emmy, and Paramount Plus series Mayor of Kingstown, alongside Jeremy Renner.
