The Lost Boys Film Analysis

Jan Perkowski created a ten-part analysis outline to be used for analyzing different characteristics and functions of vampires that appear in film, television, and literature. This outline can be used to analyze the film The Lost Boys, and how the vampires in the film function as a metaphor for drug use, American nationalism, and a broken family structure, all of which were common in the 1980’s.
The first part of Perkowski’s analysis encompasses the information sources for the film, which includes the movie, the director, and the major actors and actresses of the film. The movie, The Lost Boys tells the story of a group of vampires who terrorize the fictional town of Santa Carla, California, until a group of younger teenagers kills them. The film, as indicated by the title, did get some of its inspiration from the original Peter Pan. The similarities are evident in how the vampires and all the teens in the films live in a world that attempts to avoid adult intrusion at all costs. The vampires also supposedly never die, which is similar to in how Peter Pan’s lost boys never aged. There are also many similarities between Captain Hook and Max as they both threaten the adult-free and rule-free life both groups of “lost boys”
In The Lost Boys, it is not mentioned where the vampires originated from, but the film takes place in the fictional town of Santa Carla, California. Although the town is fictional it is very realistic and appears to be extremely similar to many real southern California towns. In the beginning of the film, there is a scene with two brothers, Michael and Sam, riding in a car with their mother as they are in the process of moving to live with their grandfather in Santa Carla. As they are driving past the billboard that reads “Welcome to Santa Carla” they notice that the back of the sign has graffiti on it that reads “Murder Capital of the