AR; Textual Analysis 1 of The Lost Boys (Schumacher, 1987)

The Lost Boys (1987) is a Joel Schumacher film of the teen comedy sub-genre of horror. The main cast includes Jason Patric, Corey Haim, Corey Feldman, Kiefer Sutherland and Jami Gertz. It was the introduction to the acting duo The Two Coreys, Feldman (Goonies, Gremlins) and Haim (Silver Bullet, Lucas).

The film is about two brothers who move from Arizona to California. They end up having to defend themselves from Santa Carla's biggest secret, a gang of teenage vampires. 

Trailer:

Deconstruction of film clip

                                          

Genre

This clip is prominently horror, however it also has aspects of comedy. The clip shows generic features of horror such as the turning of the door nob as Michael enters the bathroom. However the audiences expectation of this genre of film is also challenged with the aspect of comedy that has an ironic take on the cliches of horror such as when Sam finds out his brother is a vampire and says 'you wait till mum finds out buddy' which is an unconventional reaction to this horrific news. 

Form and style of opening 

This is not the actual opening of this film but it introduces the horror effectively in a way that could be applied to an opening sequence. The style of this clip is one that focuses on fear deduced from a build in tension rather than for example the use of violence and gore in a torture porn film. 

Foreboding is introduced:

-The draining of the milk carton alludes to the draining of blood from the body.

-The dog senses Michael outside so is positioned with the audience because like the audience knows that something is about to happen.

-The reaction shot of Sam when he looks in the mirror, you know something is up before you have seen it.

The title is a reference to J.M. Barrie's stories about Peter Pan, as this is what inspired the film. Peter Pan can fly, and takes Wendy from her house to another land, he like the Lost Boys does not grow old, all features of a vampire. The Older brother is called Michael just like in Peter Pan and the dog is called Nanook which is an allusion to the the dog Nana. The Lost Boys also connotes a rebellious age of teenagers. 

Film language-telling the story

Mis-en-scene conveying meaning
-Props: The draining of the milk carton alludes to the draining of blood from the body. 
-The lighting stretches Michael's shadow across the floor. This conveys fear as you are only given part of the information it also alludes to title again as Peter Pan looses his shadow. 
-Pre-filmic effects- Michael is wearing contacts to make his eyes cloudy showing him as crazed and not himself. 

Camera shot, size, movement and angle conveying meaning
-Pan down as Sam looks at the dog highlighting his attachment to the dog. Sam believes he is looking after Nanook when Nanook is actually looking after Sam. 
-A Point of view shot is used from Michael's perspective so that the audience knows even though he is becoming the evil character we are positioned with him and still want him to succeed. 
-A quick zoom out of Sam in the bath creates urgency and highlights how the danger was once too close to comfort and is being pushed further and further away from him which is reassuring for the audience. 

Sound anchors the images
-The heartbeat is amplified as Michael goes through his transition. This builds tension and makes the audience feel his pain.
-The non-diagetic sound when Michael reaches the door creates a sudden urgency and fear. 

Dialogue and non-verbal language tells us about the characters
-Sam is very unaware of what is happening when he is singing in the bath. 'I'm a lonely boy' this lyric is ironic because he is not alone as Michael is tracking him down. 
-'What you do to my dog, you asshole' Sam is more concerned about his dog than his brother.
-'He was protecting you' Emphasizes the idea that even Michael knows he is the danger.
-'My own brother a god damn shit sucking vampire' Sam is the supplier of comedy in the clip even though he is in danger. The use of swear words proves it is for a teenage audience and not for the young.

Ideas we can take from this sequence
-Two parallel lines of action can cause tension as a hunter and a prey allusion is created. 
-An effective dialogue with stand out lines ('He was protecting you') can create horror and help explain the situation to the audience. 
-Shadows are a common feature in horror and are effective is highlighting the unknown which creates horror.

Narrative

In this clip we are positioned with Michael but we want Sam to be safe so we are also positioned with Nanook as he saves Sam. The tension is creating through the constant switch in parallel lines of action and it is maintained when Sam is running away from Michael. 

Representation and Ideology (gender, age, ethnicity)

Male teenagers are represented as immature through dialogue by using swear words, however Sam's reaction to the events, by running away, proves he is able to think on the spot. 

(hegemony, stereotype, ) for example in the shot where.

Media Audiences

The target audience is age 15-29 as they can relate most to the characters presented. The actors such as The Two Corey's are 80's teen icons so have cult fan-base who will be the main audience. As the film was being made it was related to Goonies (1985, Donner) but the next generation. It shows how 80's film of this type had evolved from a slap-stick comedy to a darker more horror based story-line.
I believe An uneasy feeling is evoked from the audience with the switch from dark and mysterious of Michael to upbeat and funny of Sam singing in the bath.  

This is a Youtube video I found showing Kiefer Sutherland who played the lead vampire David talking about The Lost Boys roughly 20 years later.