Great Character: David (“The Lost Boys”)

With Halloween approaching, our theme this month is Supernatural Characters. Today in his regular weekly guest post, Jason Cuthbert looks at David from the 1987 movie The Lost Boys, screenplay by Janice Fischer & James Jeremias and Jeffrey Boam, story by Janice Fischer & James Jeremias.

Can you imagine those MTV-groomed pre-Twilight teen vampires from the 1987 horror comedy The Lost Boys as tiny grade school vamps? Neither could director Joel Schumacher, fresh off of the 1985 “If The Breakfast Club finished college” flick St. Elmo’s Fire. “I read the script, and it was like ‘Goonies’ go vampire,” Joel Schumacher said. “It was very G-rated, and you know that’s not my strong suit.”

Initial screenwriters Janice Fischer and James Jeremias envisioned The Lost Boys with a “What if Peter Pan was a vampire?” vibe, hence the title The Lost Boys as a nod to the kids of Neverland. If Warner Brothers’ $3 million-for-three-years staff writer Jeffrey Boam hadn’t fast-forwarded the bloodsuckers through puberty, Kiefer Sutherland’s character “David” would have been “Peter,” and also about half of Kiefer’s age.

Wisely enough, the clever foresight of Joel Schumacher and producer Richard Donner (The Goonies, Lethal Weapon) prompted Boam’s rewrite that led to David, the bleached blond Billy Idol with fangs, and his blood-drinking buddies becoming a centerfold-worthy rock group image for the “Bop” and “Tiger Beat” teen magazine subscribers of the 1980s to thrive on.

The Lost Boys from IMDB:

After moving to a new town, two brothers are convinced that the area is frequented by vampires.

David is the very first character that enters our eyesight in The Lost Boys, brooding his way around an amusement park carousal. What better location to express that “never-grow-old” vampire motif? His hard partying droogies follow behind, guarding David like paid security. Even when the real paid security of the park physically removes David, there is still a nonchalant smirk and a devious glint in his eyes that whispers out: “Your veins are going to be my wine vineyard.”

The casting of Kiefer Sutherland as David fits right in with his solid resume of angst-ridden renegades in other 80’s coming-of-age milestones like Stand By Me and Young Guns.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJMT6L69N5s

But it is not just bloody revenge that this supernatural artery drainer is capable of. David is the grand manipulator, as can be seen by Michael’s (Jason Patric) supposed first date with a certain “sizzle bunny” named Star (Jamie Gertz) turning into Star being summoned to the back of David’s motorcycle — without having to repeat himself. But little does Michael’s “Star-struck” (pun intended) hormones know that Star also has some of that vamp in her veins, and Michael is next on the menu. If The Lost Boys characters were a chessboard, David claims charismatic king, Star plays seductive Queen, and Michael is slowly getting reduced from a bishop to a pawn.

DAVID: You don’t have to beat me, Michael. You just have to try and keep up.

It’s the intangible cool that Sutherland’s portrayal of David elicits. He’s that guy in high school you tried to be, would die to be acknowledged by but failed miserably at both. David is a slick crypt keeper who has a self-aware menace that is remixed as contagious swagger. Getting his way is just a matter of time, but it gets instantly confirmed the moment Michael follows after the scent of Star’s sweetness from behind David’s bike. Check mate!

DAVID: Initiation’s over, Michael. Time to join the club!

There is a stoic, almost blatant mockery that David uses to not just belittle the new recruit Michael with, but it also forces an “Are you worthy?” fascination that increases Michael’s flirtations with the dark side.

Just like the catchy tagline on the iconic red, black and white poster for The Lost Boys states, David’s mission statement equals: “Sleep all day. Party All night. Never grow old. Never die. It’s fun to be a vampire.” But when his appetite builds up, fun eventually turns into feast, and his friendship with Michael turns toxic. David doesn’t need maniacal monologues or gratuitous quirks to capture attention. He simply knows what he is capable of, leading his own private punk subculture with reckless anarchy like a vampire version of Alex DeLarge from A Clockwork Orange. David is peer pressure.

DAVID: Now you know what we are, now you know what you are. You’ll never grow old, Michael, and you’ll never die. But you must feed!

For his silent intensity, his mystic rebel rocker Jim Morrison manifestations and his fearless fury — David is one bloody GREAT CHARACTER.

I met Jeff Boam the year The Lost Boys came out. As Jason elaborates, Jeff transformed the original conception in a significant way. Soon thereafter, I found myself taking the first crack at the sequel for Warner Bros., lost in the maze of development hell.

Years later when I happened to visit Santa Cruz, California, I visited some of the sites of that shoot. In some ways, The Lost Boys was a classic 80s movie. I mean just look at the hair!

For you Lost Boys fans, join us in comments for a discussion. And thanks once again to Jason! You may follow him on Twitter: @A2Jason.

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