The Lost Boys

[dreamer_easy]

Re-watching the movie that blew all our minds back in 1987. I'd forgotten what a strange and beautiful film it is, not to mention how funny it is. Buffy owes it an awful lot, I think - was this the first vampire flick in which they burst into flames in sunlight? Is Spike's look based on David's?

Weird Science, OTOH, is saved from being total crap by snappy editing and a genuinely funny cast. It's a nice twist that the boys try to make themselves a girl and end up with a woman.

Appropriate images to follow.

ETA: The grandad from Lost Boys was Dumont in Tron. If I ever knew that, I'd forgotten!

ETA: I love how the flying is handled in the film. I guess Buffy also borrowed the idea of the vampires "vamping out". But does the "they have to be invited in" thing predate Lost Boys?

Comments

[wiliqueen.livejournal.com]

If, for example, you were to say "I welcome you as a guest in my home", you might rule (as author) that the very old hospitality traditions put you and the vampire in an effective state of truce -- you cannot harm him because he is your guest and he cannot harm you because you are his host, and thus with careful wording you could in fact have a pleasant dinner. Whereas if you say "my home is your home", you've effectively given him carte blanche.

You could build a terrific short story on this notion alone.

As for consistent rules, I'd call it more imperative than useful! Even if the audience not only doesn't necessarily know them all, but in many cases won't pay attention. If I had a penny for every conversation I've been in where someone tried to make a case that something applies to all vampires, and should therefore apply to a specific universe, when that universe has clearly delineated otherwise, I wouldn't need a day job.

They all drink blood (unless they're psivamps or something, but that's more of an SF trope). Beyond that, all bets are off and the responsibility is on the writer's shoulders!