The Vampire Film Analysis

The final part of Perkowski’s analysis outline is evaluating the social and psychological role of the vampire for the time period it was originally intended for. Since this film was released during the 1980’s it is viewed as being in line with many people’s beliefs at the time that family values were declining, as divorce rates were high, and people believed that these values needed to be re-established in society. Additionally, people believed that this problem could be blamed on and was due to the hippie generation, which is why the film also contains many references to hippies, including the music Michael and Sam’s mother Lucy listens to and the marijuana plant that their grandfather has in his kitchen. Michael, Sam, and their mother are …show more content…
This concern peaked beginning in 1986, which was while Schumacher was shooting the film and shortly before it was released. The media often frames teenagers that turn to drugs as wanting to be part of a group and as feeling that doing drugs will make them a part of this group. In The Lost Boys Michael’s joining of “the lost boys” strongly adheres to this portrayal. Michael follows the group back to its hideout, as he is trying to impress a girl that is a part of their group. He tries to further impress her by getting the group to see him as “cool”; in doing so he ends up drinking vampire blood, which starts his transformation into a vampire. He then continues to follow the group around at night doing things that he normally would not have done, such as motorbike racing, hanging from a bridge while a train goes by, and jumping off the bridge into the …show more content…
After drinking the vampire blood Michael experiences effects similar to the ones that the media often depicts people experiencing while using drugs and those that have been reported by former drug users. In particular, the weakness that Michael experiences during the day and as he even goes as far to wear sunglasses inside throughout the entire movie. The media often shows how people will remain inside during the day and close all of their curtains trying to avoid all light. While there are also beliefs that drugs make people feel better, the film shed light on this by expressing the benefits that come along with being a vampire including super-strength and the ability to fly. Overall, the film portrays the negatives as outweighing the benefits and in the end they “kill” the source of the