The cult '80s film 'The Lost Boys' turned Santa Cruz into the 'vampire capital of the world'
In 1987, an unexpected movie took the U.S. by storm. It had motorcycles. It had vampires. It had more mullets than a Guns N’ Roses show. And the vast majority of shooting took place right here in Santa Cruz.
“The Lost Boys” transformed Santa Cruz and its many landmarks into a fictional place called Santa Carla, which the Frog Brothers (one of whom was played by Corey Feldman) deem the vampire capital of the world.
“The Lost Boys” follows the two Emerson brothers, who move to a crime-filled beach town called Santa Carla. There, they encounter a gang of motorcycle-riding vampires who cause havoc and suck people’s blood with abandon, as well as comic book lovers and vampire “experts” the Frog Brothers.
The film was a surprise box-office hit, earning $32.2 million at the box office against a budget of $8.5 million. But after the ’80s, the film took on a second life as a revered cult classic. It spawned two sequels, “Lost Boys: The Tribe” (2008) and “Lost Boys: The Thirst” (2010), which notably premiered more than two decades after the original film. A third sequel is reportedly in the works, with Noah Jupe and Jaeden Martell set to star.
It wasn’t difficult to turn Santa Cruz into its eerie doppelganger, according to three people who helped create the film: assistant director Bill Beasley, second assistant director Eric Jewett and Judith Bouley, who did location casting.
All three remember working on the film fondly and say they still enjoy the movie all these years later.
“It was a perfect little town for the shot with the boardwalk,” Beasley remembered. “Locations were made to order. It was an art director's dream.”
“It’s the perfect ‘vampire capital of the world,’” Bouley echoed.
Indeed, many of Santa Cruz’s most visible landmarks have starring roles in the film. There’s that wild saxophone concert overlooking the beach at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. Atlantis Fantasyworld comic book shop serves as the de facto clubhouse of the Frog Brothers. And the now defunct Pogonip Clubhouse lent the exterior to the wacky, taxidermy-filled home where the Emerson brothers (played by Jason Patric and Corey Haim) live with their mother (Dianne Wiest) and grandfather (Barnard Hughes).
While Santa Cruz served as the backdrop (some scenes were filmed in Santa Clarita and on the Warner Brothers lot in Hollywood), it’s the cast and crew that have made the film the cult classic that it is today. Some have even argued it created the teen vampire drama (“Twilight” fans, eat your heart out).
The man with the vision was legendary director Joel Schumacher, who died in 2020.
“Looking at the folks I was working with, there's so few of them left,” Beasley said, reminiscent. “I feel like an old geezer now.”
Screenwriter Jeffrey Boam died in 2000. Producer Harvey Bernhard passed away in 2014. And, of course, Hollywood lost actors Corey Haim and Ed Herrmann in 2010 and 2014, respectively. But their memories and contributions live on in “The Lost Boys,” a wild celebration of all things ’80s and supernatural.
The cast, in addition to Schumacher’s discerning eye, makes the film. Many of its stars had, or went on to have, incredible careers, including Kiefer Sutherland, Feldman, Alex Winter and, of course, Wiest.
“They were a young and rowdy cast,” Beasley said.
The task of wrangling the youngsters fell on Jewett, now a professor of film at the University of Colorado Denver.
He remembers that all the “lost boys” had skateboards, which they’d ride around the Warner Brothers lot.
“I can’t tell you how many times I’d go out to get them and they’d be skating off into the distance,” Jewett said. “I’d have to chase them.”
Jewett remembers clearly the first night of shooting. In pre-production, he said one of the stuntmen invited the vampire gang to practice riding their motorcycles on his land. Sutherland declined (“I own a Harley already,” he said, according to Jewett).
Lo and behold, that first night on set, Sutherland fell on his motorcycle after riding over a diagonal train track. He broke his hand.
“We ended up faking the shot with a stunt guy and a big close up on Kiefer,” Jewett recalled. “It was quite a start to the whole show.”
But Sutherland, along with Patric, were reportedly the leaders of the shenanigans. Both Beasley and Jewett said they kept the young vampires in check and set a positive example for them.
“[Sutherland] took them all under his wing and taught them how to be better actors,” Jewett said.
“The Coreys,” as those interviewed for this article call them, were another story.
“If there was anything they could get into, the little troublemakers, they did,” Beasley said. “They would find it and do it. They were a handful.”
Bouley, who was 27 at the time, was tasked with casting 2,023 extras for the film, an undoubtedly daunting task. Although it was only her second film, she took the challenge in stride.
“I did it at the Holiday Inn in Santa Cruz, and we announced it in the Santa Cruz Sentinel,” she said. On the first day, about 1,600 people showed up. More than 1,200 appeared the next day. She ended up casting about 800 people (for the 2,023 various roles), many of whom were Santa Cruz locals, who appear in the boardwalk scenes of “The Lost Boys.”
Beasley said dealing with the cast required him to wear many hats.
“You basically have to be partially one of the gang, a dad figure and you’ve got to be stern with them at times, while joking with them at times,” he said. “They’re kids. There’s a lot of testosterone flowing, everyone’s trying to outdo everyone else. You learn quickly there’s got to be an adult in the room. ... Sometimes it’s like herding cats.”
Beasley remembers during pre-production, the production had offices on the Warner Brothers lot. He received a phone call from security: “The boys had stolen somebody’s golf cart and were joyriding all over the place,” he said. “We had to reel them in.”
It’s these sort of antics — and the chemistry they inspired — that lend the film its authenticity. The cast became friends, just as they appeared on screen.
Those interviewed for the story all say they love how the film came out — though most hadn’t seen it in years.
“I think it's great fun,” Beasley said. “It’s become a cult classic, and I love that.”