The 10 Best Lost Boys Characters, Ranked

Last month, Warner Bros. announced plans to reboot the beloved 1987 vampire classic The Lost Boys, tapping Noah Jupe and Jaeden Martell to star in the film (per Variety). While details on their characters haven’t been divulged, it will be difficult to leave as lasting an impression as Michael, David, Sam, Star, Max, the Frog brothers, and the other unforgettable characters in the popular 80s film.

What makes the characters so strong in The Lost Boys is the combination of likable personalities, hilarious dialogue, endangered circumstances, and the heroic measures taken to quell the gory vampiric onslaught of Santa Carla, California.

10 Nanook

While it was a toss-up between young Laddie (Chance Michael Corbitt) and Nanook (Cody, in his first screen appearance), the protective Alaskan Malamute not only has a more substantial character that is germane to the plot, but the canine arguably gives a better performance as well.

As Sam’s companion dog, Nanook has the ability to sense the presence of vampires and uses his keen detection skills to protect Sam (Corey Haim) when Michael (Jason Patric) begins turning into a half-vampire. Later, in one of the best death scenes, Nanook saves the Frog brothers’ lives by jumping up and knocking a vampire into the bathtub full of holy water. A true family member willing to sacrifice his life for others, Nanook is an unforgettable part of The Lost Boys.

9 Alan Frog

As the less-amusing half of the Frog Brothers, Alan (Jamison Newlander) takes a comedic backseat to his sibling Edgar (Corey Feldman). Still, his character is vital to defeating the vampiric scourge. He first provides Sam with the comic book Destroy All Vampires, which helps Sam realize Michael is turning into a bloodsucker. Alan also helps pull Sam from David’s clutches inside the vampire cave.

Armed with an overly serious demeanor and such eye-rolling dad jokes as “first come, first staked!”, Alan’s ridiculous camo fatigues and Navy beret make the teenager seem far more professional than he really is, providing endless amusement as the film unspools.

8 Star

Jami Gertz gives a tender and emotionally fraught turn as Star, a morally conflicted half-vampire whose loyalties are torn between alpha vampire David (Kiefer Sutherland) and Michael. After developing her relationship with Michael, he turns into a half-vampire as well. Therefore, her character is extremely important to the plot and arc of the main character.

Moreover, Star gives the story a romantic quality that allows the audience to believe why Michael would even consort with the vampires to begin with. Star’s protection of Laddie at all costs also makes her far more sympathetic than the others in David’s gang.

7 Grandpa

Grandpa (Barnard Hughes), the hip, pot-growing, zinger-ripping hippy with more vampiric knowledge than he lets on will always be among the best characters in the film. His personality is so loose, easy-going, and diametrically opposed to his daughter and grandchildren that fans can’t help immediately love his cranky peccadilloes.

Whether he’s warning his family to stay away from his Oreos or reminding them to fill the gas tank when they use his classic car, Grandpa’s final heroic measure of spotting Max (Edward Herrmann) as the head vampire and waiting until the precise moment to save the day makes him one of the best.

6 Max

Speaking of Max, Herrmann plays the villainous character with such a sinister charm that, even when Sam and the Frogs suspect he’s the head vampire, he’s able to throw off their scent and manages to infiltrate the house with his polite demeanor. The hysterical garlic/parmesan cheese scene is still one for the ages.

Of course, as the leading bloodsucker out to find David and his other young feeders a mother in the form of Lucy, Max becomes the biggest antagonist in the film. After Michael defeats David, his showdown with Max provides ample thrills and chills until Grandpa crashes the party and ends the mayhem.

5 David

While Max is the head vampire, he dispatches most of his grisly wetwork to David, the ultra-cool biker-vamp who is simply terrifying in a human form, much less in his vicious vampiric one. The way David recruits Michael after he hits on his girlfriend Star is sneaky and evil at once, cursing his newfound enemy in ways that threaten his entire family.

In one of his best roles, Kiefer Sutherland gives such a creepy turn as David in the way he confidently carries himself, whispers intimidating lines, drinks wine bottles of blood, and fully tricks Michael into thinking he’s joining the gang. This all adds up to one of the most iconic 80s horror performances of all time.

4 Edgar Frog

Armed with some of the most hilariously memorable quotes in The Lost Boys, Edgar Frog (Corey Feldman) is clearly among the best characters. The way in which Edgar skeptically accepts Sam into the gang is funny enough, but it’s lines like “great, the bloodsucking Brady Bunch!” and “where the hell are you from, Krypton?” and countless others that make him such a lovable part of the film.

Along with his brother Alan, Edgar proves vital in helping Sam rid the vampiric infestation in Santa Carla, thanks to his insightful horror comic books, Rambo-like arsenal of holy water squirt guns, wooden stakes, garlic bathtubs, and more. Moreover, he shows tremendous bravery by staking Marco (Alex Winter) in the heart inside the cave.

3 Lucy Emerson

Two-time Oscar-winning actress Dianne Wiest is the emotional core of The Lost Boys, playing Sam and Michael’s single mother struggling to find work in a new environment. When head vampire Max offers her a job as a means of seducing her and turning her into a vampire mother for David and his boys, she becomes the most sympathetic character other than Michael.

Lucy’s easygoing and pleasant personality makes it very easy for fans to want to see her survive safely. Torn between her desire to meet new people and be a strong parent, Lucy’s dramatic bind provides the second-biggest conflict in the film aside from Michael’s quasi-transformation.

2 Sam Emerson

Corey Haim gives an extremely funny, likable, and convincing performance as Michael’s little brother Sam, whose unconditional love of his sibling and fear of anything horror-related puts him in a complicated dramatic scenario. In protecting his brother and mother at all costs, Sam combines gallantry and humor that is perfectly crystallized by the “death by stereo” scene.

Between butting heads with the Frogs in their introductory scene, spouting droll quips and one-liners, or providing heartfelt pathos as the little brother doing all he can to protect his family, Sam is one of the main reasons to revisit The Lost Boys on an annual basis.

1 Michael Emerson

As the most conflicted main character in the film, Michael’s dramatic arc is also the best and most important to the story. The feeling of isolation and alienation that Jason Patric is able to convey even before Michael meets David and the vampires is really impressive, only outdone by the feverish semi-transformation he undergoes after drinking the blood in the cave.

Patric’s terrific performance not only makes viewers believe he’s slowly morphing into an immortal ghoul, but it’s also his ambivalent loyalties to his family on one hand and David’s gang on the other (including Star) that make his arc so compelling. Without Michael being consigned into David’s gang, there would be no movie to speak of.