Kiefer Sutherland reflects on The Lost Boys legacy

You’ll never grow old and you’ll never die but you must feed! And the audience for The Lost Boys is always hungry, proving to be a loyal fanbase more than three decades on, something that even surprises star Kiefer Sutherland, who played key vampire David Powers.

On the success of The Lost Boys upon release, Kiefer Sutherland told The Hollywood Reporter, “It was unexpected. I hadn’t been doing this long enough [when I made it],” he said, referring to his short career up to that point which included The Bay Boy and Stand By Me. “I had no idea Lost Boys was going to be the success it was. I didn’t realize that it was going to represent a time in filmmaking.” The Lost Boys ended up grossing $32.2 million on an $8.5 million budget.

But the box office numbers are nothing compared to the following The Lost Boys has now, something that still blows Kiefer Sutherland’s mind. “I certainly didn’t expect to run into grandchildren–and, in a couple cases, great-grandchildren–who said, ‘My dad showed me this movie, do you mind signing it for me?’…That film, for whatever reason, has gone through three or four generations. That’s something I’m really proud of. You just didn’t expect it to do what it did, and it never stopped. You just look back and go, “God, I was lucky I got that audition.” I was lucky Joel Schumacher hired me.”

Last year, The Lost Boys celebrated its 35th anniversary, receiving write-ups in numerous publications. Throughout the years, the movie has been celebrated at various conventions and events. Not surprisingly, its legacy and fanbase has helped it spawn two sequels, albeit direct-to-video ones, not to mention a couple of comic books. Originally, Kiefer Sutherland was set to appear in a Lost Boys follow-up not long after the release of the original, but this didn’t get far. Another Lost Boys movie was announced back in 2021, with Jonathan Entwistle set to direct.

What is your favorite scene and who is your favorite character in The Lost Boys? Share your memories of the vampire classic in the comments section below!