(Billy Wirth, Kiefer Sutherland, Brooke McCarter & Alex Winter in The Lost Boys. Image: Warner Bros.)
By Lexi Stewart
Jump To Section
- Making The Lost Boys (1987)
- Finding a New Look For Vampires
- Designing Sexy, Stylized, and Streamlined Vampires
- Transforming Kiefer Sutherland Into the Iconic David
- Using Foam Latex and PAX Paint
- Making Vampire Fangs
- Young Actors. Big Challenge.
- Designing Max’s Makeup After Joel Schumacher
- The Ultimate Teen Vampire Movie
- Listen to the Audio Interview with Greg Cannom
Making The Lost Boys (1987)
In the eighties, horror was alive and kicking, but vampires hadn't quite clawed their way back into mainstream pop culture yet. The classic monster movies birthed fanged icons such as Nosferatu and Dracula, but by 1980, audiences were thirsty for a fresh take on the genre. Something more stylized to match the vivacious energy and infectious excess of the decade. Director Joel Schumacher decided he wanted to be the one to do it. The Lost Boys, released in 1987, cemented his style of filmmaking and pioneered a new breed of vampire that's still copied to this day.
(The Lost Boys Vampires. Image: Warner Bros.)
For a while, Schumacher had been toying with the idea of doing a brat pack movie with a dark twist. But when the initial script for The Lost Boys fell into his hands, it was written with a much younger cast in mind. He only signed on once they agreed to create his dream brat pack dynamic, with older rebellious teenage characters.
"It helped give the creatures of the night an image change that was centuries-overdue – recasting the traditional dusty old aristocrats into young, sexy, hedonists." - Tom Fordy
Finding a New Look For Vampires
Rebranding the vampire image was going to require a solid team for makeup and prosthetics. Makeup Department Head Ve Neill suggested that Greg Cannom would be an excellent choice to design the vampire prosthetics. Greg knew the genre well and was known for working on many of the practical fx horror films of the eighties. Although makeup tests for the new age vampires were already underway, they weren't quite hitting the target. "There was another makeup they were waiting on too, from Steve Johnson, which was very elaborate," recalled Cannom. "It was so cool, but it was very monstrous and not really what Joel was looking for. For The Lost Boys, Joel wanted something a little more sleek and simple."
(Steve Johnson developed a more monstrous vampire look for Kiefer Sutherland before Greg Cannom took on the project. Image: Boss Films)
Designing Sexy, Stylized, and Streamlined Vampires
"Joel Schumacher said to me, ‘I've hired these sexy young kids, and I want them sexy. I don't want monsters,’" said Cannom. "So Ve came up to me and said, 'Why don't we do a test on the side and show it to Joel and see what he thinks?'" So Cannom and Neill brought in actor Brooke McCarter to test the waters.
"Joel wanted the vampires to be very stylized and streamlined," remembered Cannom. "At first, I did much bigger prosthetics, more than what's in the film, with a larger forehead and a longer face and chin and showed it to Joel. He liked it, but he thought it was too much." Even though the test wasn't perfect, Cannom was getting closer to Schumacher's vision.
(Brooke McCarter in mid-Vampire transformation during one of Greg Cannom's first makeup tests after joining The Lost Boys team. Image: Warner Bros.)
(Ve Neill applies "Holy Water" wounds to Brooke McCarter, in full Vampire makeup. Image: Warner Bros.)
The original design inspiration for the eighties vampire we know and love today was none other than an old, faded photograph Greg had kept from the past. "I had a newspaper clipping from years before that was faded. It was a blonde tennis player, good-looking, with a really good bone structure and it was faded to the point where it had those kinds of shapes on the forehead and bumps on the cheeks and everything." Cannom based the initial makeups on this reference and the tests proved successful.
"I did a nice subtle one for Kiefer Sutherland, then flew to England and came back and did a makeup test on him that Monday. Joel really liked it but wanted more, which made sense. So I ended up using that piece on Jason Patrick for the end scene. And I did a more stylized piece for Kiefer."
(Greg Cannom and Ve Neill apply a "David" test makeup to Keifer Sutherland. Source: Warner Bros.)
(For Jason Patric's Vampire transformation, a more subtle makeup was used that had been developed during an early test on Keifer Sutherland. Image: Warner Bros.)
Transforming Kiefer Sutherland Into the Iconic David
The first step of the process was to take lifecasts of the actors, starting with Kiefer. "I did the lifecast with his eyes open, which I learned from Dick Smith. Don’t do that at home! I would never do it now. It’s too easy to find yourself in a lawsuit and the alginate isn't as good as it used to be. But I got it down really good at the time."
(A lifecast and vampire makeup mold created for Kiefer Sutherland's stunt double onThe Lost Boys. Image: Prop Store.)
As Greg was planning the makeup, he knew he would have to work around the beard they had established for Kiefer's look. "I wanted the lenses to really stand out. I wanted to do a super subtle demonic makeup and change the bone structure around the forehead and especially down onto the nose. Kiefer had a pixie nose at the time so I brought it down onto his nose to try and make his nose look a little more full."
(Ve Neill adds final coloration to Kiefer Sutherland's vampire prosthetics. Image: Warner Bros.)
(Kiefer Sutherland in full vampire makeup between takes on set. Image: Paul Davis ’Lost in the Shadows’.)
With the addition of subtle cheek pieces and careful blending, Cannom finalized the 'David' makeup. "I had to make sure they were blended, and there was no hard edge. It was so important to get that sloped onto the skin." Greg was then able to use this makeup as a template for the rest of the vampire gang.
Using Foam Latex and PAX Paint
The Lost Boys' vampire prosthetics were manufactured in foam latex, the best method at the time. For coloration "we used PAX paint on foam latex because that’s all we had," explained Cannom. "I sculpted all the prosthetics, and even ran all the foam in the beginning, and then Gil Mosko started running the pieces when I had to go on-set or do other things.”
(An assortment of original appliances, teeth, contact lenses, and molds from The Lost Boys. Image source: Monsterpalooza.)
Aside from emphasizing the facial contours, the eyes became one of the most important elements of the finished look. "I designed the contact lenses so they were kind of glowing with all the red around them," revealed Cannom. "I then designed the makeups around the lenses knowing they would be the star of the show."
(Brooke McCarter's vampire contact lenses from The Lost Boys. Image: Prop Store.)
(Fiery custom contact lenses became the focal point of Cannom's vampire makeup design. Image: Warner Bros.)
However, it must have been a daunting prospect considering contact lenses were difficult to wear. FX lenses in the eighties were incredibly thick, hard, and uncomfortable. In fact, when Kiefer sheds a tear in the film, irritation from the lenses was the real cause. Coincidentally, it made for a great moment on-screen.
Making Vampire Fangs
Greg also designed and made custom vampire dentures for each actor to wear, which were understated and delicate compared to the large Dracula-esque fangs audiences were used to seeing. "I really tried to make the teeth look like pearls," revealed Cannom. "For the application, I embedded wire into the dentures so they would be super strong; it was up in the gum area. Then the teeth just came down and hooked onto the bottoms of the actors' real teeth.”
(Kiefer Sutherland as David bears his fangs in full vampire mode. Image: Warner Bros.)
(Vampire teeth made for Laddie played by Chance Michael Corbitt. Image: Prop Store.)
Young Actors. Big Challenge.
In the end, the young and fairly unknown cast handled the prosthetic makeups amazingly, especially since for many of them it was their first time. Greg told SWSCA, "I remember Kiefer saying, 'Don't tell them I'm only 17, they think I’m 18!' When we started the film he had all this baby fat, and I was like, 'Oh God, how am I going to turn this into a vampire?' But he was great. I did his life cast with his eyes open and he had no problems with any of it. All of the actors were absolutely wonderful."
(Two of The Lost Boys young stars, Jason Patric & Kiefer Sutherland joking on-set. Image: Paul Davis ’Lost in the Shadows’.)
Greg also recounted how shocked he was with the professionalism of child actor Chance Michael Corbitt (who plays Laddie) since wearing lenses and prosthetics can be difficult to deal with at such a young age. "You never know what a kid's going to do, and he was an absolute trooper in those lenses. They're huge hard lenses, but he put up with them, and we never had a problem with Chance.”
(Chance Michael Corbitt, who plays Laddie, in prosthetic makeup. Image: Paul Davis ’Lost in the Shadows’.)
(Chance Michael Corbitt flashes his fangs in The Lost Boys. Image: Warner Bros.)
Designing Max’s Makeup After Joel Schumacher
Looking back on the project, Greg Cannom is candid about the challenges he encountered working on the film, particularly his occasional clashes with director Joel Schumacher, but Cannom admired Schumacher for his vision and reminisces fondly about the finished result, "Joel was very happy with everything in the end, and that's all you can ask for. I think he's a great filmmaker and he did an incredible directing job.” In fact, as a subtle homage to the director, Cannom actually designed one of the vampires to look like him, "For Edward Herrmann’s makeup, I used Joel as the model. Ve Neill went to dailies one day, and as she and Joel were looking at the footage of Ed, he asks her, 'Am I crazy, or does Ed look like me?' So if you look closely, you can see Joel’s face in that scene."
(Edward Herrmann as "Max", before and after his Vampire transformation. Images: Warner Bros.)
The Ultimate Teen Vampire Movie
Overall, 1987 was a year of excess. Full House. The Coreys. Michael Jackson. Rock ballads. Big hair. The Lost Boys took the quintessential hallmarks of its era and mixed them with simple, sleek and elegant makeups, bringing a modern feel to a film that was originally going to be 'young boy scouts and bloodsucking Goonies.' Cementing its legacy as the ultimate teen vampire movie, The Lost Boys also took a bold leap forward from the slasher films of the eighties, using clean designs and charismatic monsters to seduce the audience.
The Lost Boys is still a huge film favorite to this day. Greg Cannom speaks fondly of what he and his team created and hold no grudges towards those who have ripped off the style so many times over. "We were the first to do it. I don't remember anything that looked like that, and as they say, imitation is the highest form of flattery. People are still copying it and still talking about it today."
Listen to the Audio Interview with Greg Cannom
The Lost Boys Makeup FX Team
- Greg Cannom - Vampire Prosthetic Effects Designer
- Ve Neill - Makeup Artist
- Steve LaPorte - Makeup Artist
- Brent Baker
- Everett Burrell
- Keith Edmier
- Earl Ellis
- Bill Forsche
- Chris Goehe
- Morton Greenspoon
- Gil Mosko
- Larry Odien
- John Vulich
- Tony Gardner