The 1987 teen-vampire flick The Lost Boys made the transition from Gen X cult classic to musical-theater smash in 2026. Taking a wild ride through the late-1980s’ dark underbelly, the songs echo that moment’s hard-rocking swagger and power-ballad pathos, while still feeling modern. Written by the harmony-heavy Los Angeles band The Rescues, the music of The Lost Boys propels the story of how the new-to-town Emerson family become enmeshed with a cadre of vampires. On its official cast album, the performers rise to the occasion: Shoshana Bean, who won a Tony for her turn as Emerson matriarch Lucy, projects gritty optimism on the opening track “No More Monsters” and the reference-stuffed “The Good Part”; L.J. Benet, in the role of Michael, has a robust tenor that makes the angst-ridden “Belong to Someone” even more potent. Ali Louis Bourzgui, who won a Tony for his performance as the lead vampire David, has a charisma that leaps out of the speakers, owning his character’s larger-than-life rock-star persona and bloodsucking evilness on the charging “Have to Have You” and the serpentine “Time to Kill.” The Rescues’ score nails various trends of the time—chugging, anthemic hard rock (“Lost Boy”), peppy New Wave (“Superpower”), crystalline synth-pop (“Hurt a Little”). The original Lost Boys soundtrack, which helped make the movie an MTV-era sensation, even gets a nod, with the “Thou shalt not…” refrain from its theme “Cry Little Sister” acting as a recurring Greek-chorus motif. The Lost Boys might be a tale of vanquishing vampires, but its cast album proves that larger-than-life rock has an eternal appeal.