If you’ve seen the movie, you know full well that The Lost Boys is one of the most easily watchable movies ever made. If you’ve never seen or heard of it, it was nice of you to click on something that talks glowingly about something you know nothing about. The Lost Boys is a crowd-pleaser, and, much like ‘popcorn movie,’ that term could have a negative, almost condescending ring to it, but in this case, it’s spot-on accurate. The film has no artistic pretensions; it’s a straightforward, entertaining story with memorable and likable characters, fun villains, and great pacing, topped off with a brisk 90-minute runtime. Above all, its style and tone make it ideal viewing as a gateway horror film. What is a ‘Gateway horror film’ you ask for the sake of this transition to work? You should proceed to the next paragraph to find out—or have it reiterated if you already know.

You follow instructions well. A gateway horror film is the cinematic equivalent of dipping your toe in the pool of horror to see if it’s comfortable enough to swim in—between 84 and 94 degrees Fahrenheit is the Goldilocks zone for younger swimmers, but it’s anyone’s guess on what movies would fit into that for this metaphor to work. There’s probably a more in-depth and precise description of what constitutes a gateway horror film, but basically, it’s a horror movie that’s just scary enough to scare younger viewers and easily jumpy adults but never goes too far over the edge and can ultimately be used as a stepping stone to watch progressively more intense movies down the line. You can’t go straight from Bluey to Evil Dead 2 and expect it to transition smoothly—though it is the job of cool uncles to try. Wait…what were we talking about?

The Lost Boys! There we go, back on track. The film follows Michael (Jason Patric) and Sam (Corey Haim) Emerson, who move with their mother, Lucy (Dianne Wiest), from Phoenix to Santa Carla, California, to stay with their grandpa (Barnard Hughes) and start fresh following a tough year. What they discover rather quickly is that Santa Carla is the ‘Murder Capitol of the World’ and they’re in for a rough time once they come into the crosshairs of a gang of motorcycle-riding vampires led by the villainous David (Kiefer Sutherland), who has his eyes on Michael to be part of the club.

Gore is a recurring component of horror films, but maximum body counts and excessive violence aren’t for everyone, and if you’re trying to lure people into the fandom, that’s not going to be the thing to win them over. That’s why The Lost Boys can be a perfect trial run for the uninitiated. While it is a vampire film, it doesn’t focus too much on on-screen deaths to garner favor with the audience. The film goes the way of An American Werewolf in London and Jaws, where the threat is primarily unseen and often from the monster’s perspective. The most common cause of death in the movie is victims being carried off-screen into the night sky. If you saw this film at a young age, you probably remember it being a lot more violent than it actually is. When you watch it as an adult, you realize that the fur of a full-grown Samoyed isn’t nearly as soft as the R-rating this film inexplicably has. Granted, the PG-13 rating was only around for about three years at the time of this film’s release, so they were still likely working the bugs out of where the line should be drawn between PG-13 and R, but if this came out a few years later, or even came out now, it would probably lean closer to the former. It’s rated as is because of violent images and sexual content, but with the exception of a blood fountain via bad plumbing and one quickly edited massacre at a bonfire, the movie isn’t that violent, and as far as salacious material goes, the most overtly sexual thing in the movie is a very tastefully done music video disguised as a sex scene.

When it comes to gratuity, this film leans into the ideology of less being more. The previously mentioned bonfire scene is where the film gets the most grotesque, but with the exception of one money shot of a vampire biting the top of a guy’s skull and blood gushing out like a Coke bottle filled with mentos, it cuts around so quickly to show the chaos that it never becomes needlessly graphic. The scariest part of the entire scene is the reveal of what the vampires look like in their natural form, and even that isn’t overly elaborate: Darth Sidious eyes, intense cheekbones, and no eyebrows. That’s all you need, and when you see it for the first time, it’s terrifying.

The film also has a clear dichotomy of good and evil. At no point does Michael ever consider the pros and cons of being a vampire; he and Sam recognize that this is bad and try to figure out a way to rectify it. Sure, early on, he hangs out with the gang because he has a crush on Star (Jamie Gertz), and sometimes, to get a girlfriend, you have to tolerate her annoying friends who trick you into thinking your Chinese food is worms and maggots—this is a universal truth, you can ask anyone. But even past that, the film is almost a cautionary story about resisting peer pressure. The only reason Michael becomes a vampire in the first place is because they hand him a bottle of wine and promise that if he drinks some, he’ll get to be best friends with Alex Winter, so naturally he does what any of us would do in that situation and practically downs the bottle.

It also should be noted that although the film isn’t always brought into the conversation as a horror-comedy, even though both IMDb and Wikipedia recognize it as such, the film is hilarious, and that helps make it more accessible to a broader audience. There are multiple occurrences where characters like Sam or the Frog brothers (Corey Feldman and Jamison Newlander) will say or do something amusing while vampires are attacking or some kind of supernatural shenanigans are taking place. In theory, that sounds like a Marvel humor way to deflate any tension in the scene, but it actually makes it more intense when you realize these are just normal teenagers going up against vampires. It’s like the cast of a John Hughes movie being thrown into a horror film, and they act accordingly.

The vampires are never treated as a joke; the humor comes from how unprepared and in over their heads the kids are. If you can be both scared and laughing, the moment in question is more likely to stick with you. Honestly, the funny moments are the ones that come to mind more than any of the tense ones. The image of Michael floating out his window and running the risk of soaring off into the night sky is a scary idea, but you’re more likely to remember Sam screaming in the phone to his mom because he thinks his newly Nosferatized brother—which might not be a real word, but it is now—is going to kill him.

That’s something worth acknowledging is that if this movie was The Fifth Element, Sam is Chris Tucker as Ruby Rhod. You’ll either think he’s the most endearing part of the film, or his constant screaming will drive you up the wall. He’s the opposite of the grandpa, who is by far the best character in the film and has all of the best lines, including a closing line that would put Casablanca to shame. A close second goes to the Frog brothers, who automatically improve whatever scene they’re in since they believe they’re badass vampire hunters—you know, like Blade, Buffy Summers, or Abe Lincoln—but when things go sideways, they’re the ones who scream the loudest.

Is The Lost Boys the best movie ever made? Probably not, but it sure feels that way when you’re watching it. Maybe that’s why it makes for such a good gateway horror film; it’s clear that the film’s primary intent is to entertain rather than terrify you. Whenever it gets a little too intense with a scary scene, it’s immediately followed by a funny one, and when it starts to get too silly, it pulls the rug out beneath your feet with some creepy moments to keep you on your toes. It also name-drops real horror movies and comic books and subverts some of the rules for killing a vampire. It’s fun if you know the rules, but if, for some bizarre reason, this is the first bit of vampire media you’ve ever come across, it doles out the information in a way that never feels forced or unnatural. It’s a joy to watch from beginning to end, whether you watch it for the first time or you’ve seen it more times than you’ve seen the sun. And if you’re still unsure if the movie is made for everyone, you should know it has a dog that lives to see the end credits, which, in the horror genre, is an insane abnormality.