So Corey Haim is dead.
I admit my first reaction upon hearing the news this morning that Haim was pronounced dead at St. Joseph’s Hospital in LA of an apparent drug overdose was simply… of course. But the lack of surprise over the announcement doesn’t diminish the sadness. I obviously didn’t know Haim and he hasn’t been a viable star since the eighties and (very) early nineties, but if you love movies then odds are you love some of his.
Haim is probably best known as the accidental vampire hunter from The Lost Boys and from his multiple onscreen pairings with Corey Feldman (who can probably be found mugging and crying for the cameras right now on any station that’ll have him), but he has several other films on his resume worth seeing and remembering… movies that showed him to be an energetic and charismatic young actor always capable of bringing a smile.
Lucas is one of my favorite underdog sports movies because it stays honest with itself and its audience right through to the end, and Haim is the epitome of awkward likability. Silver Bullet is a goofy as hell werewolf movie featuring a wheelchair-bound Haim fighting off the menacing lycanthrope with the help of illegal fireworks and the always nutty Gary Busey. Watchers absolutely mangles the beautiful and exciting Dean Koontz book it’s based on, but Haim somehow salvages it with pure charm and personality. Blown Away is a guilty pleasure from frame one, and is most notable (and worth watching) for a fantastic, against the wall sex scene with Nicole Eggert’s body double.
Like most child actors who eventually had to grow up and fade into obscurity, Haim also has tons of crap not worth wading through or remembering. So let’s not. Instead, head over to Netflix and see about adding some of the titles above to your queue. They’ll make you smile in a good way, and if that’s not one of the best reactions an actor can hope for I don’t know what is.
What’s your favorite Corey Haim movie? And no, it’s not The Double O Kid.
