Remembering Corey Haim’s ’80s Classics

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This morning TMZ broke the news that 38-year-old actor Corey Haim had been discovered dead in his apartment by his mother after overdosing on drugs. While most people weren’t surprised by the news (in a 2007 interview he admitted to popping up to 85 Valium a day at the height of his addiction), those of us who grew up watching Haim in his ’80s heyday were deeply saddened. He was like so hot back then; we wanted to be Alyssa Milano. After the jump we’ll look at a handful of the cinematic gems from the decade that made him a star.

Murphy’s Romance (1985) – Haim’s first big film role, though he doesn’t even appear in the trailer. He played Jake Moriarty, the son of a divorced woman (Sally Field) who moves to a small town to become a horse rancher, only to be followed by her ex.

Lucas (1986) – Haim played a slight, gawky 14-year-old who falls in love with the beautiful new girl in school who fall in love with the hunky football hero (Charlie Sheen). It sounds formulaic, but this film was much deeper than most high school movies; in fact, Roger Ebert wrote of Haim’s performance, “He creates one of the most three-dimensional, complicated, interesting characters of any age in any recent movie.”

The Lost Boys (1987) – When two brothers move with their recently-divorced mother to Santa Carla, California, the older one becomes a vampire, the younger (Haim), a vampire hunter. This cult classic — a timeless favorite among teenage goths — is the first project that The Coreys worked on together, and for most people, their most important film.

License to Drive (1988) – As Les Anderson (Haim) says in the trailer, “An innocent girl. A harmless drive. What could possibly go wrong?” This coming of age comedy marked the peak of The Coreys madness, and convinced us that we would never pass our driver’s test.

Dream a Little Dream (1989) – This Freaky Friday-esque flick was more Feldman’s vehicle, but as his best friend Dinger, Haim has some memorable moments. Mostly because of his cane.

Not to be confused with 1995’s Dream a Little Dream 2. Yikes. Check out Haim’s Marky Mark-inspired getup — complete with earrings. So fresh.