February 9, 2025

FILMHOUNDS Magazine

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More Amblin Than Stranger Things – Monster Summer (Film Review)

The global success of Stranger Things has inspired many films and TV shows operating in a similar sphere. Small town America, with teenagers, set in the past and featuring some goings on that require the kids to tackle something supernatural. It's essentially a genre unto itself in 2024. However, many of those films tonally skew somewhat darker, making a refreshing throwback to a different kind of spooky-teenage mystery movie. 

Monster Summer follows Noah, a teen boy living in Martha's Vineyard, a small unassuming town, in the 1990s. Noah is attempting to follow in the footsteps of his late father, who was a renowned journalist, even going as far as to pitch ideas to the town's local paper with minimal luck. However, when a series of mysterious incidents begin plaguing the town's children, Noah gets caught up with local recluse Mr Carruthers. After initially being scared of Carruthers, Noah befriends the old man, a former cop with a tragic backstory, and together they begin to unravel the mystery of what is happening as they fight to save the town's children from a supernatural force that means them harm.

 

Obviously the comparisons to Stranger Things will always exist for a film like Monster Summer, but this is a very different proposition. If anything Monster Summer owes more to the Amblin films of the 1980s, The Goonies and E.T. in particular, than their more modern counterparts. It's not a film that necessarily trades on nostalgia, but the tone and structure, plus the 90s small town setting, does give it the feel of a classic young adult adventure movie rather than something with a more scary edge. 

Mel Gibson's career has understandably waned for a variety of reasons, not least the actor's behaviour. However, few performers are able to bring the easy, warm persona that Gibson does, and whether you like him or not he is a massive asset to this film. Gibson's chemistry with Mason Thames is excellent (who shines brightly here, much as he was in The Black Phone)  and their budding friendship is very believable. The supporting cast are all at least serviceable, given the material they have to work with for come characters is not exactly expansive, although the always fantastic Lorraine Bracco is wildly underutilised, even if she is superb in her somewhat limited role. Perhaps the wildest bit of casting comes in the form of Kevin James, completely stripped of any comedic traits and offering up a deep Southern drawl. His role is little more than a cameo, but it very much plays against type, offering a pleasant surprise. 

The acting works, but the pacing is somewhat lopsided with the conclusion and resolution all feeling a tiny bit rushed. Without spoiling anything, that resolution is also a little disappointing. That said, the film builds lots of goodwill throughout, and it does enough to make up for the final act with plenty of heartfelt moments and solid character work.  Monster Summer has a lot to like. It's not an especially heavy, gory or scary film. The characters are mostly likeable, the story is intriguing and it has a definite feel of the family-friendly films of a different era. It's far from perfect, but Monster Summer certainly bridges a gap between the sort of films that were knocking around in the 1980s (even if it's set in the 90s), and the darker but nostalgia-filled films and TV shows of today that glamorise that era so much. 

Monster Summer is available on Digital Platforms 25 November. Distributed by Signature Entertainment