‘Monster Summer’ Review

Stars: Mel Gibson, Mason Reed, Nora Zehetner, Julian Lerner, Abby James Witherspoon, Lorraine Bracco, Emma Fasano, Spencer Fitzgerald, Patrick Renna | Written by Cornelius Uliano, Bryan Schulz | Directed by David Henrie

The cultural impact of the phenomenon, that is Stranger Things, cannot be understated when it comes to the world of entertainment. Launching (and relaunching) careers, genres and defunct film series. Millie Bobby Brown is a multi-millionaire film and television superstar. Winona Ryder bought Beetlejuice back from the (un)dead. And the Ghostbusters films veered from old Saturday Night Live veterans, to a teen adventure reminiscent of The Monster Squad (Dir: Fred Dekker, 1987). Monster Summer, looks to capitalise on rekindle those halcyon days of “Teens-in Peril”, and supernatural menace, that typified that particular beloved 80’s sub-genre.

Monster Summer sees a wily group of teens, investigating the strange goings-on, on their quaint island community of Mayberry, Martha’s Vineyard. Children disappear and mysteriously reappear, devoid of personality and emotion. A small town, haunted by a hooded figure. Supernatural disappearances abound, this certainly seems like a job for The Scooby Gang. And then enter, “Old Man Carruthers” (Mel Gibson) – and yes, that is his real character name, who may, or may not be a child killer. Taking a hard-right turn, from a Goosebumps-lite tale, the film goes from tween adventure to Stephen King-esque, potential kiddy murder…jinkies.

And therein lies the crux lying at the heart of this monstrous summer – what does this film want to be?

Our plucky Loser’s Club, consist of Noah (Mason Reed), the group’s default leader and wannabe investigative journalist. There’s Ben, superstar baseball player, and potential victim of our cloaked menace. Abby (Nora Zehetner) – the plucky tomboy, along for the ride. And Eugene (Julian Lerner) – cautious and sceptical, aspiring to politics at a young age. All ably played and earnest to a tee, the kids try hard to forge a chemistry, that just doesn’t exist in the script. Each character exists as a shadow of much better-crafted films such as The Goonies (looking to the 80s) and the recent It two-parter (looking at the 90s revival). Those films worked because of the camaraderie of the kids – foul-mouthed, uncool, balls of doubt and energy and the possibilities of the world before them. Here, we have competent child actors, being directed in a very workmanlike fashion. At no time do you root for our heroes – they go from treehouse, to detectives, to adventurers with little in the way of a narrative journey. The viewer will want the fun, risqué interplay of The Lost Boys, what they get is the sanitised Sandlot Kids.

Mel Gibson, as Gene, ex-cop and possible murderer (but with a heart of gold), is similarly drawn from better material; forlornly watching VHS videos of his wife and child – another dark and disturbing story that seems at odds with the fantastical story being told. Gibson, if you can overlook his “troubled” history adds some gravitas, to the story, but is not served by the generic, gruff old man caricature on the page. As an Oscar-winning director, I can only imagine that he had some “notes” ….

Monster Summer, acts as a nostalgia act for those films of youth, it sprinkles numerous references to Grimm Fairy Tales (giving you an idea of the direction the story is telling) and wholesale steals scenes from its inspirations (step forward Jaws, IT and Poltergeist, amongst others). It is a “Famous Five”-alike mystery investigation, wherein there is no real investigation. It is a 90’s period piece, that fails to evoke the period (one mention of The X-Files doesn’t really count). It is a horror adventure, that fails to be horrific or adventurous.

There are white picket fences, teens riding BMX’s, Little League games being played and spooky goings on under the surface of this seemingly idyllic town. The adults don’t believe the kids, authority figures look the other way, and suspicious strangers are introduced in the film thinking you’ll fall for their *macguffins! All well shot, all performed with competence, all very okay…

*And Eerie Indiana (1993–1996, Created by José Rivera and Karl Schaefer) did all this 30 years ago, with more smarts, and more ingenuity, and more humour.

There is nothing to actively dislike about Monster Summer – as a facsimile of superior films, it trends in the right direction. It simply lacks a clear direction and it certainly lacks bite. The backstories seem too dark for this fairy tale, entry-level horror, that the film seems to want to be. And the action and adventure, fail to deliver when put alongside its predecessors and inspirations. Part fairy tale, part tween-horror (with a dose of toothless Stephen King), this is copy of a copy, and with that come diminishing returns.

And the final reveal of The Big Bad? No matter witch way you view the film, the final boss, is massively underwhelming. A grimm ending, you might say…

• Watch this if: You want to see what Mel Gibson has been up to, and you didn’t grow up in the 80’s/early ‘90’s, revering the films from which it drawers massive inspiration.
• Avoid this if: You want to see what a Direct-to-Video Goonies sequel might look like.

Monster Summer is available on Digital Platforms now, distributed by Signature Entertainment