Selling itself direct from the off with a title that indicates both the seasonal setting and the supernatural creatures at bay, Monster Summer tries so desperately to align itself with the heavily rotated family-friendly likes of The Goonies, The Sandlot and Hocus Pocus, but its 1990s setting and adventurous personality aren’t able to conjure the type of charm the aforementioned titles managed with far more ease.
Additionally, it doesn’t help the film that someone like Mel Gibson, who has shown quite monstrous personality traits in the last several years, has a distinct presence here; though, thankfully for the film, he’s a more supporting player and his performance is suitable for the mostly-light temperament Monster Summer adopts. His town hermit, Mr. Carruthers, is painted as the type of figure children should be weary of, but these types of investigative adventure films have taught us he’ll ultimately be an unlikely ally to our young troupe who are convinced there’s an evil presence lurking in their Martha’s Vineyard setting.
That being said, the aforementioned troupe aren’t all entirely convinced there’s supernaturality afoot, except for aspiring journalist Noah (Mason Thames), who is desperate to get the bottom of the town mystery that involves missing children. The story’s 1997 placement allows the Cornelius Uliano and Bryan Schulz-penned script to indulge in the lack of technology and social media, so it’s up to Noah to snoop around. His besties, Eugene (Julian Lerner), Sammy (Abby James Witherspoon, niece of Reese, for those playing at home) and Ben (Noah Cottrell), weave in and out of believing Noah’s ramblings and staunchly opposing them, so David Henrie‘s horror adjacent adventure film ultimately plays out as a sort of buddy trip between Noah and Carruthers; even if the latter isn’t entirely sure he believes the magical tales Noah is sprouting.
Those magical tales revolve around a witch, a haunted figure that Noah is convinced is doing the nasty deeds of stealing or possessing children, and the new town arrival of Miss Halverson (Lorraine Bracco) feels all too particularly timed with this new wave of mystery. Given the seeming ease that Uliano and Schulz have at their disposal with such a script, as well as proven talent across the board, it’s a shame that so much of Monster Summer doesn’t work. The idea of throwing back to the family-aimed thrillers that so much of the 1990s and early 2000s delivered is a welcome one, and there’s a heft of potential within the film’s 97 minutes, but, sadly, there’s a waste on overt exposition and too many distractions from the central plot for it to entirely work. It feels nostalgic for the sake of it, not because it genuinely wants to recreate such a feeling of cinema gone by.
Whilst I have to give props for Monster Summer securing a theatrical release, which is probably the one nostalgic thing about it that it follows through on – films like this used to make bank in a pre-streaming climate – as a story and completed project, it fails to recreate any kind of magic. There’s moments of promise here, but Monster Summer is more a story that tells you it’s bathing in the nostalgic rather than actually simmering in such.
TWO STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Monster Summer is now screening in Australian theatres.
