Monster Summer

There was something special about being a kid in the 80´s. We didn´t have cellphones, we had computers but we could basically just play video games on them and we actually spent time together at pizza restaurants, VHS stores playing arcade games and renting VHS tapes, at our local comic book store and at the beach. If we wanted to meet somewhere we either used our home phone or phone booths downtown. This was when we still had phone books to find phone numbers to the right adress. I remember me, Robert and Henrik during summer time going on our bicycles to the lake of Bjursjön in 1988 where we used hang out together. If we were lucky they had a café open at Bjursjö stugan during summertime ( a cabin that was connected to the lake ) so we could get ice cream or sodas. This was where we would also meet girls our age ( we were 11 years old at that time ) and just hang out together. When i have been to different lakes and the ocean as well in modern days you can tell things have changed, People don´t talk together like we did in the 80´s, a lot of people are too busy with social media and i see children not being very social like we used to be. Of course times changes you can´t escape that, but the social part have changed a lot and i think it´s great for children to be social outside social media. Speaking of the 80´s there were so many great teenage / children films released back then such as The Neverending Story, The Goonies, Stand By Me and i think we might have to include the horror film Stephen King´s IT from 1990 as well. There are some attempts to try and bring back the 80´s in films such as the 2011 sci fi teenage thriller Super 8 from director J.J. Abrams. A very well made film regarding a group of teenagers who witness aliens invading their small town. This film have so much nostalgic feelings all around it with capturing the time period really well as well as the characters match really good. One of director J.J. Abrams best films in my opinion and a true love letter to the 80´s. I highly recommend you to watch Super 8 if you want a real popcorn evening at home. Speaking of films bringing back nostalgic feelings last year a film called Monster Summer was released that is supposed to take place one summer of 1997. Im always open minded to films trying to capture different time periods, especially during the 80´s and 90´s. I noticed that the trailer reminded me of teenage films of the 80´s so that got me curious. Is this a film for fans such as the classic film The Goonies or did the film Monster Summer not deliver that much fun at all?

Noah Reed ( Mason Thames ) is an ordinary school kid just hangin out with his friends Eugene Wexler ( Julian Lerner ) and Sammy Devers ( Abby James Witherspoon ) as they visit the suspicious older man Gene Carruthers ( Mel Gibson ) property out of curiosity. Noah forget his backpack at Gene´s home who later on return it to him. It turns out that Gene is just an ordinary man, but something strange seems to be happning in town where young people suddenly disappear and return behaving very odd. Noah begins to investigate why people are suddenly being taken away as he gets help from Gene who is also suspicious about this mystery

I may as well start by saying that Monster Summer is not a future classic by any means nowhere near The Neverending Story or The Goonies. Those films can never be replaced by any modern films no matter how hard anyone tried. However, i will say that i do appreciate the effort of Monster Summer where they actually tried to capture some of that cinema magic that we used to get from teenage films from the 80´s and 90´s. This film actally understand what kind of audience it is made for and the best part of it all is that it leans heavy on nostalgic factors of the 90´s. The teenagers dress like the 90´s and they talk like we did in the 90´s. Details like these are important if you want to capture the time period right. There are other details that i feel makes this film work as well as it does and i feel that the characters match well with the plot. It feels like this could be teenagers hanging out during the summer in the 90´s just chillin inside the lead character Noha´s ( played by actor Mason Thames ) treehouse. Now i have to be honest and say the most positive surprise is how good legendary actor Mel Gibson is in this film as the character Gene. I have always been a fan of Mel but in the last 5 years there have been a few films i had issues with. But it feels like in this film he really steps up and deliver a solid performance. The mystery surrounding the witch in this film is done simple but effective and the special effects are done nicely without getting too complicated. The make up effects of the witch ( when it´s revealed who it really is ) looks like something similar to the witch in the 2014 film Into The Woods where Meryl Streep played a witch, and it actually works. So anything that could have been improved? Honestly there is not much to compain about because this is a good family movie. Monster Summer may not be a future familly movie classic but this film proves why we need to go back to more simple days in the 90´s. Director David Henrie shoud continue making films inspired by my youth because he is clearly good at making a film in this genre. If you want a nostalgic trip back to the 90´s then Monster Summer should please you, worth checking out on VOD or streaming.

Rating: DDD