“Monster Summer” stars Mason Thames, Lorraine Bracco, Nora Zehetner, Abby James Witherspoon, Julian Lerner, Noah Cottrell, and Mel Gibson. Released on October 4, 2024, the film has a group of pre-teens encountering a monstrous force on their island. The film was directed by David Henrie, who also directed “This Is the Year”. Summer is the best time of the year to hang out with our friends and not worry about doing schoolwork for three whole months. However, there’s usually something willing to spoil those good times, and I’m not talking about doing chores. We’ve reached another month of frights and chills, which means more spooky content for us to endure. Of course, there are also some award-potential options to consider, but that’s for another time. In the meantime, we have another film that hearkens back to the family-friendly horror movies of the previous generation. Does it deliver the delightfully creepy aesthetics to provide a scary good time, or are we better off spending the summer in our monster-free environment? Let’s find out. The story centers on Noah (Thames), a young aspiring journalist who spends his summer with his friends in an island village in the late 1990s. However, his carefree vacation comes to a complete halt when one of his friends, Ben (Cottrell), suddenly becomes a victim of a mysterious presence, leaving him zombified. As a result, Noah joins forces with a retired police detective named Gene (Gibson) to solve the mystery. Their encounter with a sinister force behind the occurrences and its intention leads Noah on an adventurous summer he’ll never forget. When I first heard of “Monster Summer”, I started feeling conflicted about whether to watch and review it. On the one hand, it looked like something you’d find on the Disney Channel or on a random streaming service based on the marketing. On the other hand, it had a name that was familiar to me from my childhood as the director: David Henrie. At first, I thought it was a different David Henrie, but after doing my research, I was shocked to see that it is indeed the same David Henrie who played Justin Russo in “Wizards of Waverly Place” directing the film. He has also appeared in several projects, but “Wizards of Waverly Place” was the only series that I recognized him the most from. It was nice that he was able to make a difference outside his Disney comfort zone regarding his directorial efforts and roles, which is enough to check out his second film as a filmmaker. Additionally, as I mentioned earlier, the movie reminded me of the family-friendly horror films I grew up watching, and knowing me, I’m always in the mood for a nostalgic trip. However, the true test is whether the quality is suitable enough to warrant this vibe. Regarding horror films made for children, there are plenty of elements to consider to make them scary and enjoyable. You have to have charming young characters, a vibe that hearkens back to the 80s and 90s, and some enticing frights amid its horror pre-teen mystery. In the case of “Monster Summer”, the narrative focuses on Noah attempting to solve the case behind a presence’s mysterious appearance while the adults are unaware of the situation. Well, except Gene, who also understands the real threat at hand. “Monster Summer” seems to have all those elements based on the trailers, but unfortunately, they lacked a more compelling execution to provide a monstrous experience worth seeing this month. While it succeeds in delivering some of the nostalgic and kid mystery vibes we’ve seen from previous decades, the film offered little to nothing else in its familiar narrative to make this summer vacation more exciting. This is David Henrie’s second feature film he directed, following “This Is the Year” four years ago, so I can tell he’s working on finding his creative spark. On the one hand, Henrie did suitable work in resembling the throwback aesthetics of the traditional childhood horror mysteries we grew up watching. Regarding its plot, it’s like watching an unaired episode of “Goosebumps”, in which the young characters experience strange phenomena surrounding them, including monsters, witches, and all sorts of creepy stuff. So, in a way, Henrie seemed to understand the assignment regarding family-friendly horror. However, in regards to everything else, his vision lacked a more frighteningly fun essence to conjure up the film’s magical appeal. When it comes to the characters, David Henrie ensures they have a sense of charm and humor in their basic personalities, especially Noah’s friendship with Gene, which is respectable enough to elevate its trope-filled screenplay. This is mainly due to its cast, who made suitable efforts in their performances to keep the spooky times rolling. Mason Thames, who made a big name in the industry thanks to his role in “The Black Phone”, was decent as the film’s protagonist, Noah. While far from his best performance, as his role as Finney Blake from “The Black Phone” still takes the cake, I can see the potential of Thames being another young actor worth looking out for. His next test will be his role as Hiccup in the live-action “How to Train Your Dragon” remake next year, so we’ll see if he has what it takes to attract a broader appeal with something as big as that. Julian Lerner and Abby James Witherspoon were also satisfactory as Noah’s friends, Eugene and Sammy, despite not being in the film as much as Noah. Finally, we have Mel Gibson, who has been sporadically making appearances in his small VOD releases recently, acting-wise. While his performance as Gene may not be enough to put him back on the map, he surprisingly succeeded in providing a more charismatic and sensitive side to his character. Unfortunately, whenever the film attempts to throw some horror elements into the mix, they surprisingly come up short in being either entertaining, scary, or both. Look, I get it. It’s supposed to be a horror movie made for families with older kids, so I can’t expect it to be in the same vein as a Blumhouse movie. But, even if I’m not the right target audience for “Monster Summer”, I should at least get some spooks from its Goosebumps-esque frights. Alas, that wasn’t the case. The mystery element was mildly invigorating for the most part, but the frights that came with it lacked a monstrous punch despite the film being called, oh, I don’t know, “MONSTER Summer”. The screenplay by Cornelius Uliano and Bryan Schulz also didn’t make much of a difference, offering plenty of familiar and predictable cliches that overshadow its message about courage amidst the darkness. Overall, “Monster Summer” is a by-the-numbers throwback whose nostalgic and kid mystery appeal lacks a monstrous bite in its narrative and frights. It’s definitely something you would find on a children’s network despite its PG-13 rating or even on a low-level streaming service like Tubi. However, it also has a few merits that kept me from having a terrible summer, including its respectable cast and a tolerable mixture of comedy and mystery. Regarding everything else in Henrie’s direction, scares, and screenplay, it’s equivalent to the victims of the film’s sinister being: lifeless. I wouldn’t call this my next go-to classic for my Halloween tradition, but for the most part, it’s a tolerable watch for those looking to get into the spooky spirit. C-
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