PLOT: When a mysterious force begins to disrupt their big summer fun, Noah and his friends team up with a retired police detective to embark on a monstrous adventure to save their island.
REVIEW: It’s been a longstanding tradition for the horror genre to put kids on a grand adventure to solve a scary problem. Whether it’s The Goonies or The Monster Squad, they’re a fun way to get kids interested in slightly darker fare. Some scary elements to help intrigue and encourage future dalliances into more depraved cinema. Monster Summer does a good job of keeping that spirit alive, but feels so all over the place, that it never settles into a proper goal.
Monster Summer follows Noah (Mason Thames) and his friends as they try to solve the strange happenings in their hometown. Teens are starting to disappear, only to return in an almost catatonic state. Noah quickly finds out that the culprit is a witch, and is determined to stop her. Mel Gibson plays retired police detective, Gene, who everyone thinks is evil. But Noah quickly learns that this isn’t the case, and they team up together to stop the Witch before she finishes off the kids for good.
When it’s Gibson and Thames together, the film becomes a fun two-hander as they play off each other well. Gibson’s little insults are fun and provide a bit of spark to the film. But when it’s trying to go Goonies/Stranger Things, it doesn’t really work. One roadblock I really couldn’t get past was the acting among the teen actors. It ranges from okay to really rough and it really broke my immersion throughout. It doesn’t help that Gibson is so effortless in anything he does, that it just makes the other stick out like a sore thumb.
Everyone is fully aware of Gibson’s issues in the public eye but I’ve always been a fan of the actor, so it’s nice to see him return to such family fare. Hopefully, it just continues from here (but I remember thinking that after the Beaver all those years ago). But I was even more excited to see Patrick Renna in a more featured role. Most will remember him as Ham from The Sandlot, and he’s in a very fun role here. I always love to see child actors do well in adult roles. Kevin James also shows up as a villainous newspaper owner but he’s fairly underutilized. Same with Lorraine Bracco who I was shocked got such placement on the poster, given her small role.
I can always appreciate horror that’s aimed at younger audiences, and there’s an almost Goosebumps feel to Monster Summer. It just feels like there are so many elements missing. There’s not a lot of logic involved as it’s mostly just a feel-good story about a boy trying to defeat a monster. Noah isn’t a very interesting character and the stakes just aren’t there. Very little is changed from the beginning to the end of the film outside of new friendships, so it lacks much impact.
The third act is where Monster Summer stumbles a lot. Obviously I won’t get into too much detail but it really devolves into a cheap TV movie. From really poor Witch effects to a very generic resolution, it’s very frustrating. Which sums up most of this experience. Had they just made it Mel Gibson and Mason Thames solving this mystery, it would have been much more interesting. As is, the “Goonies” part of the story is the worst part, while the buddy cop portion is miles better. This makes for a very uneven experience that I just can’t recommend outside of Gibson.
MONSTER SUMMER IS PLAYING IN THEATERS ON OCTOBER 4TH, 2024.