'Monster Summer' Review

New family-friendly horror movie provides thrills with fun and heart

“Family-friendly horror movie” sounds like a complete oxymoron, but that’s what first-time director David Henrie set out to make with Monster Summer. The film manages to be quite thrilling and scary without being inappropriate, gives us a fun ensemble cast of teens reminiscent of Stranger Things, and has a surprising amount of heart and depth without every truly veering into preachy moralizing. It is a very fun, pleasant film that will be a breath of fresh air for families looking to have a good time at the movies without worrying about scandalizing their kids.

Monster Summer follows a group of teenage friends, Noah, Sammy, Eugene, and Ben, as they are drawn into a tragic mystery affecting the kids of their beach-side town. Some mysterious force is sucking all the life and personality of the town’s kids away, leaving them alive but in a zombie-like state. Noah becomes increasingly certain that a witch is to blame, making him a social paraiah as he follows the clues to unravel the mystery. He draws in an unwilling detective, Gene Carruthers (Mel Gibson), whose crusty exterior covers up a deep passion for the welfare of kids and a tragic secret in his past. The twists and turns of the story are sometimes predictable, but ultimately the story depends on the interaction between the characters and their growing trust of each other.

That character dynamic is the best part of the movie, and the parts without it do tend to suffer. The first 20 minutes or so are a little bit slow, but as soon as Mel Gibson enters the film it becomes much more gripping. He brings a gravitas to the film that keeps it from becoming too goofy. His dynamic with the kids is great, and he is surprisingly subtle in a film that it would be very easy for him to phone in a performance or go ham with it. The main group of kids is also a lot of fun - for the short amount of time that they are all together. The film is clearly going for a Goonies/E.T./Stranger Things vibe, crammed full (perhaps too full) of 90s references, but once the kids start getting their life sucked out the group dynamic is really ruined. Noah, our protagonist, is on his own for much of the film rather than with his friends, and their group dynamic was good enough that I missed it through the film. There are also some cameos, some fun and creative (Patrick Renna of The Sandlot fame as a Little League umpire) and some with confusing accents (Kevin James). The cast is overall fun and they all accomplish their roles quite well.

Of special interest to our readers might be the number of Catholics involved in this project. David Henrie, Mel Gibson, and Kevin James have all been public about their faith, and sharp-eyed viewers might notice Eduardo Verastegui in the credits as well. Henrie and Gibson have done interviews about the film with EWTN and other Catholic outlets, and there seems to be a quiet push to market this film specifically to Catholic audiences. The themes of the film include the battle between good and evil, the value of human life, the importance of fatherhood, and even a separated couple getting back together, all very much in line with Catholic ideals. Could this be an indicator that Hollywood Catholics are quietly getting together to make films with Catholic themes that aren’t explicitly faith-based? This Catholic cinephile hopes so.

Monster Summer is a fun family flick, not quite as classic as some of the films it imitates but a movie that I think could easily become a family favorite. It offers thrills, jokes, great character dynamics, and themes that will be appreciated by kids and parents alike, anchored by a very good Mel Gibson performance. It does have some quite scary scenes, but I think a mature 11 or 12 year old would be able to watch it fine. David Henrie’s first film is a great start to a promising career, and I hope he gets the chance to sit in the director’s chair again soon.