Gibson’s crusty cop highlights a flawed but fun pre-Halloween treat in ‘Monster Summer’
“Monster Summer” — 3 stars
If Steven Spielberg directed an ABC TV After School Movie written by Stephen King, it would be a smarter, scarier and better constructed horror tale than “Monster Summer.”
Nonetheless, this visually slick indie production meets its modest aspirations as a fun, short, PG-13-rated, end-of-summer romp targeting a tweener demographic anxious for another “Goonies” knockoff.
What’s it about?
“When a mysterious force begins to disrupt their summer fun,” the official description tells us, “Noah and his friends team up with a retired police detective to embark on a monstrous adventure to save their island.”
This snoring plot description, coupled with a generically dull title (“Eenie-Meanie” would be a great improvement over that and the lackluster original title “Boys of Summer”) practically guarantees it will be ignored at theaters this weekend. It deserves better.
In 1997 Martha’s Vineyard, kids start disappearing. Other kids encounter mysterious lights that transform them into a vegetative state.
Sea monsters? One kid gets pulled under the water by something unseen.
UFOs? A road sign says “Exeter,” referencing John G. Fuller’s UFO bestseller “Incident at Exeter.”
Unexplained phenomenon? One missing kid is identified as Melanie Daniels, Tippi Hedren’s name in Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds.”
Witchcraft? That’s the conclusion that young Noah (“The Black Phone” star Mason Thames) reaches after examining the evidence. During summer break, he and his pals Ben (Noah Cottrell), Sammy (Abby James Witherspoon) and Eugene (Julian Lerner) get their cherished baseball games interrupted by weird goings on.
Noah, who wants to be a journalist like his late father, decides to investigate, but the cops and the local newspaper editor (Kevin James, going for a comical Southern drawl) show zero interest.
When a mystery woman (Lorraine Bracco) dressed in black like a character from “Wicked” comes to town and rents a room at Noah’s house, the teen becomes convinced she must be the culprit.
Meanwhile, Noah befriends a scary local hermit named Gene Carruthers (a bearded Mel Gibson, playing an older variation of his dad in M. Night Shyamalan’s alien invasion thriller “Signs”).
A retired police investigator, Carruthers suggests that Noah track down Fox Mulder to solve what he calls “something rotten in Mayberry.” We find out Carruthers has his own personal interest in helping Noah, even if he thinks the witchcraft thing is bonkers.
David Henrie — best known for starring in “The Wizards of Waverly Place” and the “How I Met Your Mother” series — directs “Monster Summer” with obvious affection for its nostalgic blend of baseball, sci-fi and fairy tales.
Not everything ties together well, but a brisk 97-minute running time and some stellar moments — e.g. a threatening nursery rhyme slowly being typed by invisible fingers — become treats in Henrie’s bag of pre-Halloween tricks.
Larry Blanford’s impressively strong wide-screen camera work elevates a perfunctory screenplay trafficking in clumsy exposition and deliberately misleading setups.
Frederik Wiedmann’s resonant score achieves a well-balanced suggestion of sci-fi, horror and adventure.
Like “Civil War” earlier this year, “Monster Summer” unobtrusively celebrates the role of journalists.
Carruthers, realizing Noah’s career ambition, gives him a copy of “All the President’s Men” by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward.
“When I read that book,” the ex-cop says, “that’s when I knew writers could be heroes, too!”
How’s a journalist to disagree?
• • •
Starring: Mason Thames, Mel Gibson, Lorraine Bracco, Noah Cottrell
Directed by: David Henrie
Other: A Pastime Pictures theatrical release. Rated PG-13 for language, violence. 97 minutes.