"Yeah, you are!"
In this quintessentially very mild children's gateway-horror coming-of-age movie, a group of young teens in a picturesque small coastal town become embroiled in local mysteries and a supernatural entity that renders its young victims catatonic in a Scooby Doo-style Steven King-lite tale, seen through the eyes of a budding young journalist. The sincere story has good momentum, the young cast is likeable and effective (especially Mason Thawes in the lead role), there is pleasing character work from Mel Gibson as the reclusive retired detective who mentors our young hero, and the music score is notably effective throughout. You can tick off your genre bingo card easily - beach party, nightswimming, baseball, bikes, clubhouse, aerial shot of lighthouse at sunset, etc. - and at times the film lands like a junior episode of The X-Files or Supernatural, but overall Monster Summer is a well-made, uncomplicated, pleasant and unexpectedly enjoyable children's film.
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