The minute we hit that “halfway to Halloween” mark every year, I’m done with summer. Give me cool, crisp nights and cozy cardigans. Let me revel in my fall basicness while I stroll through a pumpkin patch with my kids, PSL in hand. Mentally, I’m in October — and everyone knows one of the best things about October is watching spooky movies. Fortunately, trailers for this season’s new additions are starting to roll in, and I’m already making plans to watch one in particular with my kids: Pastime Pictures’ Monster Summer.
As a millennial, I grew up with some of the greatest spooky family adventure movies ever: The Monster Squad, The Addams Family, Halloweentown, Hocus Pocus, The Witches… the list goes on. Now that I’m a parent, I’m always chasing those same vibes for my kids. So, when I read that David Henrie, aka Justin from Wizards of Waverly Place, is directing Monster Summer, it caught my interest. Then, to see that it stars some of my favorite actors growing up — like Radio Flyer’s Lorraine Bracco and The Sandlot’s Patrick Renna — there was no question my family and I would be hitting the theater when it comes out on October 4.
According to the film’s official synopsis, “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.”
In the just-dropped trailer, you’ll notice a few other familiar faces filling out Monster Summer’s all-star cast:
When I had the chance to chat with Henrie, he explained that a huge reason he wanted to be a part of the film was because it brings nostalgia forward.
“I’m a millennial as well, and I wanted to recreate films that I grew up watching with my family, like The Sandlot, like The Goonies, like E.T. I wanted to recreate that fun, worry-free family experience I had as a kid that I feel like’s lacking right now,” he told Scary Mommy.
By design, the movie evokes ‘90s summers — the ones filled with best friends and first kisses, the first album you bought with your own money, staying out past dark, riding your bike to the local pool, and usually one scary defining event that happened.
Happily, the stars aligned for Monster Summer to get some of the biggest stars of the ‘90s to sign on. In addition to Bracco and Renna, millennials will undoubtedly clock Mel Gibson and Kevin James in the trailer. Nora Zehetner, a fellow millennial who you’ll recognize from series like Everwood, Heroes, and The Right Stuff, also stars.
“I wanted this familiar, nostalgic experience for the parent who might be bringing their kid. And for the kid, I wanted to get a relevant cast that they would recognize as well,” Henrie confirmed. “So I’m really going for this fun co-viewing spooky adventure that hopefully will remind the parents of the movies they grew up with and will be something new and fun for the kids at the same time.”
The younger cast that Henrie mentions include some of Hollywood’s most promising rising talent. Monster Summer stars Mason Thames (The Black Phone, the upcoming live-action How to Train Your Dragon), Noah Cottrell (The Spiderwick Chronicles), Abby James Witherspoon (Secret Headquarters), Lilah Pate (Outer Banks), and Julian Lerner (The Wonder Years).
When I ask if he thinks they could be the Goonies stars for this new generation, Henrie doesn’t hesitate. “Oh yeah, 100%,” he said. “As a former child actor myself, I really took the casting process very seriously. “I knew what I was looking for with the kids, and I was trying to pick the people I thought had staying power and would be future bright lights in our industry. I’m really proud of the careers they’ve gone on to since our film, and hopefully, our film will help continue to catapult them.”
As the mom of a tween and teen, I was happy to see stars I know my kids follow — and even happier that my kids will get to watch them in a spooky family adventure, which I feel their generation doesn’t always get served.
“Teen and tween is exactly where it needs to be. The North Star for me is scare, not scar … And not just an empty scare, but fear is something that we all need to learn how to face,” he said.
He added that not only do spooky family films have a place in modern cinema, but they’ve also historically served an important point.
“I think the purpose of fairy tales being scary, even back in the day, was to show kids that there are all sorts of monsters you’re going to have to come up against in life, and you’re not supposed to let them lord over you,” he explained. “You’re supposed to learn how to stand up to them, defeat them, sway them, get over them. They’re holding you back from your potential. That’s why dragons always guarded gold because they were guarding you from your achieving power.”
So, yeah, take your tweens and your teens. “This is classic storytelling, and we shouldn’t shy away from genre films for kids. It’s a wonderful genre because it can be inherently elevating if you take it seriously,” Henrie said. “And we certainly did.”
