Summer of 84 Review

31 Days of Halloween: Day 4

Finally got around watching this after hearing high-praises from Cody Leach. I had no idea what to expect from this film, and for the most part, I enjoyed quite a bit.

Starting off with my positives, I really liked the comedy in the film. I felt that all four of the boys were pretty funny. Though I had some problems with said characters, all of the actors had good chemistry with each other. Since this film was written before Stranger Things brought in the 80's craze that we're currently in, it gets a slight pass, with the 80's references. I thought it was used pretty sparingly. It was used to build atmosphere. "Summer of 84" has a fantastic, expectation-subverting 3rd act. It "goes there" in the last 15 minutes. Rich Sommer's character, Officer Mackey, is my favorite part of the film. I never truly knew where directors, François Simard, Anouk Whissell, and Yoann-Karl Whissell, were taking his character. His final line is one of the most haunting lines I've heard in a horror film.

For my negatives, my main negative would be how cliche the plot is. A group of boys questions whether or not their neighbor is a killer. It's been done so many times. It is saved by the performances and chemistry of the main four boys. Though I said there wasn't an over-abundance of 80's references. I think there were a few too many.

In conclusion, "Summer of 84" is a solid, 80's-centric horror film. The solid tension-building, as well as the sharp dialogue, outweigh the cliche plot and character archetypes.

7/10