Monster Summer

Martha's Vineyard, summer 1997. Noah Reed (Mason Thames) wants to be a journalist like his late father, and he lives with his mum (Nora Zehetner), who runs a small bed and breakfast. The holidays take a dark turn when children on the island start to vanish, only to come back the next day blank and silent. When it happens to his best friend Ben, Noah sets out to find out what's going on.

The police aren't interested and neither is the editor of the local paper (Kevin James), so Noah ends up knocking on the door of Gene Carruthers (Mel Gibson), a grumpy retired detective who keeps the world out with a "no trespassing" sign. Gene has no time for fairy tales, but he reluctantly agrees to take a look.

'Monster Summer' is the second feature directed by David Henrie, best known as Selena Gomez's older brother in 'Wizards of Waverly Place' and as Ted's son in 'How I Met Your Mother'. Cornelius Uliano and Bryan Schulz wrote the script, a throwback to the kids-on-bikes adventures of the eighties and nineties.

Thames came to it from 'The Black Phone' and went on to play Hiccup in 'How to Train Your Dragon'. Around him are familiar faces from that era: Gibson, Lorraine Bracco from 'Goodfellas' and Patrick Renna, one of the kids in 'The Sandlot'. It was shot in North Carolina at the end of 2021 under the title 'Boys of Summer', and the mayor of Southport handed Gibson a key to the city on set.

It opened in US cinemas on 4 October 2024 and took only around $658,000 in its first weekend. Critics were split: many saw it as a decent but predictable scary adventure for preteens, and Gibson and Thames got the warmest notices.

• Adventure
• Fantasy
• Mystery