How a Former Disney Star Is Bringing Back Family Movies
By Movieguide® Contributor
Former Disney star David Henrie is making his directorial debut with his upcoming movie MONSTER SUMMER, and he explained how he guided the story to create a movie that is fun and entertaining while being made for families to enjoy together.
“I feel that there is a massive underserved market out there for people looking for content that won’t scar them and that they won’t have to worry about. It’s a problem nowadays that when I go to the movie theater, I have to review everything before I go in … I’m having to look at everything before I bring my kids into the movie theaters,” Henrie told Movieguide®. “That’s an issue we didn’t have 20 years ago when I was growing up.”
“You knew what you were getting into [with those movies], and there was a value system and an ethos in those films that was just wholesome and worry-free. You didn’t have awkward conversations after the movies,” he continued. “So I have this burning desire to recreate that set of themes and values for families all over the world.
His upcoming movie, MONSTER SUMMER, achieves this goal by having a purpose for every scene. While the movie is made for the Halloween season and incorporates multiple scares, it does so with a goal in mind, rather than just to cause chaos.
“We’re calling it spooky family-friendly because horror, I think, comes with a set of baggage. So, we’re saying spooky because — if you think of fairy tales, if you think of Grimm fairy tales, a lot of them do have scary elements to them, but they weren’t empty scares; they were scares for purposes, like, they’re to teach kids that fear exists,” Henrie explained.
“A lot of times in fairy tales, fear is personified by a dragon or by some mythical monster, and what that’s trying to do is teach kids that later in life there will be things that hold you back from your potential that you’re going to have to slay, and that’s why dragons guard gold — because gold symbolizes, to a child, a potential power that they could have but they don’t yet have,” he continued. “But there’s an inherent amount of fear that comes with that and that’s okay, as long as it’s not empty fear.”
Another aspect of the movie that Henrie is extremely excited about is the actors he was able to get onto the project. MONSTER SUMMER features some of the most promising child actors currently in the business alongside longstanding stars like Mel Gibson.
“Mel Gibson has not done a family movie in forever, so this was a different role for him and a role that he was very excited to sink his teeth into,” Henrie said. “[Gibson] has kids too, this is perfect for him and his 13-year-old.”
“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,” a synopsis of MONSTER SUMMER reads.
“The movie’s great. It’s PG-13 but it’s a super light PG-13. There’s not a curse word in the whole film, there’s no nudity, no drugs, there’s no awkward conversations after the film with you kids,” he continued. “It’s really meant for a family experience and he’s got kids so the whole time he was Facetiming his kids during fun scenes and he gave it his all. It’s an old-school Mel Gibson performance.”
MONSTER SUMMER hits theaters on Oct. 4.
Movieguide® previously reported on Henrie:
Former Disney Channel actor David Henrie explained why he uses his platform for good and how this led him to take on the role of young Ronald Reagan in REAGAN.
“I was humbled in life as I grew up,” Henrie told CBN. “When I was younger…I had a big fan base and everything, and I was like, ‘I don’t have any responsibility towards them. I’m just an actor. I’m doing my thing.”
“People care about you and you should try to do something good with it,” he continued, explaining the shift in his mentality that caused him to care. “‘With power comes responsibility,’ right? So, as I got older, I was like, ‘I need to do something with this. This life is a gift.’”
As Henrie came to realize that he was meant to do something meaningful with his platform, he also returned to his faith after years as an agnostic. His reawakening of faith was ignited by his role in the movie LITTLE BOY which reminded him of God’s love.
