Mel Gibson, David Henrie Go ‘Spooky’ in New Monster Flick
By Movieguide® Contributor
While on the red carpet premiere, the cast and crew of MONSTER SUMMER shared why they are so excited for audiences to see the movie.
“I read the script, and it instantly reminded me of when I was a kid, my dad would take me from school and we’d go watch movies,” director David Henrie told Movieguide®. “So [the script] gave me a warm feeling. There was like this hug I got when watching movies with my father as a kid, so it brought that back to me.”
Though the movie is a scary movie, Henrie wanted it to also be a family-friendly flick that kids and adults alike would take something from. Because of this, he made sure there was purpose behind the scares.
“I love the spooky or scary genre because it can really teach us how to deal with fears that come up later in life,” Henrie said. “If you think of, like, even dated forms of storytelling like fairy tales, a lot of times, monsters were used in a symbolic way to teach us greater lessons about the human experience. And this film definitely is that. So, I really didn’t want to stray away from scary elements, but I didn’t want to scar.”
This family-friendly aspect is what drew Mel Gibson to the movie as well, as he was excited to work on a project he could share with his younger kids.
“It’s good to be able to make a PG-13 sort of spooky movie that doesn’t traumatize kids and give them bad dreams,” Gibson said.
“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 reads.
“It’s all about ‘Does evil exist, and would you believe it existed if everyone says that it doesn’t — and would you do something about it if no one believed it?’ — I think it’s a powerful theme and an interesting one,” Henrie told the Register.
The filmmakers tapped into movies from the ’80s and ’90s and set the kids in a world without cell phones, which allows them to fully live in the adventure.
“We really wanted to tap into that period of adolescence right before cell phones came out because we wanted to kind of jailbreak what today’s kids experience and kind of encourage them to get outside, get on a bike and go have an adventure,” said producer John Blanford. “To embrace that fortitude, embrace that bravery, find something to go do; get your friends and got out and kind of seek that adventure, that’s really what [MONSTER SUMMER] is.”
MONSTER SUMMER hits theaters on Oct. 4. Check back soon for Movieguide®’s review.
Movieguide® previously reported:
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.
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