summer of 84 movie reviews

Summer of 84

It’s easy to make a thriller: just add a threat, creepy music, fake-outs, and boo-style jump scares. It’s also easy to evoke nostalgia: just throw in a few songs, retro t-shirts, and references to politicians, television shows, or headlines of the era.

But it is not easy to do it well. And that is the problem with “Summer of 84,” a modest little suspense puzzle that simulates rather than builds on vastly better “my neighbor may be a murderer” stories from “ Rear Window ” to “Stranger Things.”

“Even serial killers live next door to somebody,” Davey Armstrong ( Graham Verchere ) tells us in an opening voiceover as we see him riding his bicycle to deliver papers to homes in an idyllic-seeming suburb. “If I’ve learned anything it is that people hardly ever let you know who they really are.”

That is the theme of just about all mysteries and thrillers. Which of the ordinary-looking people around us is capable of the most despicable acts of violence? What does that say about ordinary people like ourselves, and what we may be capable of? Can we be reassured by a sense of control in solving the mystery?

There is something especially compelling about asking these questions from the perspective of kids in their early to middle teens, as in “ Super 8 ,” “Stranger Things,” “Disturbia,” or “Fright Night.” It is a heightened version of what all adolescents go through as they first begin to question what they have always taken for granted. They are first beginning to feel doubt and mistrust of what grown-ups have told them but they have not yet figured out how to evaluate the information they have and the people who provide it.

Davey and his friends are young enough to feel newly aware of danger around them and also young enough to think they can and should investigate themselves. Davey says, “What else could possibly be this exciting?”

If only we could share his sense of discovery. But we’ve seen so much of it before. Davey has three friends who hang out in a clubhouse to speculate about girls, about whether Ewoks could defeat Gremlins, and about the local mystery—boys their age have gone missing. 

The characters are barely sketched in. One of Davey’s buddies is a tough guy in a leather jacket who talks about sex a lot but does not talk about the domestic abuse in his home. Then there’s one friend with glasses so we know he can look things up on microfilm. And there’s also a fat kid because there is always a fat kid.

Davey has a crush on his former babysitter and spies on her when she’s getting undressed. Improbably, when her parents decide to get divorced, she turns to Davey for support, and so she gets caught up in the mystery of the missing boys, too.

Davey suspects his neighbor, a cop named McKay ( Rich Sommer ). His friends respond with enthusiasm, more because it sounds like fun than because it is especially plausible. This leads to numbingly generic thriller dialogue: “This is the most exciting thing that’s ever happened to us.” “That was way too frickin’ close” and even the unforgivable “I’ve got a bad feeling about this” and “Nothing was ever going to be the same again.” 

Sommer makes some thoughtful choices as McKay, his performance intriguingly balanced between polite loner and creepy loner. But the script is underwritten, with too many fake-outs and an unearned zigzag at the end.

It is not the eerie suspense of digging up the suspect’s garden or the jump-out-at-you surprises that make a thriller. It is some connection to the characters and some stakes in the outcome. This film stays on the surface, imitating thrills, not delivering them.

Nell Minow is the Contributing Editor at RogerEbert.com.

• Caleb Emery as Dale 'Woody' Woodworth
• Cory Gruter-Andrew as Curtis Farraday
• Graham Verchere as Davey Armstrong
• Patrick Lubczyk as Teenage boy
• Tiera Skovbye as Nikki Kaszuba
• Judah Lewis as Tommy 'Eats' Eaton
• Rich Sommer as Wayne Mackey
• Jason Gray-Stanford as Randall Armstrong
• Anouk Whissell
• François Simard
• Yoann-Karl Whissell
• Austin Andrews
• Jean-Nicolas Leupi
• Jean-Philippe Bernier

Cinematographer

• Matt Leslie
• Stephen J. Smith

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Summer of 84 Reviews

Unfortunately, spending any amount of time with Davey and his friends proves grating, and there's not enough time spent feeling terrified.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/4 | Mar 11, 2022

Summer of '84 does many things well. The suspense set pieces are well-staged. The young cast gives convincing performances.

Full Review | Jul 27, 2020

It does many things wrong, but the twist is so good, it redeems a large part of the film. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Jul 5, 2020

It's a unsatisfying, hollow, and frankly dull attempt at nostalgic throwback horror that lacks any authenticity, earnestness, or energy.

Full Review | Original Score: C- | Jun 30, 2020

It's a good movie.

Full Review | May 14, 2020

I really think that the ending makes this movie great.

Fun in the moment but all too ugly up close in memory. The 80s, am I right? It excelled at that.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | May 4, 2020

There were moments when I was roused by myriads of sly wit, suspicion and even shock, and others when I felt sad for kids who might have endured better by leaving the searches to others.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Apr 23, 2020

Despite the film's character flaws, a twisted ending that viewers won't see coming helps elevate it.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5 | Aug 15, 2019

...meanders for most of its run time and by the time the film goes somewhere interesting, it's already too late

Full Review | Jun 21, 2019

Summer of '84 is an unexpected wonder. A nostalgic movie that, paradoxically, advocates with passion about the dangers of nostalgia. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 7.5/10 | Apr 2, 2019

While the kids-on-bicycles story may be a bit tired, the night drive-inspired synth score, the summer-break friendship dynamic, and the central story all add up to an irresistible and highly entertaining movie.

Full Review | Original Score: B | Mar 30, 2019

It definitely gets a little gory by the end but I thought it was a good little horror movie with some genuine scares.

Full Review | Original Score: 8/10 | Feb 25, 2019

An almost comedy in which the narrator warns that even in the most friendly homes there can be secrets. [Full Review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Feb 2, 2019

Perhaps with the intention of seducing a wider audience, Simardi and the Whissells have managed to make clear that there is a generational sensitivity that needs to grow as urgently as possible. [Full Review in Spanish]

Full Review | Feb 2, 2019

A remarkable exercise in suspense. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 1, 2019

The film shifts from reflecting the work of Steven Spielberg to that of Stephen King, bringing to light the pain and fear buried in the gardens of childhood. [Full Review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jan 29, 2019

A season of Stranger Things without synthesizers. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Jan 28, 2019

Summer of '84 plays clearly. [Full Review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Jan 7, 2019

Proof that skilled horror filmmakers can shock, scare, and surprise audiences even when working with the familiar.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Dec 21, 2018

Film Review: ‘Summer of ’84’

Four teens suspect a neighbor is a notorious murderer in this diverting but mild homage to ’80s VHS genre throwaways.

By Dennis Harvey

Dennis Harvey

Film Critic

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The 1980s VHS nostalgia bandwagon trundles on with “Summer of ’84,” a retro thriller in which four suburban teens snoop around a neighbor they think might be a serial killer — amateur detective work that seems “fun” until, of course, it becomes downright dangerous.

Introduced biking around his innocuous cul-de-sac on a paper route, Davey ( Graham Verchere ) sees his bland personal universe as potentially fraught with hidden intrigue. His best buds — plus-sized softie Woody (Caleb Emery), bespectacled brainiac Farraday (Cory Gruter-Andrew) and quasi-punk psuedo-delinquent Eats (Judah Lewis) — are willing to indulge his lurid imagination to an extent. But they, like his parents, are also inclined to dismiss Davey’s more paranoid fixations as the spawn of too much “Hardy Boys” and “National Enquirer” reading.

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Nonetheless, they reluctantly go along with his insistence that the affable bachelor across the street, policeman Mr. Mackey (Rich Sommer), might be the elusive Cape May Slayer who’s claimed responsibility for 13 murders in a region where numerous teenage boys have gone missing within recent months. The more the boys spy on this neighbor, the more suspicious his actions seem. But of course grown-ups, including Davey’s dad (Jason Gray-Stanford) and mom (Shauna Johannesen) scoff at mere kids accusing this friendly police officer of any fiendish deeds. One nearly grown-up ally is Nikki (Tiera Skovbye), Davey’s former babysitter and everyone’s crush object.

Popular on Variety

All this is good as far as it goes. But ultimately it doesn’t go very far, particularly for a film that’s almost half an hour longer than most of the direct-to-video B movies it evokes. The leisurely progress isn’t justified by any well-developed subplots, or by much suspense — there’s never a doubt who the perp is, and apart from a couple of false-flag jump scares, little real peril surfaces until quite late. The climactic action is OK, yet the film feels like it needed an additional twist or two to be memorable, while the overall boys’-own-adventure tone is too lightweight to support a grimly serious fadeout.

Performances are solid, especially those by Sommer and Skovbye. There’s neat if not quite witty attention paid to period specifics of suburban life and genre aesthetics, the most notable contributor being Le Matos’ uber-’80s synth score.

It’s not clear if co-scenarists Matt Leslie and Stephen J. Smith intended their tale to be played for satire, straight suspense, or a mixture of both. But as executed by the RKSS trio, “Summer of ’84” is only cute and competent enough to be diverting; it’s neither funny nor scary enough to leave a lasting impression.

Reviewed online, San Francisco, Jan. 23, 2018. (In Sundance Film Festival — Midnight.) Running time: 106 MIN.

• Production: (Canada-U.S.) A Gunpowder & Sky presentation in association with Brightlight Pictures of an RKSS production. (International sales: Gunpowder & Sky, Los Angeles.) Producers: Shawn Williamson, Jameson Parker, Matt Leslie, Van Toffler, Cody Zwieg. Executive producer, Floris Bauer. Co-producer, Michael Flavin.
• Crew: Directors: Francois Simard, Anouk Whissell, Yoann-Karl Whissell. Screenplay: Matt Leslie, Stephen J. Smith. Camera (color, widescreen, HD), Jean-Philippe Bernier. Editor: Austin Andrews. Music: Le Matos.
• With: Graham Verchere, Judah Lewis, Caleb Emery, Cory Gruter-Andrew, Tiera Skovbye, Rich Sommer, Jason Gray-Stanford, Shauna Johannesen.

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Summary Summer, 1984: The perfect time to be 15 years old and care free. But when neighborhood conspiracy theorist Davey Armstrong begins to suspect his police officer neighbor might be the serial killer all over the local news, he and his three best friends begin an investigation that soon turns dangerous.

Directed By : François Simard, Anouk Whissell, Yoann-Karl Whissell

Written By : Matt Leslie, Stephen J. Smith

Summer of 84

Where to watch, graham verchere, davey armstrong.

Judah Lewis

Tommy 'eats' eaton, caleb emery, dale 'woody' woodworth, cory gruter-andrew, curtis farraday, tiera skovbye, nikki kaszuba, rich sommer, wayne mackey, jason gray-stanford, randall armstrong, shauna johannesen, sheila armstrong, william macdonald, sheriff caldwell, harrison houde, bobby coker, aren buchholz, susie castillo, brenda woodworth, reilly jacob, dusty dewitt, jaiven natt, j. alex brinson, officer cole, patrick keating, patrick lubczyk, teenage boy, jordan buhat, dorky customer, mark brandon, local news anchor, shahrokh ferdowsi, police detective, critic reviews.

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Summer of 84

After suspecting that their police officer neighbor is a serial killer, a group of teenage friends spend their summer spying on him and gathering evidence, but as they get closer to discover... Read all After suspecting that their police officer neighbor is a serial killer, a group of teenage friends spend their summer spying on him and gathering evidence, but as they get closer to discovering the truth, things get dangerous. After suspecting that their police officer neighbor is a serial killer, a group of teenage friends spend their summer spying on him and gathering evidence, but as they get closer to discovering the truth, things get dangerous.

• François Simard
• Anouk Whissell
• Yoann-Karl Whissell
• Matt Leslie
• Stephen J. Smith
• Graham Verchere
• Judah Lewis
• Caleb Emery
• 455 User reviews
• 148 Critic reviews
• 57 Metascore
• 1 win & 5 nominations

Top cast 22

• Davey Armstrong

• Tommy 'Eats' Eaton

• Dale 'Woody' Woodworth

• Curtis Farraday
• (as Cory Grüter-Andrew)

• Nikki Kaszuba

• Wayne Mackey

• Randall Armstrong

• Sheila Armstrong

• Sheriff Caldwell

• Bobby Coker

• Brenda Woodworth
• Dusty Dewitt

• Officer Cole

• Teenage Boy

• Dorky Customer
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

More like this

Did you know

• Trivia The fictional arcade game Polybius of urban legend appears in the background of the bowling alley with an out of order sign on it.
• Goofs Mackey's police car switches between 1981-1985 Chevrolet Impala and 1986 Chevrolet Caprice.

Curtis Farraday : You know you can get AIDS from looking through trash, right?

Tommy 'Eats' Eaton : Only way you're ever getting AIDS.

• Connections Featured in Half in the Bag: 2018 Catch-Up (part 2 of 2) (2018)
• Soundtracks Cruel Summer Written by Sara Dallin , Siobhan Fahey , Keren Woodward , Steve Jolley , Tony Swain Performed by Bananarama Courtesy of Sony/ATV Music Publishing Canada o/b/o Associated Music International Ltd and Broad Music International, Warner/Chappell o/b/o Grown Your Own Music, BMG Rights Management Canada o/b/o BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd. c/o BMG Rights Management Canada Inc.

User reviews 455

• WiseManWiseAnswer
• Aug 1, 2018
• How long is Summer of 84? Powered by Alexa
• August 10, 2018 (United States)
• Official Facebook
• Official site (Japan)
• Verano del 84
• Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
• Brightlight Pictures
• See more company credits at IMDbPro

Technical specs

• Runtime 1 hour 45 minutes

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• Entertainment /

Summer of ‘84 is the grisly little brother of Stranger Things

Another trip down memory lane mashes up the ’burbs and monster squad.

By Bryan Bishop

Share this story

Welcome to Cheat Sheet, our brief breakdown-style reviews of festival films, VR previews, and other special event releases. This review comes from the 2018 Sundance Film Festival.

There’s a world in which Stranger Things doesn’t exist and the latest adaptation of Stephen King’s It didn’t just become a huge horror movie success. In that alternate timeline, the emergence of a film set in 1984 about a group of four high school kids trying to solve a local murder mystery — replete with burbling synthesizer score and pop-culture references — would likely be seen as a clever, inventive piece of retro nostalgia.

Unfortunately for Summer of ‘84 , which recently had its world premiere at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, we live in this world, not that one. The film is a well-intentioned throwback that ably captures the cheesy-meets-scary vibe of movies like The Monster Squad , and it’s even able to pack in real surprises by subverting key genre expectations. But that can’t stop the movie from feeling like a rehash of a rehash, a story covering ground that’s already been reimagined in a much more effective way.

What’s the genre?

Eighties teen adventure, mashed up with slasher-movie instincts. Imagine The ‘Burbs , but instead of Tom Hanks as the hero, it’s the kids from The Monster Squad , and you’ve got the idea.

What’s it about?

It’s (surprise!) the summer of 1984, and Davey (Graham Verchere) and his band of friends are bored. The group is a collective of familiar archetypes: Davey is the leader and a science-fiction conspiracy-theory nut. There’s Eats (Judah Lewis), the would-be punk-rock kid whose parents fight all the time; Woody (Caleb Emery), the goodhearted, slightly overweight kid; and Farraday (Cory Gruter-Andrew), the bespectacled nerd. As Davey intones in an opening voiceover, “the suburbs are where the craziest shit happens.” So after a serial killer contacts the local newspaper, Davey becomes convinced that he knows who the murderer is: his neighbor, a cop named Wayne Mackey ( Mad Men ’s Rich Sommer).

Davey doesn’t have much evidence to support his theory, but he nonetheless ropes his friends into helping him investigate the police officer so they can blow the case wide open. Mackey has plenty of idiosyncratic habits — he takes mysterious runs at night, and has been buying up massive amounts of dirt and digging supplies that could help with body disposal — but every breadcrumb they find ends up having a plausible explanation. Eventually, it seems Davey’s instincts were wrong and they’ve hit a dead end… or have they?

What’s it really about?

Good question. Screenwriters Matt Leslie and Stephen J. Smith pack a lot into their script, but it’s mostly tropes and shout-outs. Where Stranger Things is a master class in how to evoke the feel of an era rather than simply name-checking it, Summer of ‘84 does its damndest to be the counterpoint, shoving as many references into its characters’ mouths as it can. But when you boil it all down, the movie is about disillusionment with the Reagan-era suburban ideal.

There’s certainly material to mine there. Problem is, many of those same original ‘80s movies have already mined it. Summer of ‘84 doesn’t modify that formula for modern resonance, either. Audiences may walk in with their own feelings that the suburban America of 2018 is not the suburban America that was once promised, but the film itself doesn’t do anything to advance that statement.

Is it good?

If this movie had come out three years ago, it probably would have been embraced as a fun time. Nostalgia is enjoyable, and the movie does nod to some classic horror-comedies. But unfortunately, we do live in a post- Stranger Things world, and given the striking similarities — in setting, conceit, aesthetic, and score — it’s impossible to avoid comparing the two works. (In fact, during a post-screening Q&A, the filmmakers suggested that the success of the Netflix show was what helped their project get green-lit in the first place.) Summer of ‘84 simply does not stack up to the Duffer brothers’ series, particularly in terms of writing and character work. Where Stranger Things goes for subtle, Summer goes for on-the-nose. Where the Netflix show offers nuanced, empathetic characters, this film gives us cardboard cutouts with performances to match. (Verchere and Emery are the two big exceptions.)

Directors François Simard, Anouk Whissell, and Yoann-Karl Whissell — known collectively as RKSS — previously brought their feature Turbo Kid to Sundance. That movie combined kids’ movies, adventure films, and a post-apocalyptic setting to create a gleeful, gory Sam Raimi-esque mash-up. In Summer of ‘84 , it’s clear that the directors still know exactly how to remix their own childhood favorites. And while the stylistic and visual references are unmissable — my particular favorite was a shot that seemed to evoke the original Nightmare on Elm Street — the whole concoction is missing any sense of joy. Whatever kind of sheen RKSS are able to bring to the project is unfortunately undercut by the failings of the characters and the screenplay. When the setup for Davey’s hunt is so thin, and the main characters so hard to invest in, it doesn’t matter how clever the references are, or how willingly the movie embraces full-on gory horror toward the end. The fundamentals just aren’t there, which is hard to miss when Stranger Things got so much out of these same elements.

What should it be rated?

This is an R. Trust me.

How can I actually watch it?

There’s no release date in place, but I’m going to go out on a limb and say that it probably won’t end up on Netflix at any point.

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Summer of 84 (2018) - movie review.

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Having lived there before, the suburbs are where the craziest of the crazy hide. You already suspect this.  I do, too.   Summer of 84 , with a killer third act, is the confirmation we needed.  There’s a chance, after watching this flick, that you won’t be able to look at your neighbors in the same way. Effective and familiar, this nostalgic film, heavy with the 1980s vibes, is an enjoyable bike ride through the recent past as a group of sleuthing teens brush up on The Hardy Boys in the search for a serial killer.

There is something foul-smelling hidden within the smooth pockets of suburbia.  Everything looks normal and at peace there, with clean lawns and houses with snappy curb appeal as its gatekeepers, but the truth – as paperboy Davey Armstrong ( Graham Verchere ) suspects – is far darker.  If  The Goonies  went in search of a child killer instead of One-Eyed Willie ’s stolen treasure, the result would be this dark-themed flick of family and dysfunction.

Everything here is a façade, he narrates and, as he bicycles into a crisp neighborhood of cheery neighbors slinging papers with skill, he begins this movie with an ominous warning for us all to be careful where we go digging.  It is obvious that Davey has learned this the hard way and this movie,  Summer of 84 , is the result.  Turns out, we should ALL be aware of exactly where we go poking around. 

Directors Anouk Whissell, François Simard, Yoann-Karl Whissell return with another throwback film that echoes through the 1980s underground output of cinematic adventures.  We have a group of similar teenagers - think  Neon Demons  - involved in a large scale mystery in their neighborhood - like in  The Burbs  - and it goes dark with its coming-of-age attitudes - like in  Stand By Me .  The team’s last effort,  Turbo Kid , was absolutely LIT with gonzo swagger as kid's adventures got special treatment but here, with more of a straight-laced approach to the teenaged adventures, they point their blasters toward our own remembrances. {googleads}

Summer of 84  is the dark nephew of  Stranger Things .  It is nostalgic and fun and Le Matos absolutely delivers a memorable electronic score but it is also familiar as its characters (all with domestic issues which need a bit more addressing to resonate) aren't allowed the kind of on-screen growth we actually need and want.  To separate itself from the other nostalgic nods stands the fact that it is willing to kill off some of its characters.  I doubt  Stranger Things  would EVER do that.  For that reason, this film earns some bonus points from me.

Had  Summer of 84   appeared three or four years ago, it might be the victor in the battle between it and Stranger Things , but this film’s fate as a follower is solidified.  Even if the film secured its funding due to the success of the Netflix show, the differences are saved until the final arc of the picture.  It is damn unsettling. It should also be noted that its clone status doesn’t stop it from being clever with its nods to other slasher flicks from the same era.

And their obsession turns to envy as Nikki and Davey start spending time together.  Soon, she’s involved in the hunt for the serial killer.  Even if she disagrees with Davey’s suspicions that it is a prominent member of the neighborhood, she joins the rest of the boys in bucking logic on midnight walk-talkie runs.  With  Mad Men ’s Rich Sommer also in the cast, this Reagan-era slice of horror is far from the wholesome image its President is remembered for.  This movie is actually a grisly wakeup call for American history. 

Things were not okay back in the  Summer of 84   and, no, the kids, as a result, are not alright.  Summer of 84  is now available on certain VOD platforms and in a current limited run in theaters .

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MPAA Rating: Unrated. Runtime: 105 mins Director : François Simard, Anouk Whissell Writer: Matt Leslie, Stephen J. Smith Cast: Graham Verchere, Judah Lewis, Caleb Emery Genre : Drama | Mystery Tagline: A film by RKSS Memorable Movie Quote: " Huh, a better view of my room than I thought. " Theatrical Distributor: Gunpowder & Sky Official Site: www.facebook.com/summerof84movie/ Release Date: August 10, 2018 DVD/Blu-ray Release Date:   Synopsis : Every serial killer is somebody’s neighbor. For 15-year-old Davey, the thought of having a serial killer in his suburban town is a scary yet exciting prospect at the start of a lazy summer. In hormonal overdrive, Davey and his friends dream of sexual conquests until the news reports of the Cape May killer. Davey convinces his friends that they must investigate, and they uncover that his next-door neighbor, an unassuming, single police officer, could be the prime suspect. Could Davey possibly be right, or is it his overactive imagination?

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Movie Review – Summer of 84 (2018)

August 7, 2018 by Matt Donato

Summer of 84 , 2018.

Directed by François Simard, Anouk Whissell, and Yoann-Karl Whissell. Starring Graham Verchere, Judah Lewis, Caleb Emery, Cory Gruter-Andrew, Tiera Skovbye, and Rich Sommer.

After suspecting that their police officer neighbor is a serial killer, a group of teenage friends spend their summer spying on him and gathering evidence, but as they get closer to discovering the truth, things get dangerous.

With Summer of 84 , filmmaking collective RKSS ( Turbo Kid ) peek behind suburbia’s white picket fences and fake cul-de-sac smiles in hopes of finding something wicked. “Even serial killers live next door to someone.” It’s Stranger Things meets Gacy . An ode to lazy small-town summers and creative odysseys of the restless adolescent mind. RKSS venture into ever-popular nostalgia territories amidst familiarity and darkness, telling a kiddie-snatching tale intended at the least to manipulate “home before dark” innocence. It’s relatively predictable and scant on mystery, but when not obsessing over masturbation or boobz, Summer of 84 is a nasty true-crime thriller that could occur in anyone’s backyard. “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” don’t mean a thing.

Davey Armstrong (Graham Verchere) is your average 12-to-16-year-old boy obsessed with late-night conspiracies. His latest “inclination” suggests that local cop Wayne Mackey (Rich Sommer) is actually the Cape May Killer – a monster who preys on helpless boys in Davey’s age demographic. His crew – “Eats” (Judah Lewis), “Woody” (Caleb Emery) and Curtis (Cory Gruter-Andrew) – are skeptical at first, but begin to agree after joining Davey throughout his investigation. Could the upstanding gentleman who hands popsicles out to underage kiddos while he watches them play sports from a lawn chair in his front yard actually be a murderous maniac? Davey’s going to find out, whether he’s grounded or not.

Creators François Simard, Anouk Whissell, and Yoann-Karl Whissell evoke my Jersey-bubble childhood within the boundaries of Ipswich, Oregon. It’s the life many of us lived. No one wants to believe their middle-America town could fall victim to unspeakable dangers, and as children, we ruled the streets and yards like they were our personal playground. All-black manhunt games, unspoken codes between homeowners, “it can never happen here” pacification. RKSS return to the All-American dream and morph it into a red, white and blue nightmare. Both a commentary on how drastically times have changed (no cell phones, adolescent freedoms) and the unassuming scaliness of demons hiding in plain sight.

Enter Summer of 84 ’s growing cast, who sneak mischievously and play junior detectives with vivid imaginations. Banter is typical of pre-teen stereotypes – pornography commentaries, mom jokes, words like “jizz” or “spank” utter over and over – while each child carves their niche. Davey the “heroic leader” who steps into unlocked houses first, “Eats” the leather-jacket rebel suppressing conflict, Woody the nervous but loyal brickhouse, Curtis the non-believer. Dialogue feels a little lesser than Stranger Things given how the boys will always devolve into explicit obscenities when in doubt, but evidence collections against Mackey bring out their best chemistry. When on the case, characters scamper and shout walkie-talkie commands with amble shakiness – balance just isn’t always in place.

This brings us to babysitter-turned-love-interest Nikki (Tiera Skovbye), who – inexplicably – walks over to Davey’s house one day and fulfills his wettest fantasies. This is after she catches him peeping through window blinds to snag a glimpse of her topless. There’s zero explanation for romantic intent, as she begins luring Davey out to reminisce about goofy pictures they might have taken together (still with an age gap). Davey’s wildest dreams are coming true, but, we must beg “why.” It’s such an odd, unannounced arc that never finds place or meaning in Summer of 84 . Written almost like self-fulfillment; shoe-horned because a movie needs “sexual tension,” right?

During cat-and-mouse scampering, Rich Sommer as Wayne Mackey leads audiences on just as much as unconvinced Davey. We want to believe Davey, except Wayne is the adult in the situation. He’s in control, but also sympathetic to Davey’s fears. A killer has been snatching children and Davey is trying to rationalize a way of ending such atrocities. Clues can either be damning or coincidental, which Summer of 84 plays close to vest. Sommer is the reason for every ounce of tension – a pillar of community who understands advantage, steps cautiously and is too goddamn nice for comfort. If, you know, he even IS the killer.

RKSS returns with an ode to childhood that’s a little more streamlined than Turbo Kid , and a little less creatively ambitious as well. Summer of 84 decks the halls with 80s pop-culture, endangers the helpless, but isn’t sneakily inclined to shock viewers once credits have rolled. Malicious, sick and specific to a bygone era? Absolutely. It’s just sometimes better as a time capsule than serial killer hunt when it comes to open-ended thriller chills. A very “fine” film that’ll kill any time you may have laying around – which, coming from the RKSS camp, leaves us wanting a bit more.

Flickering Myth Rating –  Film: ★★★ / Movie: ★★★

Matt spends his after-work hours posting nonsense on the internet instead of sleeping like a normal human. He seems like a pretty cool guy, but don’t feed him after midnight just to be safe (beers are allowed/encouraged).   Follow him on Twitter/Instagram ( @ DoNatoBomb ).

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Summer of 84

Review by brian eggert september 2, 2018.

Following in the footsteps of recent nostalgia-fests, Summer of 84 occupies a familiar setup in which four young teens investigate something macabre or fantastical in their corner of Suburbia, USA. Another in a chain of recent ‘80s-inflected TV shows and movies to adopt this setup, the film bears a resemblance to last year’s It and Netflix’s ongoing Stranger Things —without which Summer of 84 would not exist. Of course, those titles borrow from a tradition of Stephen King and Steven Spielberg fare that actually debuted in the 1980s, including E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), The Goonies (1985), Stand by Me (1986), and the most underrated of them all, The Monster Squad (1987). But where Summer of 84 falters is its deficiency of likable characters, a seemingly essential component to this now commonplace story structure.

Written by Matt Leslie and Stephen J. Smith, the writers don’t bother trying to hide their influences. Look at how the foursome of teenage boys that drive the story resemble the same basic types that we’ve seen countless times before: There’s the shy, relatable conspiracy nut Davey (Graham Verchere); the group’s macho renegade, Eats (Judah Lewis); the bookish one with glasses, Faraday (Cory Gruter-Andrew); and the resident fat kid, Woody (Caleb Emery). Together, they suspect Davey’s neighbor, Wayne Mackey (Rich Sommer), the nice-guy cop who lives across the street, of killing a string of teenage boys in their sleepy Oregon town. Mackey, a bachelor, spends much of his time gardening in the backyard and taking late-night jogs, which leads the boys to suspect he’s up to something nefarious. It’s like Fright Night (1985) but without the fangs.

Summer of 84 was directed by French-Canadian filmmakers Anouk Whissell, Francois Simard, and Yoann-Karl Whissell, the same trio that delivered Turbo Kid , the 2015 post-apocalyptic comedy meant to resemble something cheaper and sleazier than the average New World Pictures release. There’s decidedly less bloodshed here, and most of it is reserved for the final 30 minutes or so. However disgusting and shocking the eventual scares may be, the buildup spends too much time with this group of friends and their endless talk of “pussy” to make the audience care. Frankly, these are unpleasant kids, unlike the corresponding groups from Stand by Me or Stranger Things . We can’t really understand why any of them are friends, except the one thing they have in common, talking about the female anatomy. The proceedings become quite tiresome in their company, especially when it comes to Nikki (Tiera Skovbye), Davey’s former babysitter who serves no purpose except to facilitate his adolescent fantasies and improbably support his quest to expose Mackey.

The directors draw inspiration—in some cases, entire shots—from the movies and TV shows mentioned above, as well as other favorites from the decade of excess. Take a scene when Davey’s friends dig up Mackey’s garden and accidentally cover their walkie-talkie in dirt, a moment taken directly from Joe Dante’s The Burbs (1986), another title about suspected murders in small-town America. Summer of 84 is rife with callbacks such as this, to the extent that viewers well-versed in 1980s cult cinema will either enjoy the references or find the entire experience derivative. Above all, though, the directors attempt to exploit the popularity of Stranger Things , from the character descriptions to the music. Note how the electronic score by Le Matos sounds suspiciously like Michael Stein and Kyle Dixon’s synth-laden sounds from the Stranger Things opening theme.

Ultimately, Summer of 84 doesn’t earn its overstuffed 106-minute runtime. It spends more than an hour in the company of horny little assholes, and only the third act exploring the demented depths implied by the story’s setup (the killer’s lair and final words are genuinely unsettling). Usually, what works best about these adventures is the comradery between the boys, while the source of the mystery is just the icing on the cake. But unfortunately, spending any amount of time with Davey and his friends proves grating, and there’s not enough time spent feeling terrified. Summer of 84 seems to understand the structure of those beloved teen adventures of the 1980s, but it doesn’t understand that lovable characters are what bonded us to them in the first place.

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Home » Horror News » Review: Summer of ’84

Review: Summer of ’84

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

ORIGINALLY REVIEWED AT SUNDANCE'18

PLOT: Four friends find their carefree summer interrupted when one of them becomes convinced the nice cop who lives down the street is a serial killer.

REVIEW: SUMMER OF ‘84 is the latest from the RKSS collective, a trio of directors that consists of François Simard, Anouk Whissell , and Yoann-Karl Whissel, the Montreal filmmakers behind TURBO KID. While that was an affectionate homage to eighties junk cinema, specifically the zero-budget MAD MAX clones that plagued video-stores in that era, SUMMER OF 84, by contrast, is a much more straight-laced film. Opting against the grand Guignol grind-house format of their last film, here they go for something lower-key, adopting a pseudo-Hitchcock vibe, with this owing much to his SHADOW OF A DOUBT or REAR WINDOW, with some eighties influences present too – including FRIGHT NIGHT.

Much of the film is a slow burn, emphasizing the kind of boys’ own adventure aspect, with all four sharing nice camaraderie, specifically lead Graham Verchere, who plays the precocious Davey, and his best pal, Woody, played by Caleb Emery. Some attempt is made to flesh out all of the boys, as well as Davey’s love interest, the beautiful babysitter next door (played Tiera Skovbye) by digging into their home lives, although they maybe go too far in this aspect when threads open up that don’t really pay off, particularly towards the climax. Running about 105 minutes, SUMMER OF 84 could stand a modest amount of tightening, with some slow stretches towards the middle, and some of the pop culture dialogue seeming stale, especially if compared to similarly set pieces like “Stranger Things” and the recent IT.

All of this winds up paying off in the unexpected third act, which is a doozy. Some inspired choices have been made, specifically by the directors luring the audience into a sense of false security. For much of the movie, I was shocked by how tame it was, with it seeming like it could even go out with a PG-13, only for the climax to really push some buttons and explore territory I didn’t expect. It’s an inspired wrap-up, and it’s the kind that makes everything that came before it seem better in hindsight, making it easy to forgive bits that may seem draggy and dull. It all serves a purpose.

On a technical level, SUMMER OF 84 is comparatively slick to TURBO KID, which itself looked great for a micro-budget genre piece. The widescreen lensing is professional, while the tech credits and performances are all up to snuff – with not a weak link among them. This is arguably Rich Sommer’s show, with him playing the cop they think is a killer and he admirably underplays the part, increasing his sense of menace. It’s his best part since “Mad Men”. Special notice also has to be paid to the amazing score by Le Matos, whose score for TURBO KID has already become a classic. This is comparatively lower-key, but it serves the film and bodes well for a long scoring career in the Danny Elfman vein.

While SUMMER OF ‘84 isn’t quite the grindhouse romp one might expect for RKSS, it’s a mature follow-up that suggests the collective is really coming into their own and far from a one-trick pony. There are things about SUMMER OF 84 that will really kick around in your head for awhile after this is done, with parts of it evoking a sense of doom very few filmmakers are able to achieve. This aspect makes any of SUMMER OF 84’s not as successful bits easy to overlook.

Summer of 84

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About the Author

Chris Bumbray began his career with JoBlo as the resident film critic (and James Bond expert) way back in 2007, and he has stuck around ever since, being named editor-in-chief in 2021. A voting member of the CCA and a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, you can also catch Chris discussing pop culture regularly on CTV News Channel.

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Summer of ’84 is like a kid playing with his dad’s gun, and he gets to be so irritating and cocky that you eventually wish he’ll just shoot himself in the foot and get it over with. Without a shred of originality, Francois Simard , Anouk Whissell , and Yoann-Karl Whissell ’s film leans heavily into every cliché it can find, and then wants to walk away with a sense of smug satisfaction at the end for “going there” when everyone could see what was going to happen from a mile away. It’s a movie with no regard to the gravity of its subject, eager to ape an 80s tone without any sense of why, and misses a far more interesting subtext as it drowns in a predictable, clumsy narrative.

Teenagers Davey (the normal one), Woody (the fat one), Eaton (the horny one), and Farraday (the smart one) are having fun over the summer of 1984 in Ipswich, Oregon, but Davey believes that his longtime neighbor Mr. Mackey ( Rich Sommer ) might be a serial killer. Davey, who’s obsessed with conspiracy theories and eager to find adventure, convinces his pals that Mackey must be the Cape May Killer, and so it’s up to find the evidence to support this conclusion. When not gawking at his hot neighbor Nikki (who apparently has no friends or options beyond hanging out with a teenage boy who’s four years younger than her), Davey believes he must keep finding clues about Mackey even as everyone starts growing tired of the teenager’s paranoia.

The movie kicks off with Davey telling us that the craziest things happen in the suburbs, which is ridiculous, but whatever. The opening salvo is that a serial killer could live next door to anyone because serial killers always live next door to someone. A smarter, sharper movie would run not in the direction of “Is Mackey a Serial Killer?” but rather showing the four boys searching out adventure because they don’t like their home lives. Woody’s mom has a drinking problem. Eaton’s parents hate each other. The “nightmare” next door is that everyone has their own baggage, and if Summer of ’84 had an ounce of humanity, it would embrace that kind of detail.

Instead, the movie is enamored of its own style, and because it refuses to let go of its 80s nostalgia and heavy synth score, it refuses to go any place honest, doubling down again and again on “Is Mackey a serial killer?” which is the least interesting question possible. By hammering this question, the movie backs itself into a corner. Either Mackey is a serial killer, in which case Davey was right to be paranoid and the outsized style has an outsized narrative to match, or the movie chooses to be anticlimactic. Since the movie leans so heavily on stock characters and empty nostalgia, you can tell it’s not smart enough or brave enough to be anticlimactic, so it’s just a lot of wheel spinning until the reveal that a serial killer lives in the suburb.

And then somehow the movie gets even worse. Without spoiling anything, I’ll simply say that the last 15 minutes practically scream insecurity as if the filmmakers were terrified their movie wouldn’t leave an impact so they somehow have to go even darker. Never mind that carrying the story in this direction makes it somehow even less believable and somehow even more hackneyed; the filmmakers are hell-bent on making an impression in the same way that someone who farts in a crowded elevator makes an impression on his fellow occupants.

The most infuriating thing about Summer of ’84 is that instead of coming off like the worst version of Stranger Things , it could have actually surpassed the Netflix hit by just being honest. When the guys are busy ogling porn and swearing at each other, you get the sense of something more honest and realistic due to the rough edges. It isn’t until you realize that is a crutch in place of real characters that the appeal wears off and that the filmmakers have gone for something far lazier and poorly considered. Maybe Simard, Whissell, and Whissell will make a movie one day where they’re not afraid of human emotions, but with Summer of ’84 , they prove they’re willing to take short cuts to a terrible picture.

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Kind of cringey. Specifically the kid characters are cringey. Which, I guess that's the point because they are kids in the 80s, so I guess good use of dialogue and script writing for the accuracy, but maybe too good if it makes the central characters too annoying to sit through.

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SUMMER OF ’84

Not rated, 105 minutes. Director:  François Simard ,  Anouk Whissell  and  Yoann-Karl Whissell Cast:  Graham Verchere ,  Judah Lewis ,  Caleb Emery ,  Cory Gruter-Andrew ,  Tiera Skovbye  and  Rich Sommer

If you haven’t heard of SUMMER OF ’84, change that by watching its trailer. You’ll be surprised it hasn’t popped up on your radar yet, because it looks exactly like the ‘80s kids-on-bicycles thriller you might have grown up on, like THE GOONIES and E.T. While this idea may feel a little worn down by properties such as STRANGER THINGS, SUPER 8 and IT so hot on the plate, the night drive-inspired synth score, the summer break friendship dynamic and the central story all add up to an irresistible and highly entertaining movie.

SUMMER OF ’84 could best be described as REAR WINDOW meets STRANGER THINGS and IT, but 86 the supernatural elements. It’s about 15-year-old Davey Armstrong (Graham Verchere) and his best friends (Judah Lewis, Caleb Emery and Cory Gruter-Andrew) investigating a local serial killer who has been snatching up kids in their town. Davey suspects it’s his neighbor, Mr. Mackey (Rich Sommer of GLOW), a police officer who lives alone and seems to be up to no good. He makes trips to the garden store to buy supplies like dirt, a pickaxe and a shovel. He claims he’s gardening, but the amount of stuff he buys doesn’t match the work to his yard. Mr. Mackey also takes long night jogs to his storage unit that contains God knows what.

But because the town, like IT, doesn’t seem to be as concerned as these teen boys are about the killer – seriously, parents will just allow these boys to play flashlight tag and walk home alone at night without many restrictions – it’s up to them to be the detectives and follow the breadcrumbs… and not die in the process.

What’s most surprising about SUMMER OF ’84, aside from the being a great hangout movie and having a slick style and jam-worthy musical score, is how it doesn’t try to be an overly clever thriller. So many movies are concerned about the audience picking up on the trail before the characters that the filmmakers complicate the story more to its dismay. SUMMER OF ’84 is dead simple, and how it leaves you is different from any movie like it. It’s actually quite haunting.

To this film’s disadvantage, however, the characters often don’t have much sense, most notably the parents. I can tell you right now, if a serial killer was at large and was responsible for the death of many local kids, my parents would have already made plans to move out of town, or, at the very least, would have me sleep in the same room as them. There’s too much trust going on in this situation and that has the audience working against the film a tad. Luckily, it’s not too much of a stretch, as the kids, for the most part, stay in their own suburban neighborhood.

While I am not a child of the ‘80s, I definitely was an outdoor kid who would communicate with friends on walkie talkies, make the neighborhood my playground and would always be suspicious of people. It’s part of the thrill of growing up, and SUMMER OF ’84 captures that very well. It also doesn’t overdo it too much like STRANGER THINGS does, where the kids have posters for movies that didn’t really get attention until years later. This movie also isn’t working under the same budget as that Netflix hit show, so the whole ‘80s aesthetic isn’t overwhelming. You only have kids going to the skating rink, playing arcade games, riding bikes and driving their parents’ station wagons around town. It’s a movie that just so happens to be set in the ‘80s and doesn’t let that aspect be the only source of its appeal.

I should also mention Verchere (THE GOOD DOCTOR and FARGO series), who plays Davey. He carries the film like a pro and allows the audience to identify with his worries and driven nature. He may have the expected crush on the pretty, older neighbor girl, Nikki (Tiera Skovbye), but how the film handles that relationship is refreshing.

SUMMER OF ’84 is a movie that should be playing nationwide, and it’s shocking that it is not. Maybe it’ll find a pulse on iTunes or on disc later, but for now it’s a gem to seek out. So, if you are in need of some late night plans (the Alamo Drafthouse in Las Colinas is showing the film at 8:30 p.m. or later this week), the film is worth the trip.

SUMMER OF ’84 is playing in select theaters today, and will release on iTunes and other digital formats on Aug. 24.

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Stinky summer.

• Common Sense Says
• Parents Say 1 Review
• Kids Say 0 Reviews

Common Sense Media Review

Skunk-centered camp comedy is tame but sort of a stinker.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Stinky Summer is a family comedy revolving around a skunk. With silly, bumbling villains breaking into a family's smart home and summer camp cabins to try to steal a computer program, the movie's slapstick hijinks make it feel like Home Alone without the violence. There's…

Why Age 6+?

A camp counselor carries wine in her thermos, which is seen when she eagerly pou

Villains are bumbling and silly. While certain situations might have led to peri

A goofy villain makes eyes at Olivia's mom. The mom dresses in clingy athletic w

A few instances of "fart" and "sucks."

Any Positive Content?

Olivia treats a stowaway baby skunk with compassion, trying to protect it so tha

Skunks are mostly friendly, peaceful animals. They're often kind and may even bo

Themes of friendship and teamwork. Wild animals may need our protection from tim

Female-focused story that was written and directed by women. Olivia and her fami

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

A camp counselor carries wine in her thermos, which is seen when she eagerly pours it into a wine glass and takes a sip. Later, when the girls ask what it is, she calls it "adult grape juice."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Violence & Scariness

Villains are bumbling and silly. While certain situations might have led to peril in real life—including a happy preschooler left without supervision all night while her family is locked in another room—they're played for humor here and never feel worrisome. Campers fight back against the villains, and while their measures to stop them are slapstick, they aren't violent. A goofy villain is infatuated with Olivia's mom, making eyes at her and saying that he likes her, even though she's weirded out by his behavior.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

A goofy villain makes eyes at Olivia's mom. The mom dresses in clingy athletic wear and cropped tops.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Positive Role Models

Olivia treats a stowaway baby skunk with compassion, trying to protect it so that it can be returned to the wilderness where its family most likely lives. Her dad is a smart app developer who's working on advanced technology; he encourages and believes in Olivia's abilities in coding. Emily is a loving big sister who helps put a positive spin on things. New camp friends are supportive, using teamwork to stop the international spies who are after Olivia and her dad's tablet/his proprietary work.

Educational Value

Skunks are mostly friendly, peaceful animals. They're often kind and may even bond with a human, but it's important to leave wild animals in the wild and not try to befriend or feed them. There's a camp song warning about what poison ivy looks like, which is visually reinforced later on. Educational facts about ballerina Misty Copeland, the first Black principal dancer in the American Ballet Theater.

Positive Messages

Themes of friendship and teamwork. Wild animals may need our protection from time to time, but they should stay in the wild.

Diverse Representations

Female-focused story that was written and directed by women. Olivia and her family are White, as are the two villains (one of whom is female). The summer camp is run by a good-natured but strict female camp counselor (Black actor Towanda Underdue). Olivia's friendly neighbors are Indian. A Latina ballet dancer frequently mentions her idol, Misty Copeland, who made history as the first Black woman to be a primary dancer for the prestigious American Ballet Theater. Other campers are a mix of ethnicities and skin colors, including three longtimers who are Black and Asian.

Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update.

Parents need to know that Stinky Summer is a family comedy revolving around a skunk. With silly, bumbling villains breaking into a family's smart home and summer camp cabins to try to steal a computer program, the movie's slapstick hijinks make it feel like Home Alone without the violence. There's little iffy content overall, really. A camp counselor secretly stores wine in a thermos, which she pours into a glass when she's finally alone to read a book—but it spills before she has a sip. And there are a couple of rude jokes involving skunk spray and "fart" as a frequent punchline. Young viewers will learn how to spot poison ivy—and that skunks are often sweet, docile, and only spray when scared. But the movie also makes it clear that while wild animals may need our protection from time to time, they should stay in the wild. Kids might enjoy the movie more knowing that the story idea came from the imagination of another kid, Olivia Ewald, who plays one of the campers. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

Videos and photos.

Parent and Kid Reviews

• Parents say (1)

Based on 1 parent review

Entertaining Girl-centric Skunk Camp Tale

What's the story.

In STINKY SUMMER, Olivia (Oakley Bull) isn't too excited about spending a week at the rule-heavy Camp Clover, so her tech-genius dad creates an app for her tablet to keep her interested in camp activities. Camp life gets more exciting when Olivia discovers a baby skunk in her duffel bag, and she and her bunkmates bond over keeping it a secret from the watchful eye of their camp counselor (Towanda Underdue). But when international spies realize that Olivia's tablet holds the secrets to a groundbreaking program her dad is developing, they infiltrate the camp, unaware that the girls are wielding a secret, smelly weapon.

Is It Any Good?

Just like the adorable skunk puppet standing in for the real animal, this kids' comedy is cute but hard to enjoy because you're always aware of the invisible hands manipulating the filmmaking. Nothing is exceptional in Stinky Summer —the bare-bones set design indicates the lack of budget and creativity, the dialogue is bland, and some of the kids just don't seem ready for feature film acting. And the fact that the baddies are ridiculous is appropriate in a comedy for young children, but the effect is chaos. Plus, sometimes the movie just plain doesn't make sense. For instance, during the melee in which the campers fight back against the "international spies," one villain is suddenly wearing a youth size 12 pink leotard without explanation. It's this kind of sloppiness that makes for a bad movie, and, yep, ends up in this one living up to its title.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about how Stinky Summer compares to other family films about kids bonding with wild animals. Why do you think audiences enjoy seeing these types of human-nature connections?

Why was it important to Olivia to get skunk Kit back home instead of letting him loose in the wild? Why is compassion an important character strength?

Did you learn anything new or surprising about skunks? What will you take away from this movie?

The story idea came from the producer's tween daughter, and she and her sisters have parts in the film. If you were going to make a movie with your family, what what it be about, and what roles would you all take in front of and behind the camera?

Movie Details

• In theaters : September 6, 2024
• On DVD or streaming : September 10, 2024
• Cast : Francesca Capaldi , Oakley Bull , Helen Day
• Director : Amanda Raymond
• Inclusion Information : Female directors, Female actors, Female writers, Asian writers
• Studio : Epic Pictures Releasing
• Genre : Family and Kids
• Topics : Friendship , Wild Animals
• Run time : 90 minutes
• MPAA rating : NR
• Last updated : September 4, 2024

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Suggest an Update

What to watch next.

Over the Hedge

Nim's Island

Fly Away Home

Best animal movies for kids, the best summer camp movies for kids, related topics.

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Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

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‘the return’ review: ralph fiennes and juliette binoche shine in an ‘odyssey’ adaptation that burns too slowly.

The 'English Patient' stars reunite for Uberto Pasolini's stark take on a section of Homer's epic, in which the beleaguered soldier comes home.

By Frank Scheck

Frank Scheck

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The story begins with Odysseus washed up on the shoreline, the waves lapping at his naked body ( Ralph Fiennes has transformed himself into a sinewy muscularity, and the impressive results are fully displayed). He is befriended by a swineherd, Eumaeus (Claudio Santamaria), who apparently doesn’t recognize him. He tells Odysseus that Queen Penelope ( Juliette Binoche ) is still alive, and so is her son Telemachus ( Charlie Plummer , Lean on Pete ), who has devoted himself to protecting his mother from the many men who long to be her new husband. She fends them off by weaving a shroud in the daylight hours and announcing that she’ll take a new husband when it’s completed, but she secretly undoes her work every night.

“No man by her side?” Odysseus asks, his voice quavering, revealing his insecurity upon returning home after a 20-year absence. He’s subsequently treated derisively by the men in the village, who respond to his plaintive plea, “Something for an old soldier?” with taunts and insults. But when he’s prodded into a brawl, Odysseus reveals his fighting skills, managing to kill his much larger and younger opponent.

The film is a long slow burn as Odysseus begins to reemerge both literally and metaphorically from the shadows, contending with such figures as Penelope’s unscrupulous suitor Antinous (Marwan Kenzari, Aladdin ) and his devoted former housekeeper Eurycleia (a very moving Ángela Molina, Live Flesh ), who immediately identifies him from his scars. Eventually, things come to a head with an archery contest in which the winner is to become Penelope’s husband and the new king, which Odysseus enters and immediately turns into a bloodbath.

Reminiscent of another Pasolini, Pier Paolo, in its minimalist take on a classic story, the film relies mainly on the elemental power of Fiennes and Binoche , both suitably haunting as the long-separated lovers who have lapsed into emotional despair. The storyline involving Plummer’s Telemachus proves less convincing, with the younger actor struggling to come to grips with his role and seeming far too contemporary. Director Pasolini, working from a screenplay co-written with John Collee ( Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World ) and the late Edward Bond ( Blow-Up ), employs a stark visual style, with the simple costumes and scenery providing little distraction. The approach works up to a point, but with its nearly two-hour running time The Return eventually taxes patience with its austerity.

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