Summer of 84 (2018)

I was well entertained but I wouldn't call Summer of 84 a horror movie, rather a mystery thriller with some (very few) elements of horror. Reminds me of movies like Stand by Me, Super 8 etc. Fine style, fine music, good production and direction make this a well crafted one.

Well, if you like kids as heroes playing detective, this one is like a fine summer's breeze for you.

Fmovies: Suspenseful, with good acting. Highly recommend. Takes a little while to get started but once it does you aren't bored for a second.

This was a great movie and I loved every second of it... Growing up I watched lots of movies and tv shows with my favorite movies always being the coming of age classics: "Goonies" and "Stand By Me". Later on in life, I always looked for coming of age movies that could meet my standards. Even with newer movies like "The Edge of Seventeen" (2016) I still wasn't very satisfied. For the first time in a while, I walked away from a movie theatre actually satisfied and my expectations and standards were fully met.

If I could sum this movie up in a few words for anyone interested in watching, it would be; A coming of age movie with a similar nostalgic feel of Stand By Me and the Goonies with a thrilling storyline that'll have you on the edge of your seat...

Summer of 84 fmovies. Not a horror movie. Thats the problem here. They call it horror and we go in expecting horror. Its a suspense/drama with a splash of horror at the end.

I thought the film was great though. I can look past the mistake of labeling it a horror movie. Its got the 80s nostalgic vibe going to a T. The ending was great. Ill only say i wish they went a littke further than they did. Otherwise a fun film for those who dont expect every movie to be a masterpiece.

First and foremost - this film is not to be compared to Stranger Things and / or It because it was never intended to be compared to those films.

Summer of '84 is a well constructed indie slow-burn film which draws on the neighborhood and suburban vibe which was only realized fully in this country during the 1980's. Harkening back to such classic films as The 'Burbs, Rear Window, When A Stranger Calls Back and other such '80s gems that hone in on the mentality of evil in our midst sight brought about by the Cold War and anti-communist rhetoric of 1950's McCarthyism.

Many of our younger readers will not remember a time when kids actually played outside at night in the neighborhood. Games we all loved such as Kick the Can or War or Flashlight Tag, games that parents secretly worried would expose us to that unknown evil... it is this mindset that Summer of '84 sets itself on.

Not your typical serial killer film, but I enjoyed it thoroughly. I will say I was surprised by the ending as I am cursed with determining the plot too early for most films - this one blindsided me and for that I thank the writers.

Haters of this film either 1) Don't understand that a horror movie doesn't have to be all in-your-face or 2) have no recollection of life during that period so don't see it as realistic. I was that age during the '80s and I vividly remember playing those games, being exposed to nudie mags, doing the neighborhood festivals, hearing about killers and half-wishing something happened in my area so I could play hero.

Well done production crew.

80's nostalgia is very much 'in' at the moment with the success of Stranger Things and IT, so I approached this movie with a little scepticism given that it's not big budget or on wide release. How wrong I was to doubt it! This is a fantastic little flick, extremely well written and directed and the lead players all give great performances, very typical of how teens were portrayed in the movies of the era. The story centres around a group of four teenagers who begin to suspect that a neighbour is the notorious 'Cape Bay Slayer'. Nothing particularly original in the concept, we've seen it before in movies like The Burbs and Disturbia, even as far back as Hitchcock's Rear Window. The trick here is in the execution, and it's clearly a movie that's been made with a real love for the 80s and for the genre. Those of us who were there will enjoy the pop culture references, which thankfully aren't over used and are subtly included to set the tone. There's the usual annoyance of characters doing things that are apt to get them into trouble, but hey it's a movie and so we need these situations to unfold otherwise it would be pretty boring watching them hang out in a treehouse for 100 minutes right? I won't drop any spoilers, the movie is better if you just go in and let it happen.

Give this one a chance and you'll be pleasantly surprised, I know I was.