Monster Summer is a spooky family adventure from director David Henrie (Wizards of Waverly Place) following an unexpected friendship between a kid and a secluded old man that forms when strange things start unfolding in their town.
Mason Thames stars as Noah, whose best friend is mysteriously changed after an accident. Soon, more similar cases start popping up, leading Noah to ask for help in Mel Gibson's Gene, a former police detective with a tragic past.
Here's Why Mason Thames' Monster Summer Is So Spooky
The Direct's Russ Milheim spoke with the cast and director of Monster Summer, who offered their thoughts on what makes the film so spooky.
"Even just using the word spooky is a great way to put it," says Noah Cottrell, who portrays Ben:
"Even using the word spooky is a great way to put it. There's a lot of mystery behind it. There are a lot of plot twists throughout the story. Things that you're not expecting at all, which is really fun for the audience to see. You know, I feel like the audience is, in a way, gonna be solving the mystery with the kids while they're watching it. And that adds such a spooky element to it in itself."
Lilah Pate, who is Ellie Evan's, Ben's crush, recalled "being on the edge of [her] seat while reading the script;"
"I remember being on the edge of my seat while reading the script, wondering, 'What's gonna happen next?' Filming our scene specifically will involve people on the edge of their seats, blood pumping—at least mine was while filming, no matter how many takes we have done. So I think that'll come through."
Julian Lerner, the actor behind Eugene, a member of the film's core group of friends, pointed out how he feels "the mystery throughout this movie" is what makes it spooky:
"What makes it spooky is the mystery throughout this movie. You don't really find out what's happening until the end. And I think all of that, like building up, will make the audience really excited about what happens, but it also makes it spooky."
Director David Henrie is confident that audiences "will not see [the big twist] coming:"
"You don't know what or who the bad guy is all along the way. And I guarantee you, you will not see [the big twist] coming. If you see it coming, you just shouldn't watch movies because... you're just like the Rain Man of [the] audience with movies... You won't see it coming. If you do see it coming, I want to talk to you because how the heck did you see it coming? Because we did everything we possibly could with many really smart people to mislead you. And I'm really looking forward to people seeing that. I think there will be no way you'll see it coming."
Abby James Witherspoon, aka Sammy in the movie (another of the core friend group), makes sure also to give credit to the movie's atmosphere:
"The atmosphere and set dressing in this film were just incredible. You'll see when you watch the movie. But it really got us into character and into that spooky environment, for sure."
When asked about inspirations for both the film and his performance, Cottrell was quick to bring up The Goonies, which was "one of [his] favorite movies growing up as a kid:"
"['The Goonies'] is a good one. I know that was one of my favorite movies growing up as a kid. Funny enough, my mom had a little CD, and she would pop it in on the TV, and we would watch it over and over and over again. When I saw the script for this for the very first time and just even reading it, I was like, Wow. I was like, this does have a lot of those elements of, you know, being with your friends and solving mysteries and stuff. So, definitely having that to play off of helped a lot."
Lerner added that he "was trying to channel [his] inner Goonies," while Witherspoon admitted to having "always loved" the classic film.
Reflecting on his experience with the film as a whole, Cottrell admitted that it "felt like we were all just friends in the summer" experiencing something that just happened to unfold in front of a camera:
"It felt like we all were just friends in the summer, having fun, having an adventure, and also growing at the same time, and then they'd roll the camera. So cool. [There] happened to be a camera."
For director David Henrie, the "secret sauce" to Monster Summer was with their two leads, Mel Gibson and Mason Thames, "and their chemistry together:"
"To me, the secret sauce is really in our two leads and their chemistry together, Mason Thames and Mel Gibson. I don't think you've seen a kid-adult, two-hander made for the Halloween season in a long time, so I'm excited. We did build this around the parents gravitating towards Mel's character and the kids gravitating towards Mason's character, and both, hopefully, being able to get something out of it and a theatrical experience… This is a particular time right now when the theatrical experience is coming back."
The filmmaker was really motivated to "recreate a special experience for families," one that reminded him of his own times watching films with his dad growing up:
"…I wanted to recreate the feeling I had as a kid watching movies with my dad. When I finished this script, it reminded me of being a little boy again, eating popcorn with my father. I was really motivated to want to recreate that, hopefully with a new generation of parents and kids. So that's what really motivated me, is I could maybe recreate a special experience for families."
The director also made sure to call attention to the key theme that he loved and really ties it all together: "Evil wins when good men do nothing:"
"But the theme that spoke to me in the film that I really loved is that evil wins when good men do nothing. And what better way to tell that story than through the eyes of a kid? So those two more sentimental places hit home with my heart, and it just was icing on the cake that this movie reminds me of all my favorite movies growing up."
Monster Summer lands in theaters on Friday, October 4.
