New film ‘Monster Summer’ offers a wholesome adventure-thriller for the entire family

CNA Staff, Oct 4, 2024 / 16:45 pm

The creators of “Monster Summer,” a new movie directed by Catholic actor David Henrie and starring Mel Gibson that opens in theaters today, sought to make a adventure-thriller movie parents will want to take their kids to see.

“Faith-based movies are working,” Henrie, known for his role as Justin Russo in Disney’s “Wizards of Waverly Place,” said. “We specifically are releasing Oct. 4 because we want a Halloween event, family movie, which is counter-programming to a lot of the hard R horror stuff that is coming out. So, we want a clean alternative that’s still fun, still spooky.”

The spooky family-friendly film tells the story of a young group of friends who confront a mysterious force in Martha’s Vineyard. After one of the young boys faces a near-death experience, he and his friends seek the help of an aging detective, played by Gibson, director of “The Passion of the Christ,” to track down the monsters.

Henrie, in an interview with Deacon Charlie Echeverry at the Napa Institute’s annual conference this summer, cited the quote “Evil only triumphs when good men do nothing” to describe the feeling the group of teenagers in the movie are experiencing.

“They seem to see something that they see as objectively wrong, but everyone else says it’s not wrong,” he explained, adding that he believes this dilemma is “very relevant” in life.

Like the movies “The Goonies” and “The Sandlot,” which it has been compared to, “Monster Summer” aims to appeal not only to children but also to parents.

Producer John Blanford told Echeverry that the movie was made with the intention of “co-viewing,” meaning that the whole family can watch it together.

He explained that currently in Hollywood, filmmakers feel the need to make it very clear who their target audience is — it’s either “slapsticky kid humor for kids or it’s super mature adult.” 

This, he said, is where “the white space is. We think that’s where the opportunity is.”

“I think the adolescents are being left behind and that’s where this coming-of-age-story really plays — is with that 9- to 16-year-old. I feel like there’s not stories being told for them, but what’s amazing about telling stories for them is it does give you the opportunity to have even younger kids kind of rise to the occasion a little bit and kind of think, ‘Oh, I want to be like my older brother or sister,’” he shared.

“And there’s mature enough themes that the kids are dealing with, and in the relationship in our film, particularly with Mel Gibson, that parents can actually really resonate with what’s going on in the story,” he said.

“To us, that’s the magic of this film, is that it really is something that a family can go enjoy together.”

Blanford emphasized the need for more movies that families can watch together and that portray “wholesome, traditional values.” The filmmakers are hoping “Monster Summer” will “prove the demand for that.”

Blanford also spoke of the “duty for Christian filmmakers” to not only make movies that promote traditional values but also to “create a more dignified, prosperous work environment” for all those involved. 

“I think as a community, as we’re doing this work, that we have an eye on content and the stories we’re telling and the impact of those stories, but how we’re making them is also super important.”