Review: Summer of 84

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One of the first movies I watched thanks to my new Shudder subscription was the Summer of 84. (But if you don’t have Shudder, you can also watch by renting it on YouTube, Google Play, Vudu, and Prime Video.)

If you grew up in the ’80s, or if you’re a fan of Stranger Things, Summer of 84 is one you’ll want to watch.

Here’s a peek at the trailer to whet your appetite:

The Premise

I’m pretty sure the kernel for the idea of this movie came from the concept summed in the main character’s monologue at both the beginning and end of this movie:

Even serial killers live next door to somebody.

But is Wayne Mackey, the cop-next-door, really just a cop, or the Cape May Slayer?

That’s what 15-year-old Davey Armstrong and his friends, Dale “Woody” Woodworth, Curtis Farraday, and Tommy “Eats” Eaton, set out to discover. Because Davey has his suspicions, which some sleuthing seems to confirm.

Until shit hits the fan. When Davey takes his theory, along with evidence of a bloody shirt that him and his friends found in Mackey’s shed, to his parents, they don’t believe him.

Worse, Davey’s dad takes all the boys to Mackey’s house to apologize for breaking into his shed, going through his trash and digging up his garden looking for proof.

Does the serial killer now know they’re on to him? Or was Davey wrong all along?

No. Davey knows he’s right. All the clues add up, but even his besties doubt him and tell him to lay off. So does hot girl-next-door Nikki, who has also been helping him.

Will he be able to prove that he’s right? And will anyone still help him? Or does he have it all wrong?

Rating

As soon as I was a few minutes into Summer of 84, I felt kind of like how I felt as I watched the first episode of Stranger Things. Confused.

Was this filmed in the 80s and I somehow missed it? I would’ve been all over this. How have I never seen this before?

I missed nothing. Except subscribing to Shudder sooner. Then I totally might’ve seen it back in October 2018 when it started streaming there.

What a total nostalgia evoker!

I loved it. The acting, the atmosphere, the tension, the mystery, the suspense…it had it all.

Even the storyline, which had me worried towards the end. Endings are hard. How cliched and predictable was this one going to be?

At first it started out pretty predictable, but then it threw in a hum dinger I wasn’t expecting in the form of not a neat and tidy happy ending.

This is one of the best indies I’ve watched in a long time. I give it a five out of five skulls.