Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Summer of 84 Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf October 1, 2018

The helming team of Francois Simard, Anouk Whissell, and Yoann-Karl Whissell is known as RKSS, and a few years ago, they reached into the past to inspire their post-apocalyptic adventure “Turbo Kid.” A cheeky ode to VHS entertainment from the 1980s, video games, and teen cinema, “Turbo Kid” presented a valentine and a lampoon, building an enchanting low-budget world with exaggerated retro flair. RKSS returns to their childhood with “Summer of 84,” with this round skipping silliness to delve into a murder mystery of sorts, staying in the warm bath of adolescent entanglements, but pushing the mood into something more threatening. There’s a lot of sleuthing going in “Summer of 84,” and while the title suggests a nostalgic romp around one of the best moviegoing seasons of the 1980s, RKSS actually dials down cutesiness for something darker and slower.

Life is seemingly simple in small town Oregon in the summer of 1984, with Davey (Graham Verchere) maintaining a paper route and a crush on his older neighbor, Nikki (Tiera Skovby). Davey pals around with tough guy Eats (Judah Lewis), brainy Curtis (Cory Gruter-Andrew), and sensitive Woody (Caleb Emery), with the gang enjoying a season of night games and bonding time in a tree house, trading playful insults and gossip. However, darkness has come to the area in the form of the Cape May Slayer, a serial killer who targets teenagers, slowly amassing a collection of missing kids, which disturbs Davey. Realizing how odd neighborhood cop Wayne (Rich Sommer) is, Davey starts to consider the single man might be the Cape May Slayer, requiring special evidence to help prove his theory to doubting parents. Gathering his friends, Davey attempts to infiltrate Wayne’s life, studying routine and breaking into his home to locate dark discoveries he’s certain are there.

“Summer of 84” isn’t drenched in pop culture references (Davey does express a desire to see “Gremlins”), keeping the outside world at arm’s length, generating a small town vibe that feels closed off and personal. After the R-rated candy fountain of “Turbo Kid,” it’s probably smart for RKSS to slow down the pronounced nostalgia, turning their attention to the experience of free range childhood, with Davey and the boys spending their days riding bikes around town and their nights armed with flashlights playing “Manhunt” and holing up inside a tree house, which gives them shelter to sample dirty magazines and alcohol, while Nikki is their collective object of obsession, urging Davey to make a move on his former babysitter. RKSS generates a feel for the excitement of adolescence, which is more important than sheer period recreation, which doesn’t come across with much enthusiasm. “Summer of 84” isn’t about breakdancing or “Ghostbusters,” with the helmers perhaps all too aware of “It” and “Stranger Things,” refusing to treat the 1980s as a temple of media triumphs.

The smallness of “Summer of 84” is felt throughout, but such intimacy inspires some early suspense, finding Wayne an odd fellow who tries to put on a happy face for the neighborhood, which Davey finds threatening, possibly hiding some real evil behind a smile and a friendly wave. Davey’s instincts inspire a mystery for “Summer of 84,” with most of the feature devoted to investigation, watching as the boys gear up to make gruesome discoveries, often caught winding around the block in the dark, trying to find a way into Wayne’s house of potentially macabre discoveries. RKSS isn’t strictly concerned with frivolous clue-gathering, trying to keep the viewing experience grounded by examining each of the kids, who all possess their own domestic trials, giving them a reason to seek each other out. Even Nikki is gifted something of an arc, with her impending move after the divorce of her parents weighing heavily on her, seeking Davey out as a companion, sharing her fears.

Summer of 84 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (2.39:1 aspect ratio) presentation comes through as intended for the most part, with the viewing experience replicating the dark adventure, which mostly takes place at night, following the boys as they play games of hiding and work out surveillance schemes. Delineation is satisfactory, preserving frame information, keeping blacks inky and communicative, though a few moments certainly threaten to be overcome by solidification. Detail handles superbly, taking in the center view of teen skin, which keeps its greasy, bumpy appearance. Suburban decoration maintains texture, getting a feel for individual households, and interiors supply a full sense of character, permitting a view of family photos and assorted ornamentation. Costuming is fibrous, securing loose period wear and police uniform tightness. Colors are engaging, leading with bright primaries that especially pop with more celebratory locations, including a bowling alley. Skintones are natural. Mild artifacting is detected, with some banding present during select fade-outs.

Summer of 84 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA sound mix handles securely, supplying a rich synth mood for the feature. Scoring is precise, supporting investigative efforts, while more direct confrontations are offered heavier stings. The low-end does well here, giving musicianship weight and beats authority, and the few soundtrack cuts the feature serves up are just as clear, adding nice variation to the musical landscape of the movie. Dialogue exchanges are compelling, dealing with various styles of performing and the inherent mumble of a few teenager characters. Performances stand out, capturing conversational playtime and heated acts of warning and survival. Levels are balanced, with nothing blown out. Surrounds are appealing, giving atmospherics some emphasis, with the action often crunching around neighborhood backyards and woods. Some directional activity is arranged, but the track is more immersive than active. Sound effects are crisp.

Summer of 84 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary #1 features filmmakers Francois Simard, Anouk Whissell, and Yoann-Karl Whissell.

• Commentary #2 is a French-language track with Francois Simard, Anouk Whissell, and Yoann-Karl Whissell.

• Blooper Reel (4:22, HD) assembles a look at the flubbed lines, giggle fits, strange inside jokes (everyone gets a chance to pretend their hand is caught in the clapperboard) and production mishaps from "Summer of 84," with a particular highlighting being Gruter-Andrew's ill-fated attempt to take a simple bite out of a caramel apple.

• Still Gallery (1:22) provides a look at BTS snaps (showcasing the assembly of shots and crew camaraderie), with a few storyboards mixed in to help track the day's work.

• A Theatrical Trailer has not been included.

Summer of 84 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Emotional depth is welcome and performances are capable, with the teens believable juveniles, while Sommer plays up oddity with ideal enthusiasm. "Summer of 84" works for the most part, but it does have a problem with repetition, often caught cycling through identical scenes of spying and sleuthing, unnecessarily fattening the run time with superfluous and ineffective tension. RKSS redeem themselves with the climax, which is impressively menacing, delivering a payoff that's true to the serial killer premise while squashing whatever retro tingles managed to surface during the viewing experience. "Summer of 84" isn't quite as compelling as "Turbo Kid," lacking energy where it needs it the most, but it does showcase RKSS's ability to define the adolescent experience, tapping into memories of a different time and place to revive the kid adventure subgenre.