7 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
After suspecting that their police officer neighbor is a serial killer, a group of teenage friends spend their summer spying on him and gathering evidence, but as they get closer to discovering the truth, things get dangerous.
Starring: Graham Verchere, Judah Lewis, Caleb Emery, Cory Gruter-Andrew, Tiera SkovbyeHorror | 100% |
Period | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
Mystery | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
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.
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.
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.
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.
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