Summer of 84

By January 30, 2023

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. (IMDB)

There’s a reference to the eighties in the title? It’s an horror movie about kids investigating a murder? We don’t need much more to get hyped because both of us have grown up with movies like The Goonies and Stand by Me and nothing scratches that itch better than that new wave of retro everything that’s washing over us lately.

I don’t wanna start another trial of the modern days, but you must admit that the 80s and the 90s were two amazing decades ruled by creativity and freedom. A freedom that nowadays kids don’t even suspect could exist. But, that’s right, kids these days have so much more, right?! I easily forget the smartphones that keep you connected to your parents everywhere you go, fast food cinema like Marvel and triple A games that are super expensive and super boring (I’m not even a boomer, I’m Gen X). But I digress…

So, the setting is right but how’s the rest of the movie? Well, it’s fucking awesome! The cast is great, the vibe is perfect and the suspense kept us on the border of our seat the entire movie. Special thumbs up to Tiera Skovbye, who also plays the sister of Betty in Riverdale.

Even the poster art is awesome:

Something I really enjoy to do when I write these posts is reading trivias. So here are two good ones from on IMDB:

Cruel Summer by Bananarama plays while they are riding their BMXs. Exactly the same positioning in the Karate Kid with Daniel LaRusso riding his BMX to the same track. A cool nod considering it was released in the Summer of 84.

When the boys are in the clubhouse talking about Nikki, Tommy is seen drinking a bottle of MacReady’s Whiskey. This is a nod to The Thing (1982) where Kurt Russell’s character, R.J. MacReady, drinks J&B Scotch Whiskey at different points in the movie.

Voilà, so if, like us, you love eighties and movies like The Goonies, go watch it. Now!