80's nostalgia is very much 'in' at the moment with the success of Stranger Things and IT, so I approached this movie with a little scepticism given that it's not big budget or on wide release. How wrong I was to doubt it!
This is a fantastic little flick, extremely well written and directed and the lead players all give great performances, very typical of how teens were portrayed in the movies of the era.
The story centres around a group of four teenagers who begin to suspect that a neighbour is the notorious 'Cape Bay Slayer'. Nothing particularly original in the concept, we've seen it before in movies like The Burbs and Disturbia, even as far back as Hitchcock's Rear Window. The trick here is in the execution, and it's clearly a movie that's been made with a real love for the 80s and for the genre.
Those of us who were there will enjoy the pop culture references, which thankfully aren't over used and are subtly included to set the tone.
There's the usual annoyance of characters doing things that are apt to get them into trouble, but hey it's a movie and so we need these situations to unfold otherwise it would be pretty boring watching them hang out in a treehouse for 100 minutes right?
I won't drop any spoilers, the movie is better if you just go in and let it happen.
Give this one a chance and you'll be pleasantly surprised, I know I was.
Give this one a chance and you'll be pleasantly surprised, I know I was.