RKSS Films, the three person team of Anouk Whissell, François Simard and Yoann-Karl Whissell, follow up 2015's Turbo Kid with another piece of 80s nostalgia, though this time with a heavy touch more realism, and a couple of debut writers in Matt Leslie and Stephen J. Smith. I enjoyed Turbo Kid a ton, so I was pretty hopeful for this film at announcement, though I was aware of it catching a lot of flak for how people perceived it as "ripping off" the success stories of Stranger Things and IT. And it's hard to deny the resemblance, particularly when you can't turn around without running into another 80s throwback flick these days. I can't say that it's worn its welcome out completely just yet, considering that plenty of good things have come from this retro resurgence so far, but I am curious how much more steam the movement has in it.

But let's step away from that and look at the matter at hand. Summer of '84 feels familiar in both good an bad ways. The slick, synth score is as enjoyable as one could hope for, and the camerawork makes use of a few movements that would feel at home in a movie from the time it portrays. In fact the film looks really nice in general; well captured, well lit, pretty nice set design that captures the era without feeling overblown. But it also feels cliché and derivative throughout the majority of the first two acts. The characters and scenarios are archetypes and tropes that could've been plucked straight out of any other 80s flick with ease, making much of the tale feel tired and forgettable in the shadow of films that have already done this, but better. It's rarely especially bad, but as rarely especially good. The cast of kids give alright performances, hampered more by a script that is trapped in a loop of immaturity and shallow references than any shortcomings of their own. There are some standout moments of character building for some of the side kids, focusing on difficult home lives and failing marriages, that give some welcome depth to the feature, though most of it is sort of "one and done", never bearing any impact on the greater plot. The story only really turns things around in the third act, which I simultaneously found refreshing for subverting expectations by going to some dark places, and frustrating for false ending multiple times, and ultimately not addressing the impact of the conclusion in any meaningful way. Instead it opts to just replay the hokey voice over that started the film before rolling right into the title card and credits, the adventurous synth theme accompaniment clashing blatantly with what should have been an absolutely somber ending.

I found the movie easy enough to keep my attention on; I was interested in the outcome and happy with the general craftsmanship of the film. Honestly, I think the responsibility for my problems all sit with the script, which was lacking in both in the dialogue and the scenario for me. It really feels like a surface level take on replicating someone's favorite 80s films, with a dark twist slapped onto the ending to give it some edge. The pieces are there that could have given it some emotional weight, but they're rushed over or simply forgotten. Combine this with some painfully expected but unrealistic character decisions, and the mysterious absence of any sense of urgency by most characters near the end of the film, just to allow for the set up of that one big scene...it's just so transparent, and it annoys me. Luckily for the film, it has competent directors in the chair and a cast that, while maybe not amazing, is plenty capable of playing their part. In that regard, you could do far worse than this for sure. I was hoping for a bit more than that though.