In the spirit of summer, I wanted to watch a horror movie for this hot season. I decided to take in Summer of 84. I read about the premise and it sounded like nostalgic fun, but some things are a little off, it tries too hard, and it's a little boring.

Let's start with the poster....

See a resemblance?

Ok, so they have a 1980s homage going on ~ obviously. (This is the potential for a good movie part.)

The plot is simple. It's about a group of four boys living in Ipswich, Oregon during the Summer of 1984. One of them is really into mysteries and with boys missing from the neighborhood he suspects his neighbor from across the street is killing them. His neighbor just happens to be a cop!

***SPOILER ALERT***

You find out who the killer is in the first 5 minutes of the movie, so the suspense is based on the boys trying to prove it. Since it was revealed early, I decided to critique some other things instead of the story.

As someone who lived through 1984 and was close in age to these kids, some of the fashion is very off. Let me present to you this disco shirt...

For a casual day at the library, this 15 year old is wearing a 1970s disco shirt. That's not accurate. He'd be more likely wearing a novelty T shirt or sweatshirt. This shirt is a little dated, but ~ if worn ~ would be for school photos or dances.

Next, the friend who is a punk kid doesn't look like 1984 either. This looks very 1990s to me. His hair is too trimmed, he should have a mullet, feathered hair, or long hair in back if they wanted a shaggy look. Possibly an earring and a jean jacket instead of a leather jacket.

My other observation is that this movie has a retrowave soundtrack that's overbearing. In some scenes the music gets really loud and distracting from the characters. There's even a scene where a synthwave band is playing the local festival. SYNTHWAVE WASN'T THAT POPULAR IN 1984. I highly doubt any fairs in 1984 had a random synthwave band playing. (Don't get me wrong I like this music, but it was a little too much here.)

In passing dialog, nods to the 1980s get mentioned i.e. Star Wars, Gremlins, GI Joe, but it doesn't have the appeal of Stranger Things. I feel like they tried to shoehorn them in. I think in it's use of kids it's trying to be Stand By Me or It, but is more Rear Window. I give it one newspaper out of five.

Here's the trailer...

I have to say this was my favorite Pusheen Box yet! I love the usefulness of the Pusheen things included in the box, but I did miss the plush this time. I'd always rather have the plush than the vinyl.

1. Portable salad container. The fork is a little precarious, not sure I'll use the fork.

2. Vinyl Figure.

3. Mini flask Keychain ~ this will not be big enough!!!

4. Notepad. I still have the one from the Fall 2017 Box!

5. Koozies ~ I like that there's a set of 2 and they are double sided!

6. Bandana.

7. Striped long sleeve shirt. I LOVE STRIPES!

8. Photo holder.

This is the photo holder I'm referencing in the video. It's from the Spring 2018 Box.

9. Pool float NOT "Life Preserver." Here's the small pool we have that I mentioned in the video ~ and our neighbor's big pool. Hahahaha.

You can see my past boxes too: Fall 2017 Pusheen Box, Winter 2017 Pusheen Box and Spring 2018 Pusheen Box, Summer 2018 Psuheen Box, Fall 2018 Pusheen Box Winter Pusheen Box 2018 Spring Pusheen Box with Jodee Bowie

Thanks for reading & watching, until next time! p.s. Hug your cats.