The filmmaking collective known as RKSS delivered an alt-history apocalypse with 2015’sTurbo Kid, now directorsFrançois Simard, Anouk Whissell, andYoann-Karl Whissellare taking us back to the titularSummer of ‘84for a thoroughly throwback serial killer yarn. Ahead of the film’s Sundance debut, Gunpowder & Sky has debuted the first trailer and it has a distinctly familiarStranger Thingsvibe, dripping with Amblin/Stephen King stylized atmosphere – not to mention a buncha kids on bikes – but keeping Turbo Kid in mind, I’m thinking this retro-thriller is gonna be a little darker and more twisted.
Summer of ‘84follows a group of young teens who spend a hazy summer coming of age and assembling the clues to track down the so-called Cape May Killer terrorizing their town. There’s just one problem – all signs point to one of the youngins’ next-door neighbor, an unassuming police officer who might just be harboring horrifying secrets.
Written byMatt LeslieandStephen J. Smithand directed by RKSS,Summer of ‘84starsRich Sommer,Tiera Skovbye,Graham Verchere,Judah Lewis,Caleb Emery, andCory Gruter-Andrew. Watch the first trailer below.
Here’s the synopsis viaSundance:
“Every serial killer is somebody’s neighbor. For 15-year-old Davey, the thought of having a serial killer in his suburban town is a scary yet exciting prospect at the start of a lazy summer. In hormonal overdrive, Davey and his friends dream of sexual conquests until the news reports of the Cape May killer. Davey convinces his friends that they must investigate, and they uncover that his next-door neighbor, an unassuming, single police officer, could be the prime suspect. Could Davey possibly be right, or is it his overactive imagination?
Writing and directing trio François Simar, Anouk Whissell, and Yoann-Karl Whissell (Turbo Kid, 2015 Sundance Film Festival) return to Midnight with this eerily resonant coming-of-age horror flick. The throwback synth score injects the tone with fun, thrills, and an escalating danger that ultimately tracks Davey’s loss of innocence. Indeed, the ’80s setting is less about the nostalgia hard-on than an essential parallel of that Reagan-era American fear that we are not as safe as we think.”
