Monster Summer

**Monster Summer** is a 2024 American adventure horror film. David Henrie directed it, with a screenplay by Cornelius Uliano and Bryan Schulz. The cast includes Mason Thames, Lorraine Bracco, and Mel Gibson.

The story takes place during the summer of 1997 on Martha’s Vineyard. Noah, an aspiring teenage journalist, and his friends Sammy, Eugene, and Ben expect a relaxed vacation. Noah lives with his widowed mother, Abby, who runs a local bed-and-breakfast. The island’s calm is broken when children start disappearing, later reappearing silent and catatonic. After Ben is attacked in the ocean and left without spirit—a young witness claims a cackling witch pulled him under—Noah decides to investigate.

Noah suspects Miss Halverson, a mysterious elderly woman in black who recently moved into his mother’s boarding house. Local authorities and the town newspaper editor dismiss his concerns, so Noah seeks help from Gene Carruthers, a retired, grumpy police detective. Gene lives alone after his own family fell apart following his son’s kidnapping years earlier. He initially rejects Noah’s fairy-tale ideas, saying he only believes in “real monsters,” but reluctantly agrees to look into the case.

As they explore the island’s foggy woods and gather evidence, Gene realizes the supernatural threat is real. They find the witch’s lair, discovering clues like a collection of missing children’s shoes and evidence that the witch feeds on kids to steal their youth and life force. Noah, his remaining friends, and Gene team up for a final confrontation with the ancient evil. They outsmart and defeat the witch, breaking her spell, restoring the affected children, and saving the town.

The film was announced in November 2021 under the title *Boys of Summer*, with Mel Gibson and Mason Thames cast, and principal photography was initially scheduled for December 2021 in Wilmington, North Carolina. However, filming actually took place in late 2022 (November–December 2022). David Henrie’s brother Lorenzo James Henrie served as an executive producer. In January 2022, Lorraine Bracco, Nora Zehetner, Julian Lerner, Abby James Witherspoon, and Noah Cottrell joined the cast, while Darren Moorman and Scott Pomeroy were added as executive producers. Henrie told TheWrap that fairy tales historically used monsters to personify fears while empowering young people, and that the film is a throwbac