Dark Summer

I liked this film both more and less than I expected to.  I went in with low expectations, fueled by an abysmal Rotten Tomatoes score & Netflix' prediction that I'd give it 2.5 stars.  But the actor who plays the main character caught my attention as the scrawny love interest in It Follows, so I decided to take a chance on the film.

It wasn't a total waste of my time.  The movie is about a young cyberstalker sentenced to house arrest for his crime.  He's obviously mentally unstable and still dangerously obsessed with the object of his affections.  He's been strictly prohibited from any contact with her, but the first thing he does when he's alone at his house is stare longingly at her icloud login screen wishing he could figure out the password.  Creepy.

He's quickly joined by two friends who visit him during his arrest, somehow effortlessly sneaking past the guards (he's not allowed visitors).  Also his mother is out of town, and seems totally fine leaving her ankle-braclet-guarded-stalker-creep-son alone in the house.  The friends are Blatantly In Love With Main Boy and Oh Look A Black Friend!  They have little to no character development.  The girl exists to pine after the main character and the friend exists to say "ghosts aren't real" and then hint that girl is pining after the main character.

The movie is basically entirely about these three people, only one of whom has anything resembling a character (the protagonist/antihero).  This causes some serious issues with the film, 'cause it's hard to care about any of them.  In any case, the main character experiences some trauma and starts to see scary shit around the house.  Bumps, cracked glass, weird dreams, standard spooky stuff.  His friends don't believe him of course.  This is a strong point in the film, when it's just the main character, dutifully taking his psych meds and still seeing terrifying things.

When the whats-what gets revealed, there's a lull.  And a lonely seeming montage.  This does not work to the films advantage.  What is supposed to come off as a spooky interlude falls flat, and ends up seeming like the world's most boring filler music video.  There is lots of typing on computers and scrolling.  It's a big yawn.

But I'm glad I decided to finish the movie, because the twist was quite clever.  I really didn't see it coming.  And the ending was decent, especially considering the slow middle section.  This movie didn't scare me really, but it had enough intriguing moments to offset the dull sections.  It's not something you must see, but if you're bored one afternoon it's not a total waste of your time.