David Henrie recruited some serious star power for his second feature-length directorial outing.
The upcoming film Monster Summer follows a group of friends whose school break gets disrupted by a mysterious and scary force. To figure out what’s terrorizing the kids of their town, the group recruits the help of a retired police detective played by Mel Gibson.
“I was so excited when I heard that Mel Gibson accepted this role, because it’s unlike any role he’s ever done before! I can’t remember the last time you saw Mel in a family movie, can you?” Henrie, 35, exclusively told Us Weekly of his new project. “He was a joy to collaborate with because he genuinely loved the material and how different it was for him.”
According to Henrie, Gibson, 68, described the film as, “[The] Goonies with teeth.” The beloved 1985 adventure flick is one of the movies Henrie told Us served as his inspiration, along with The Sandlot, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Jurassic Park, Monster Squad and Jaws.
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In addition to feeling excitement, Henrie was also “very nervous” about “directing an Oscar-winning director.” He told Us: “I was instantly put at ease once we met, and I realized that Mel is a team player who genuinely loves his craft. For instance, he never went to his trailer! He was always on set, hanging out, telling stories or lending directorial wisdom.” (Gibson scored Oscar wins for Best Director and Best Picture for the 1995 film Braveheart.)
Starring alongside Gibson are a handful of talented young actors including Mason Thames, Abby James Witherspoon, Noah Cottrell and Julian Lerner. Growing up on the set of Disney Channel’s Wizards of Waverly Place is something Henrie said helped him work with the film’s younger cast behind the camera.
“I was incredibly sensitive to how they felt at any given time because I’ve been there. I’ve had good/bad experiences and sought to bring all my lessons to the table for this film,” he told Us. “So, my past experiences as a child actor really allowed me to be able to get great performances out of my young cast because I knew how to put them at ease and to communicate with them in a way that they understood and felt comfortable with.”
As teased in Us’ exclusive first look at the film’s trailer, Monster Summer also stars Lorraine Bracco, Nora Zehetner and Patrick Renna.
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“It was this burning desire to give families a shared, worry-free, Halloween event movie they could all experience in a theater together that led to me taking on this film as director,” Henrie said of the movie. “And I am incredibly fortunate that we are getting a nationwide theatrical release, because there is no couch in the world that can recreate the magic of sitting in a movie theater as a family.”
He continued: “What I love about the spooky/adventure genre for families is it’s such a powerful way to explore human nature at such a critical moment in a young person’s life, summer, where everything changes.”
Check out the full movie trailer above. Monster Summer hits theaters on Friday, October 4.
