There's a bit of a "Stranger Things" current running through "Monster Summer," a spooky-enough piece of gateway horror which unfolds in the era when kids rode their bikes until the streetlights came on and entertained themselves with tall tales about their neighbors.

There's also nods to "The X Files," "E.T." and "The Sandlot" in this adventure tale, which is engineered for the 10-14-year-old set and speaks to its audience rather than down to them, an admirable quality which helps it become more than just its list of homages.

"The Black Phone's" Mason Thames stars as Noah, a teenager in Martha's Vineyard in 1997 who finds himself trying to put together the pieces of a series of strange occurrences in his town, after his pal Ben (Noah Cottrell) experiences some sort of supernatural disturbance while swimming off the local pier. He thinks it has something to do with witchcraft, and the mysterious Miss Halverson (Lorraine Bracco), who is renting a room in their home, sure seems like a prime suspect.

To figure out what's going on, Noah enlists the help of the town's resident recluse, Gene (Mel Gibson). He's the old man whose yard the local kids avoid, but it turns out he's an ex-detective with a family tragedy in his past, and he's down to help Noah, a budding journalist, solve the mystery of what happened to his friend and to other kids in town.

The story's New England setting — them there's Stephen King's stomping grounds — helps add to its horror-lite vibe, which might scare some young kiddos but is fair game for the middle school set who have yet to graduate to the "Terrifier" school of horror. And Gibson is ace as a grizzled ol' codger who's down but not out and is reawakened by the chance to lend a hand to a kid in need. Being wanted again is all he needs to jump-start his engine.

Director David Henrie grew up in the pre-smartphone, pre-social media '90s, and his fondness for the era comes across on screen. "Monster Summer" captures a wholesome sense of wonder, and it depicts that time in life between childhood and adulthood when the world is both too big and too small at the same time.

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'MONSTER SUMMER'

Grade: B

MPA rating: PG-13 (for some violence and terror)

Running time: 1:37

How to watch: In theaters Oct. 4

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