The spooky season often presents a variety of scary options for viewers. This year is no exception, with options ranging from the incredibly graphic to more family-friendly fare. This week’s new release of Monster Summer decidedly falls into the latter category.

The film comes from writers Bryan Schultz and Cornelius Uliano, who have worked on a number of Peanuts projects, including the full-length film in 2015. Now, they are plying their talents to a live-action film set in a small-town during summer where strange things are occurring.

Noah (Mason Thames) is a baseball player who is trying to keep out of trouble as his mother (Nora Zehetner) tries to keep the family afloat. Noah’s father was a famous journalist who passed away. But he left his gift of storytelling behind in his son.

Noah crafts broad and wild stories for the local paper, but the editor (Kevin James) doesn’t always let them see the light of day. Still, he remains doggedly committed to investigating anything strange in his town. When his friends start disappearing and having strange reactions, Noah becomes convinced there is something supernatural at play.

He can’t get anyone to believe him until he manages to catch the interest of a retired cop, Gene (Mel Gibson), who is mourning his own personal loss. Together they begin to investigate and seek to find answers about what’s happening in their town. Can they stop it before it’s too late?

It’s fun to have different kinds of creepy tales during spooky season. This one is definitely more of a family-friendly vibe, with the tone and style of the story being something of a fun young detective journey. I liked Thames in the lead role, and I thought it was one of the most fun roles we’ve seen for Gibson in some time.

I also had fun with the inclusion of Patrick Renna as the umpire. It brings back a connection in older viewers to The Sandlot, then had sort of a fun twist going forward. I thought it was a clever piece of casting.

The mystery here isn’t overly deep. The other adult actors—James, Zehetner, and Lorraine Bracco—are fine and seem to fit their parts. The ending was somewhat clever, and it provides a decent ride for viewers. It feels like dropping into the season in a lighter way. It’s not incredible, but it was a fun watch that has some solid emotional beats.

Monster Summer is now playing in theaters nationwide.

Matthew Fox is a graduate of the Radio, Television and Film program at Biola University, and a giant nerd. He spends his free time watching movies, TV, and obsessing about football. He is a member of the FSWA. You can find him @knighthawk7734 on Twitter and as co-host of the Fantasy Football Roundtable Podcast.