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Summer of '84

 Summer of '84
type
TVTItem
 Summer of '84
label
Summer of '84
 Summer of '84
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SummerOf84
 Summer of '84
comment
Summer of 84 is a 2018 movie by François Simard, Anouk Whissell, and Yoann-Karl Whissell (credited as RKSS) and stars Graham Verchere, Judah Lewis, Caleb Emery, Cory Gruter-Andrew, Tiera Skovbye, and Rich Sommer. It was an official selection of the 2018 Sundance Film Festival.In the summer of 1984, in the sleepy suburb of Ipswich, Oregon, near Cape May, David "Davey" Armstrong (Verchere), age fifteen, is spending his days flinging papers from his bike on his paper route, hanging out with his gang of friends - Tommy "Eats" Eaton, Dale "Woody" Woodworth, and Curtis Farraday (Lewis, Emery and Gruter-Andrew) - and pining over his crush on his former babysitter (and eighteen-year-old total babe) Nikki Kazsuba (Skovbye). At night, he plays Manhunt, a form of group hide-and-seek played in the twilight hours.But Davey's summer takes a turn when his neighbor, Mr. Mackey (Sommer), a neighborhood cop, asks him for help moving a heavy dresser down from the upstairs into his basement, and Davey discovers a door inside locked with a padlock. Then a few nights later, during a round of Manhunt, Davey stakes out a hiding spot near Mackey's window, and sees him with a teenage boy he doesn't recognize. At first, these two pieces of information aren't of big concern to Davey, but then he overhears his dad, a cameraman for the local TV station, being told the station has received a letter from someone claiming responsibility for the deaths of over a dozen people in various towns around Cape May. Then, during a late breakfast by himself, Davey looks at the carton of milk he's pouring over his cereal, and recognizes the missing boy on it: the same boy who was with Mackey that night. Turning this over in his head, Davey comes to one fateful conclusion:Mr. Mackey is the newly-dubbed Cape May Slayer.Of course, Davey is smart enough to realize that no one will believe a kid with only a milk carton to back him up. If he's going to prove Mackey's a serial killer, he needs some hard evidence. To that end, he ropes up Eats, Woody and Farraday into his plan to keep close surveillence on Mackey, learning his habits, and searching for some hard evidence to take to the adults to convince them to take him seriously. But the more they watch Mackey, and the closer they get to him, the more they risk his discovery, and even if Davey's right, they might just be putting themselves in real danger...
 Summer of '84
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2024-02-27T19:45:23Z
 Summer of '84
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2024-02-27T19:45:23Z
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 Summer of '84 / int_20ccdd29
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Rear Window Investigation
 Summer of '84 / int_20ccdd29
comment
"Rear Window" Investigation: Davey is convinced his neighbor is a serial killer and convinces his friends to go investigate with him, which includes digging up his garden and breaking in his house.
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 Summer of '84 / int_22cf536c
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Chekhov's Gun
 Summer of '84 / int_22cf536c
comment
Chekhov's Gun: Early in the film, Davey's dad warns him against playing with the station's portable camera that Dad tends to bring home from work. Woody has the camera with him when they break into Mackey's house during the Fourth of July festival, and catches the damning evidence of Mackey's killings on tape. After Davey helps Mackey carry the dresser down to the basement, Davey notices a wall full of photos. He asks about them, and Mackey says they're his extended family who live in another state. While leaving Mackey's house after rescuing his last kidnap victim, Davey recognizes him in a photo on the wall, as well as the boy he saw in Mackey's kitchen. Davey realizes the photos are actually a trophy wall of Mackey's victims - and there's a new photo added.
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 Summer of '84 / int_28cd01ca
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Disappeared Dad
 Summer of '84 / int_28cd01ca
comment
Disappeared Dad: Woody's dad does not live with his mom or Woody, and is never mentioned.
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 Summer of '84 / int_297ab1b9
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Parental Abandonment
 Summer of '84 / int_297ab1b9
comment
Parental Abandonment: Eats' parents seem to be too busy fighting with each other to wonder where he is.
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 Summer of '84 / int_37d94ed9
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Agony of the Feet
 Summer of '84 / int_37d94ed9
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Agony of the Feet: Mackey hobbles Davey by slashing his Achilles tendon.
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 Summer of '84 / int_384986f4
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We Will Meet Again
 Summer of '84 / int_384986f4
comment
We Will Meet Again: Mackey once being exposed as the killer he's forced to leave the country but he promises to Davey that one day he'll be back for revenge.
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 Summer of '84 / int_3923297a
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PsychopathicManChild
 Summer of '84 / int_3923297a
comment
Psychopathic Man Child: Officer Mackey has a secret room that he has turned into an exact replica of his childhood bedroom - it's heavily implied his urges and modus operandi are a result of his own state of arrested development: he never really grew past child/teenagehood, and he projects this psychosis through victims that remind him of his younger self. And to top it off, he whines and sobs like a child once his identity has been exposed, blaming Davey for "stealing his life".
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 Summer of '84 / int_39ed1c8a
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Conspiracy Theorist
 Summer of '84 / int_39ed1c8a
comment
Conspiracy Theorist: Davey is one to the point that his bedroom is literally wallpapered with sensational tabloid articles and his friends tease him about trying to use his computer to contact aliens. Unfortunately, with such an active imagination, it tends to make people dismiss his earnest warnings about the killer.
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 Summer of '84 / int_3b4bd0b4
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Killer Cop
 Summer of '84 / int_3b4bd0b4
comment
Killer Cop: What Mackey might or might not be. Turns out that he is.
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 Summer of '84 / int_4637914d
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Suburban Gothic
 Summer of '84 / int_4637914d
comment
Suburban Gothic: During the '80s, in the supposedly nice suburbs, a boy becomes convinced that his seemingly-ordinary, very polite cop neighbor is actually preying on and murdering teenage boys. And he is. In his ordinary suburban home, he even has a horrific Torture Cellar set up to look like a wholesome 1950s bedroom. At the end, Mackay specifically leaves Davey alive because he wants him to never feel safe - not even in the suburbs - ever again.
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 Summer of '84 / int_479d4e5a
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Would Hurt a Child
 Summer of '84 / int_479d4e5a
comment
Would Hurt a Child: A serial killer is not only terrorizing a small cluster of coastal communities, but he is preying exclusively on teenage and preteen boys and have killed at least 15 teen boys.
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 Summer of '84 / int_4e3d253b
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Downer Ending
 Summer of '84 / int_4e3d253b
comment
Downer Ending: Davey's still alive, Mackey's been exposed as the Cape May Slayer, and at least one innocent life was saved by the boys - but Mackey is still at large, and Davey's living under the threat that he will come back for him. Woody is dead by Mackey's hands, taking away the only good thing in his mother's life, and Nikki is leaving for college, likely driving her and Davey apart.
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 Summer of '84 / int_4e7f703c
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Wham Shot
 Summer of '84 / int_4e7f703c
comment
Wham Shot: Davey, Nikki and Woody have broken into the Creepy Basement and discovered Mackey's last victim, and are on their way out. As they head through the living room, Davey's eye catches on the wall of photos he saw at the beginning of the movie. He recognizes the boy he and Woody are carrying, and the now-dead boy he first saw in Mackey's kitchen. He realizes that it's actually a trophy wall, with photos of all his victims. Then Davey sees a new addition: a family portrait of him and both his parents.
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Summer of '84 / int_4e7f703c
 Summer of '84 / int_4f362a27
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Implied Rape
 Summer of '84 / int_4f362a27
comment
Implied Rape: The Cape May Slayer is heavily implied to rape his victims before killing them. The word is never mentioned, but they are mostly all teen boys, he stalks and fantasizes about murdering them for a while (maybe years in Davey's case), and when Davey and the others break into his Torture Cellar near the end of the film, it's set up to look like a childhood bedroom. Plus, the older teenager who got abducted at the start of the film (and so has been held captive for at least days, but probably weeks), is still alive down there, although injured and very traumatized, which further suggests that he's probably a rapist.
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 Summer of '84 / int_52600ad6
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Broke Your Arm Punching Out Cthulhu
 Summer of '84 / int_52600ad6
comment
Broke Your Arm Punching Out Cthulhu: By the end of the film the killer has been identified and the murders stopped. But only because the killer is forced to leave town. In the process he kills Woody, hospitalizes Davey, and leaves the entire community shattered. The ending implies that Davey is permanently scarred by the ordeal and his and his surviving friends' lives will never be the same.
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 Summer of '84 / int_5313c266
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Bookends
 Summer of '84 / int_5313c266
comment
Book Ends: The first shot of the film is of Davey on his bike, doing his paper route, with nothing out of the ordinary. The last shot of the film matches the first, but it displays everything that has changed in the neighborhood: Davey's cast on his foot as a result of Mackey's attack; Eats and Farraday at Eats's house, dismantling the clubhouse; Nikki waving goodbye from a car, on her way to college; Woody's house now up for sale; Mackey's house sealed off with crime scene tape; and the headline that Davey reads is "Serial Killer Still On The Loose" reiterating how Davey is living under Mackey's threat.
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 Summer of '84 / int_5369c081
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Invisible Parents
 Summer of '84 / int_5369c081
comment
Invisible Parents: Farraday's are these - it's never implied they're abusive or neglectful, they seem to be much like Davey's parents: too busy working during the day to keep an eye on their teenage son. They're simply Out of Focus because Farraday's not The Hero, Davey is.
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 Summer of '84 / int_5d753b19
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The Smurfette Principle
 Summer of '84 / int_5d753b19
comment
The Smurfette Principle: There's one major female character - Davey's old babysitter Nikki - who is his Love Interest to boot.
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Summer of '84 / int_5d753b19
 Summer of '84 / int_660eceeb
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Big Guy Fatality Syndrome
 Summer of '84 / int_660eceeb
comment
Big Guy Fatality Syndrome: The only death among the main cast is Woody, the physically largest member of the group.
 Summer of '84 / int_660eceeb
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Summer of '84 / int_660eceeb
 Summer of '84 / int_7301ae04
type
Serial Killer
 Summer of '84 / int_7301ae04
comment
Serial Killer: The plot hinges on the question - Is Mr. Mackey one, or is Davey letting his imagination get the best of him?
 Summer of '84 / int_7301ae04
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 Summer of '84 / int_7315fd38
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Covers Always Lie
 Summer of '84 / int_7315fd38
comment
Covers Always Lie: Look at the poster on the page image - note the name printed on the milk carton is Davey Armstrong. Davey's not the kid that went missing, he's The Hero. You might intuit that it's spoiling the ending, but it's not. Davey ends up neither missing nor dead.
 Summer of '84 / int_7315fd38
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Summer of '84 / int_7315fd38
 Summer of '84 / int_75f626a5
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Nostalgia Filter
 Summer of '84 / int_75f626a5
comment
Of the Nostalgia Filter seen in recent 80s homages such as Stranger Things, showing a darker side to the decade than those works.
 Summer of '84 / int_75f626a5
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 Summer of '84 / int_7fbb2a3
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Nice Job Breaking It, Hero!
 Summer of '84 / int_7fbb2a3
comment
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Though not exactly a "hero", Davey's father. Davey goes to him with not only eyewitness testimony of seeing a missing boy in Mackey's kitchen, but the boy's discarded T-shirt which has blood on it. The T-shirt itself is obviously a young boy's, and Mackey lives alone and has never mentioned any relativesnote  except to Davey, when he sees the photos on the wall. Given the Cape May Killer has actually revealed himself to the police as a killer of young boys, the most sensible course of action would be to go to the FBI and get them to test the blood, at least, or see if the T-shirt can be identified as the missing boy's, right? Despite the fact he's a news cameraman, with a fair amount of exposure to the nasty side of life, Davey's father doesn't do either of those things. Instead, he marches Davey straight over to Mackey's house, and forces Davey to not only reveal the whole surveillance operation, but to apologize to Mackey for it. Which basically sets Davey and his friends up as sitting ducks.
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 Summer of '84 / int_84c5ec0b
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Free-Range Children
 Summer of '84 / int_84c5ec0b
comment
Free-Range Children: The boys are out of school for the summer, and their parents are unable (or unwilling) to keep close tabs on their day-to-day activities, which enables them to keep such a detailed watch on Mackey's activities.
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 Summer of '84 / int_87bb6874
type
Villain with Good Publicity
 Summer of '84 / int_87bb6874
comment
Villain with Good Publicity: Mackey seems to be a pillar of the community. Truth is, he's actually murdered multiple children.
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 Summer of '84 / int_8ae880f7
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Deconstruction
 Summer of '84 / int_8ae880f7
comment
Deconstruction: Of the Nostalgia Filter seen in recent 80s homages such as Stranger Things, showing a darker side to the decade than those works. The ending likewise is a brutally honest deconstruction of what would happen if a group of kids investigated and tried to stop an evil threat. The results would be that they would be horribly out of their depth and stand no chance against a foe that dangerous. There is no triumphant victory, just death and despair and a killer that gets away scot-free.
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 Summer of '84 / int_95b7c400
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Faux Affably Evil
 Summer of '84 / int_95b7c400
comment
Faux Affably Evil: Officer Mackey appears to be so kind and charming that there's a moment where it seems like even Davey is starting to believe him.
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 Summer of '84 / int_95be648c
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Creepy Basement
 Summer of '84 / int_95be648c
comment
Creepy Basement: One of the most tense scene of the movie is when Davey and friends decide to check the neighbor's house when he's away to see once and for all if he's a Serial Killer. The dark basement full of broken furniture is creepy enough but then they get behind the locked door: a recreation of a 50's boy's bedroom, pictures of his victims, and a decomposing body in the bathtub.
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 Summer of '84 / int_970c790a
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Big Bad
 Summer of '84 / int_970c790a
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Big Bad: Officer Wayne Mackey really is the killer.
 Summer of '84 / int_970c790a
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 Summer of '84 / int_9d12bbc1
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Foreshadowing
 Summer of '84 / int_9d12bbc1
comment
Foreshadowing: The killer says a few things that foreshadow his identity. He tells Davey that he wants to freeze him at his current age. He promises Davey that he'll get him "outta that house" when he's grounded.
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 Summer of '84 / int_a696c783
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Event Title
 Summer of '84 / int_a696c783
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Event Title
 Summer of '84 / int_a696c783
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 Summer of '84 / int_a70223
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Karma Houdini
 Summer of '84 / int_a70223
comment
Karma Houdini: Mackey murders at least 15 boys. After his crimes are exposed, he hides and escapes, and he is still at large by the end of the movie. Then again, his face is known to the world, so he might not get away with it forever. While there are an alarming number of Serial Killers who have never been identified, there are very few who escaped justice once identified.
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 Summer of '84 / int_a8559a9f
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RealLife
 Summer of '84 / int_a8559a9f
comment
There are a few to Real Life as well: Mackey's Volkswagen is the same model that belonged to serial killer Ted Bundy and the town the film takes place in, Ipswich, is likely a nod to the English town of the same name that was terrorized by a serial killer in 2006. Furthermore, Mackey is a well-respected man in his neighborhood who has "Wayne" in his name, and he preys on young boys. These characteristics might be a nod to John Wayne Gacy.
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 Summer of '84 / int_b06bbf4b
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Be Careful What You Wish For
 Summer of '84 / int_b06bbf4b
comment
Be Careful What You Wish For: Once Davey - a conspiracy and mystery buff - becomes convinced that he knows the identity of the Cape Bay Slayer he is extremely excited because he finally has a real mystery of his own to solve and something exciting is finally happening in their boring town. This has all come back to haunt him in the worst possible way by the end of the film.
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 Summer of '84 / int_b42b7e7b
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Moral Myopia
 Summer of '84 / int_b42b7e7b
comment
Moral Myopia: Mackey murders several dozen young boys? No big deal to him. Expose him and force him to flee, "ruining his life?" Oh, he just flips out about that to insane degrees, regardless of the why.
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 Summer of '84 / int_b6287eff
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Briar Patching
 Summer of '84 / int_b6287eff
comment
Briar Patching: When he gets grounded, Davey protests that it's completely unfair he's being made to stay home from the Fourth of July festival. Once his parents are gone, he radios the boys to put his plan to break into Mackey's house with his dad's video camera while Mackey's at the festival into action.
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 Summer of '84 / int_c10da874
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The '80s
 Summer of '84 / int_c10da874
comment
The '80s: As implied by the title, and explores the themes of great films of the era such as The Goonies and recent homages such as Stranger Things and It (2017). And then brutally deconstructs them
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 Summer of '84 / int_c49a9e3a
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Face on a Milk Carton
 Summer of '84 / int_c49a9e3a
comment
Face on a Milk Carton: Davey recognizes a missing person from his carton of milk as the boy he saw with Mr. Mackey, and this kicks off the main plot.
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Shout-Out
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Shout-Out: At one point the boys kick back with a bottle of "MacReady's Whiskey:" a clear shout out to The Thing (1982). Like The Thing, Summer of 84 explores the fear that someone you know might be a monster. Despite everyone talking about how boring the town of Ipswich is, their bowling alley has nevertheless managed to score an actual Polybius machine. There are a few to Real Life as well: Mackey's Volkswagen is the same model that belonged to serial killer Ted Bundy and the town the film takes place in, Ipswich, is likely a nod to the English town of the same name that was terrorized by a serial killer in 2006. Furthermore, Mackey is a well-respected man in his neighborhood who has "Wayne" in his name, and he preys on young boys. These characteristics might be a nod to John Wayne Gacy.
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Corrupt Cop: One of the reasons Davey is so fixated on Officer Mackey as the suspect is because as a police officer, he could easily mislead the investigation and dispose of evidence. Once Mackey realizes how close the boys are getting, he simply goes out and arrests someone, framing them for the crimes to quickly bring the investigation to an end.
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Spiritual Antithesis
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Spiritual Antithesis: To Stranger Things. Both are period pieces set in the 1980s, feature nods to works from that decade, center on a cast of young teenage boys (and one girl) and are set to 80s-inspired synth music, but whereas Stranger Things portrays the events with a sense of childlike wonder, Summer of '84 does so with gritty realism.
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Cassandra Truth
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Cassandra Truth: None of the adults in Davey's life take his warnings about the killer seriously.
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Hunting the Most Dangerous Game
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Hunting the Most Dangerous Game: At the end of the movie, the Cape May Slayer has captured Davey and Woody after they revealed his identity and drops them at his dumping ground with the intent to hunt them down and kill them.
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Red Herring
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Red Herring: The massive amounts of soil Mackey is buying from the gardening shop, and the pickaxe. Turns out, they're for a city-sponsored beautification project at the Cape Mackey is working on that is revealed at the festival.
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Cruel Mercy
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Cruel Mercy: Mackey spares Davey so he will live in fear of the day Mackey comes to murder him in revenge.
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Convenient Photograph
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Convenient Photograph: Played with in the pictures on Mackey's wall. Davey figures out that it's not important what's on them, but that they are there at all.
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The X of Y
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The X of Y
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Running Gag
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Running Gag: Eats stealing nudie magazines by shoving them down his pants.
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Detective Mole
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Detective Mole: Davey believes the Cape May Slayer to be one of the police officer working on the case. He's right, and the officer uses his position to arrest someone else for his crimes when the kids get too close to the truth.
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Summer of '84

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

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Canadian Movies / int_be418a5c
 Summer of '84
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Convenient Photograph / int_be418a5c
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Detective Mole / int_be418a5c
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Event Title / int_be418a5c
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Films of 2015–2019 / int_be418a5c
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Rear Window Investigation / int_be418a5c
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Teen Horror / int_be418a5c
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