S(p)lasher films to kick start the holidays

Before embarking on your own summer holiday CONSTANTNOS PSILLIDES views how the small screen portrays those taken by the good, the bad and the hunky

Emails are answered, work settled and you are counting down the minutes until the moment you are on a beach with a cocktail in hand. Or each hand. It’s your time, you earned it, you worked hard for it, I won’t judge.

Just to get you in the proper mood for those hard-earned vacations, here are some summer movies you can watch on Netflix while you are planning your dream vacation.

Murder Mystery

I really wanted to dislike this movie. Believe me, I tried. On the surface, this is your everyday comedic vehicle for A-List actors who want a quick payday. It won’t win any awards but is a great date movie.

Here’s the thing. The film knows exactly what people’s expectations are and it delivers. A simple movie that everyone can watch and enjoy.

Jennifer Anniston and Adam Sandler star as a married couple going through a rough patch. The magic is gone and they are looking for a way to rekindle the flame. So, they decide on a trip to Europe! As per vacation comedy law, wacky coincidences follow, and our couple finds themselves in the middle of a murder case that involves a luxurious yacht in southern Italy, celebrities and international intrigue.

As I said, not winning any awards but I can guarantee that this is a movie that everyone can enjoy on family movie night.

Dirty Grandpa

Robert De Niro must be the only actor ever who pays to be in movies. There’s no other explanation. He must owe Scorcese a ton of money for The Irishman, or else taking roles in movies such as this one makes no sense.

Dirty Grandpa, tells the story of Jason (Zac Effron), a buttoned-up corporate lawyer who decides to take his fun-loving grandpa (De Niro, obviously) to Florida to have a crazy weekend at the beach before Jason gets married. Cringe ensues.

If you don’t spend too much time thinking about it, you can probably enjoy this movie. The always hilarious Jason Mantzoukas (Brooklyn 99) makes a brief cameo, as does Henry Zebrowski, from the famous Last Podcast on the Left true crime podcast.

Baywatch

Since we are talking about Zac Effron’s killer bod…no? Just me? Ok, cool. Lifeguards. What can be more summery than that?

Baywatch is, of course, based on the legendary slow-motion beach running sequences famous in the 90s, that some people insist on calling “a TV series”. In the role of Mitch Buchannon, instead of The Hoff, contemporary audiences are getting The Rock, Mr Dwayne ‘If there’s a jungle in the film I’m in it’ Johnson himself. Unlike the series, Baywatch the film never takes itself seriously and maintains a level of humour that is marginally above juvenile.

Zac Effron plays Brody, a former Olympic medalist who finds himself in the tryouts for a vacancy in the lifeguard ranks. The rest doesn’t matter. Just watch the beach and the beautiful people and put your mind on neutral.

The Last Summer

A final hoorah, the final moment of innocence, that small window of time just before we understand that the world is mostly inhabited by people who think reality TV is quality TV.

The Last Summer tells the story of a number of high-school students, during the last summer before they move to college and adult life. A coming-of-age romantic comedy, Last Summer follows our protagonists as each one tries to prepare for the life after, breaking relationships, renewing them, or you know, drinking and singing karaoke in a bar.

Mamma Mia!

Come on. Can you think of a more summer-appropriate movie than one that takes part on a Greek island, with ABBA playing in the background? An island literally called ‘Kalokairi’, Greek for Summer.

While Mamma Mia should need no introduction, here we go again: Amanda Seyfried stars, as young Sophie, a bride to be who grew up on the island with her mother Donna (Meryl Streep), who never knew who Sophie’s father was. Reading her mother’s diary, Sophie realises that her father is one of three men, so she invites all of them to the wedding. Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and Stellan Skarsgard (for some reason) all come to the island to discover if they have a daughter and hope to rekindle their relationship with Donna.