Almost something special

Rating: 7/10 (25 May 2020)

Super 8 is a movie about a bunch of kids making a zombie movie, which takes a crazy left turn as they witness a truck driven by one of their teachers crash into a train. The train carries some grey rubik's cube things as well as *something* scary.
Soon, the small town the are in start experiencing things like power outages, missing dogs, stolen items. The Air Force is there because the train supposedly carried items for them, but the deputy doesn't think it all adds up.
About 2/3s of the movie is just captivating. The kids are all pretty good in their roles not only seeming like genuine kids, but also, when filming their super 8 zombie movie, they genuinely seem like kids trying to make a kid directed movie. I think about myself trying to act like that at that age and I don't think I'd be able to do it.
The story unfolds in a manner that keeps you interested, with layer after layer adding mystery. I don't know exactly when it started to unravel, but at some point it seemed to lose it's magic and just turn into another alien movie. And it's too bad too as Super 8 could have been something special. As it is, it's still a solid Friday night theater movie (though I saw it at home on a Monday afternoon). I do wonder what it could have been.
Oh, and a couple of subplots did seem superfluous, such as the mother's death (no spoiler as it happens right at the beginning) and the large family of one of the friends. The locket thing at the end was also a little bit eye-rolly.
7/10, starting as an 8/10 movie but dropping to 7/10 when all was said and done.