The 13th Summer – Spoiler Free Review
The 13th Summer directed by Tam Sainsbury (Perfect Messy Holiday) centres on a married couple, Ben and Vee, played by Nathan Phillips (Wolf Creek) and Hannah Levien (Siren). With their relationship on the rocks, they head to their friend’s secluded beach house, a place they all meet up at every year. Ben to get over his troubles and Vee to finally finish her novel. However, things take a dark turn when they meet Alex, a mysterious British backpacker who is inexplicably staying at the house, with no sign of their friends.
The film hints at Ben having a bit of a temper and this is further demonstrated as he leaps to conclusions and starts aggressively questioning Alex, with Vee taking a more level headed approach.
Their friends not being there, a missing dog and a stashed backpack add more fuel to Ben’s fire and he’s certain there’s something extremely dodgy about our British friend. Vee however is charmed by the stranger, and a flirtatious relationship begins. Ben’s attitude further opening the rift between the couple.
Things escalate and then, helped by Vee, seem to de-escalate and a truce is called until there is a confrontation and an accident leads to the couple working together to find a solution.
What happened to their friends? What happened to the dog? Was Ben as innocent as people think? Will Vee ever finish her book? Alex, Alex? Who the f is Alex?
The film builds tension really well, with well timed discoveries and the underlying mistrust of Ben’s mental state having been created, it made me wonder if he’s just generally an angry man looking for conflict or is he right to assume the worst.
The final third is quite surprisingly revelatory and the end of the film left me wondering if any of it happened or if it was just all part of…
Writing a spoiler free review of this one is rather difficult, so I’ll just give a few of the things I liked, and a few that I wasn’t so keen on.
The cinematography is lovely, really giving an idea of the remote coastal property the story is set in. The lighting’s spot on and the night scenes are lit enough so you can actually see what’s going on.
The script is decent, tension builds well and there’s no major clunks. Pacing is good, getting us into the story quick without any noticeable exposition in the dialogue.
The performances are all solid in this, Nathan Phillips and Hannah Levien, while maybe lacking some marital chemistry, certainly have on screen chemistry and carry the film well.
Now, here’s a couple of my, thankfully small, gripes. Why in the world did Alex need to be British? Ben Turland is a perfectly accomplished actor but his accent slides all over the place, veering toward Bert the Sweep levels at times. The romantically charged wooing of Vee is perfect for him, but when he has to be the more sneering villain it doesn’t quite hit home.
Ben’s a cop and he appears to have brought his gun along for a little break away. Car safe? Portable safe? Nah, stick it in a little draw in the cabin eh?
The entire story of why they go to that place every year just didn’t seem altogether likely but just about hangs onto the right side of plausibility.
All in all The 13th Summer is a superbly taught thriller that builds on the troubled couples tensions and takes us willingly along for the ride. You don’t see the final third coming and it’s all wrapped up in a delightfully ambiguous fashion.
Go along for the ride as The 13th Summer is released on digital on the 9th of September 2024 from Reel 2 Reel Films.
And be sure to let me know what you think the ending’s all about!
Intrigued? You can watch the trailer below, but beware! The trailer isn’t as spoiler free as my review 😀
