Big trouble in a small town

For those who missed the days of roller disco, The Knack andspectacularly feathered hair, Abrams wastes little time in immersing hisaudience in the period. Almost immediately, we’re smacked upside the head withElectric Light Orchestra’s chugging synth-rocker “Don’t Bring Me Down” andreminded that this was the year of director George Romero’s “Dawn of the Dead,”one of the first horror films to combine shocking gore and sharp socialcommentary.

It was also an era that looks delightfully quaint by today’sstandards — kids running around with a then-trendy Super 8 sound movie camera?a bedroom stereo system with a tower of 8-track tapes nearby? — but Abramsembraces that innocence instead of mocking it. There’s a sincerity and a disarminggentleness in “Super 8” that effectively contrasts its increasingly creepytone.

The material has easily detectable echoes of Spielberg’s“E.T.” and, even more discernibly, “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and“Jaws.” In the Ohio hamlet of Lillian, a quartet of barely adolescent,endearingly nerdy boys are putting together their own low-budget zombie movie,in the hopes of qualifying for an amateur film festival. Charles (RileyGriffiths) is the gung-ho director, always on the lookout for “productionvalues” and “mint” footage; Preston (Zach Mills) is the milquetoast-y leadingman; Cary (Ryan Lee) is the budding pyromaniac who has temporarily channeledhis troubling talents into a reasonably respectable role as the supervisor ofthe film’s special effects.

Then there’s the mostly introspective Joe (Joel Courtney),the son of town deputy Jackson Lamb (Kyle Chandler). He’s the quietest andperhaps most gifted of the group, a skilled makeup artist slowly recoveringfrom the sudden loss of his mother. The wild card in the bunch is a last-minuteaddition: Alice (Elle Fanning), a lower-class girl who carries herself like anatural born leading lady and has that mesmerizing aura of maturity andsophistication that some 14-year-olds are blessed with and that all the othersvainly strive for. Since Alice’s dad and Joe’s father are embroiled in a fiercefeud, naturally their kids become fast friends.

The fledgling filmmakers find more action than they everbargained for when their camera inadvertently captures a spectacular,terrifying train wreck on the outskirts of town. They also get a good scare,courtesy of a seemingly demented survivor, who tells them, “Do not speak ofthis — or you and your parents will die!” It doesn’t take long for the group torealize that something that was locked up on that train is now on the loose,creating big trouble for the small town and major headaches for thehard-working Jackson, who suddenly has to dealt with a rash of disappearancesand bizarre thefts.

Most of Abrams’ screenplay moves along the lines of “CloseEncounters,” carefully building the mystery without giving away too much. It’sonly when Abrams finally pulls back the curtain to reveal what he’s been hidingthat “Super 8” loses some of its spirit and energy: The finale seems a bit flatand overly familiar compared to the intriguing set-up. (Abrams also goes a bitoverboard with the retro-goofiness, allowing a few distracting anachronisms toslip into his dialogue, most notably a Rubik’s Cube joke and a shout-out to theSony Walkman, neither of which were available in the U.S. in 1979.)

When “Super 8” is on a roll, however, it’s first-rate fun,with some masterfully modulated “jump” scenes and several wonderfully playedquieter moments between newcomer Courtney and the striking Fanning, who has notrouble at all finding Alice’s conflicted conscience.

In both his writing and his directing, Abrams demonstrates areal sensitivity where young actors are concerned; the dynamics between Griffiths,Lee and Mills are convincingly goofy without being irritatingly exaggerated,and there’s a powerful poignancy in the painful awkward relationship of Joe andJackson, who can barely look at each other, much less have the kinds ofconversations they need to start. Spielberg had this easy touch in the days of“E.T.,” but largely lost it in later years as the films he produced becameincreasingly formulaic and mechanical (“Harry and the Hendersons,” “BatteriesNot Included,” etc.). Although “Super 8” is first and foremost a chiller,Abrams has given it a sturdy emotional core and has capitalized on every opportunityto put unexpected edges on characters that initially seem to beone-dimensional, such as Alice’s hard-drinking, anguished dad, forcefullyplayed by Ron Eldard.

In a movie that frequently and casually swings betweensuspense and humor, it makes sense that Abrams follows the eerie ending of“Super 8” with a hilarious kicker that plays out during the end credits:Whatever you do, don’t head for the exit too soon, or you’ll miss one of themovie’s best surprises.

(Note: Not every film is worth spending the extra money tosee in IMAX, but “Super 8” is definitely a picture that makes exciting use ofthe giant screen and multi-channel sound system. In addition to being able toget a better look at all the amusing relics of 1979 that Abrams and his artdirection team have dropped into the backgrounds of many of the scenes, you’llalso be treated to a nerve-jangling, teeth-rattling, Oscar-worthy audio mixthat’s the next best thing to that supremely ‘70s movie gimmick, Sensurround.)