A family-friendly (presumably) investigative film, Debunkers, Inc. (2019) is coming your way this September to solve all of your teen murder mysteries. A Matt Thompson film (Bloodline, Listen To Your Heart) promoted as “Scooby-Doo meets Stranger Things“, Debunkers, Inc. stars Josh Pinkowski, Izzy Pollak, Blake Kevin Dwyer, and Nicole DuBois.
Synopsis: The Debunkers are a crew of amateur detectives with dreams of heroism (and making some money) in their small, quiet town. Giving themselves codenames from their favorite video game heroes, Link is the CEO and leader, Snake is the “Vice President of Clandestine Maneuvers” aka the Secretary who thinks he’s really a ninja, and Dr. “Doc” Mario is their trusty and honorable Chief Investigative Officer. The trio eventually becomes a quartet when Canadian foreign exchange student, Sheik, decides to become their intern. Having solved only a handful of petty mysteries, the self-proclaimed “premier mystery debunking business in the state of California” gets their big break when on the first day of their senior year two desperate classmates seek their services in solving the murder of Nina Galanosa, their friend who was killed over the summer break. The Debunkers eagerly agree in order to prove themselves, but they soon begin to deal with expectations of reality.
Let’s hope that Debunkers, Inc. is more like the classic Scooby-Doo cartoons than the ridiculous 2000’s features that were riddled with fart-jokes and horrible CGI. Do I feel the 80’s film vibe in aesthetic or soundtrack that makes Stranger Things so special? Can I expect the use of lore and unexpectedly human baddies that are pillars of the Scooby-Doo universe? Besides the premise of teens solving a mystery, I do not see many similarities with Debunkers, Inc. and these pop-culture phenoms based on the film’s new trailer. The film is sure to be much more comedic and light-hearted in comparison to these often dark TV shows — one can hope for Brick (2005) but looks like we are due to get more of a Goosebumps-like tale. I imagine it will be a nice and barely PG-film for families to watch this Halloween.
When the midnight hour strikes September 3rd, you can find Debunkers, Inc. on Amazon, Vudu, iTunes, and GooglePlay.
