For the arc of horror in American cinema, it’s a tale as old as time for slashers to be set at summer camp, bridging the gap between depravity and coming of age. We’ve seen this all before, the teenage fun and innocence being put to the test when being chased by death. Really, it’s a noble attempt by Canadian debut directors Bill Byrk and Finn Wolfhard of Hell of a Summer to put a new coat of paint on something reliable. The slasher for a time was the face of horror that was commercially successful, and though an April release for Summer didn’t quite capture the same energy, there’s at least Something here. It’s a tough corner to be writing yourself in: what else is there to say in the slasher genre in a time when everything is ironic and subversive? 

It’s the final (?) summer for Jason (the always good Fred Hechinger) being a camp counselor before he gets his act together to become an adult. The inability to let go of a childhood memory is one that’s hard to do, but made even harder as he has to come to the realization nobody likes him. Hechinger plays him as just too earnest when compared to the other campers, who are now more earthy and vegan (such as Pardis Saremi and Abby Quinn). It’s this performance that is not only the highlight of the movie, but the fate of that character is pretty fun. The other campers are rounded out by some promising young talent (D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai and filmmakers Wlfhard and Bryk) who all have their thing that keeps the movie going when we are awaiting a more sinister turn. 

But it’s the mistake of Hell of a Summer to not be very scary. It is an effort that’s nice to see crystallized, actors we like in nighttime scenes that look decent. Yet the tension breaks apart quite easily when we are done with the characterizations of this group. Though I am a devotee to the 90-minute movie, Hell of a Summer is a rare example when we could’ve used more to get in some more kills or more characters. From what we do have, there’s a sense that the boys might’ve been more successful at paying homage to Wet Hot American Summer, not Shaun of the Dead, as there’s a real lived in quality to how the characters build chemistry (or vaguely recognize each other from the previous summer). When the killers are revealed, not only does the joke fall flat, but it’s also slightly too soon in the movie, almost like it’s trying to be in the same lane as the modernized Scream movies to give the leverage to the killers. It’s clearly become trickier to make something as uncomplicated as a slasher. Interested to see what Byrk and Wolfhard do next, especially with the godforsaken Duffer Brothers releasing those poor kids from the shackles, it’ll be all the more evident that they have a great coming-of-age movie in them. 

Hell of a Summer
2025
Dir. Finn Wolfhard and Billy Bryk
88 mins