Hell of a Summer

Hell of a Summer wants to be Scream meets Sleepaway Camp, but ends up feeling like the pilot of a slasher show too scared to kill off its cast. The characters are cartoonishly dumb, the kills are mostly offscreen, and the gore is weirdly tasteful for something clearly inspired by '80s splatter.

There are a few fun editing choices-some clever transitions, a grill-sizzle jump scare-but the film leans too hard on its actors' charm and not enough on actual suspense or style. The killer reveal is predictable, the comedy's uneven, and the whole thing feels too safe to be a parody and too shallow to be satire.

Compared to recent slashers like In a Violent Nature or Heart Eyes, this one's just stuck in neutral. Not terrible, just a bit of a shrug.

Hell of a Summer is a playful entry into the "camp slasher" genre, written and directed by Billy Bryk and Finn Wolfhard. Rather than leaning into the darker, grittier aspects of traditional slashers, this film feels more like a tongue-in-cheek homage-a lighthearted parody that embraces the tropes with full self-awareness. While some moments initially felt like weaknesses, they ultimately came across as intentional nods to genre clichés. It's not a horror film that takes itself too seriously, and that's part of its charm. Despite some of the criticism it's received, I had fun with it-and sometimes, that's all you need. Video review available on my YouTube channel.

It now makes more sense to me why it took until 2025 to release this 2023 movie. It's just not good. Below average in every category. End of review.

Fine, I'll say more. I normally enjoy the horror-comedy tone they were going for, but the comedic attempts at their best only made me smirk. The cast is extremely weak. The dialogue and story is as basic as it gets.

There is a decent opening scene with a cool kill. But then the kills are offscreen. Why? This is a slasher. I ended up quitting the movie after 45 minutes (about halfway through). But apparently most of the kills are offscreen. Just a baffling decision.

(1 viewing, 4/22/2025)

I acknowledge that this movie isn't going to be for everyone. Some may find the very Gen Z characters, humour, and "style" of the film somewhat grating (quick editing, a very self aware smart you-know-what vibe). The pacing does feel a *tad* off, with a lot of time spent on the characters (which I do ultimately believes is the film's best aspect, but more on that later). There are awkward shots here and there I think the actual camp where this film takes place could've been shown a bit more, at times, the cinematography feels a bit too restrictive and small.

That all is to say though, this movie otherwise rocks. Hell of a Summer is probably the best slasher I've seen in years, because it focuses on something most films in this ilk forget about: the characters. The best thing about slashers is seeing how interesting, funny, sometimes awful, people react to a terrifying, but utterly believable situation. This film nails that aspect, giving us a hilarious ensemble, well-written ensemble cast and tight script to maximize the setting and premise.

I feel like everyone here was absolutely amazing for their roles; Finn Wolfhard and Billy Byrk have incredible natural chemistry and comic timing, but they aren't really the stars of the show here (well, not entirely). Fred Hechinger's leading man Jason (reference intended) is perfect for the role, same with Abby Quinn as Claire. They both just "understood the assignment" as the kids say. Everyone did, really. I can't gush enough about how awesome this cast and the writing for these characters were. This is one of the few horror movies I can say generally portray humanity in a mostly positive way and has a lot of heart and warmth.

It's a nice change from what we usually expect from these movies and honestly, I loved it. I think back to Scream VI (sorry, still not over it) and how cynical, stupid, and lazy that film was and it makes me appreciate Hell of a Summer even more. This is a slasher with a purpose. I really hope it can be seen by as many people as possible, because I can totally see this being a cult classic.

The plot of the film is messy and uninspired. Most of the humor in the movie fell flat to me and it doesn't balance comedy and horror much at all. The story could've been told in thirty minutes if you cut out all the random running scenes where they go pretty much nowhere. The villain's costume was cool and some of the kills delivered but most of it was a canoe to nowhere. I still have to give credit to Finn for directing a theatrical release film at 22 years old but I just hope to see him evolve as a filmmaker and try on some different hats when it comes to storytelling. Honestly wait for this on streaming if you really want to see it.