It may only be April, but summer is here with Finn Wolfhard and Billy Bryk’s directorial debut “Hell of a Summer.” After premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 10, 2023, the film is finally showing in theaters across the United States.
Shockingly fun, “Hell of a Summer” follows a group of camp counselors returning to Camp Pineway led by 24-year-old Jason (Fred Hechinger). Jason, whom everyone is shocked to see return, struggles to connect with his team of teen counselors but plans to impress the camp owners enough to become the new “camp leader.” However, things quickly go downhill when a masked killer begins to murder the counselors one by one. Without cell phones, driveable vehicles and more than a single brain cell within the camp, the race for survival is on.
The camp counselors are made up of perhaps one of the most cliche groups of teenagers one can find in a modern-day film with the social-media-obsessed influencer Demi (Pardis Saremi), goth girl Noelle (Julia Lalonde) and vegan Miley (Julia Doyle) being some of the most prominent tropes. However, while awkward and at times over the top, these cliches play well with each other as the characters banter and joke with ease.
Bobby (Bryk) spends the entire runtime annoyed at the lack of girls he pulls and, later in the film, upset at the fact that the killer refuses to take him out. His best friend Chris (Wolfhard) is doing a bit better, but he sometimes makes a fool of himself in front of his new girlfriend, Shannon (Krista Nazaire). Ezra (Matthew Finlan), the theater kid of the bunch, delivers quip after quip, even after being blinded with bear spray. The borderline-ridiculous nature of the counselors further cements this film as one full of laughs. Jason, our lovable leading man, struggles to grow up, but his endearing care for the camp despite the counselors’ treatment of him breeds ground for interesting character development. It is unfortunate that Jason is the sole character to have development.
Yet, “Hell of a Summer” works because its ensemble is full of awkward, obsessed and a bit idiotic teenagers trying to survive the night. Full of campy moments, the film feels as if a group of young filmmakers came together to make the most cliche yet hysterical summer camp experience. One of the most absurd scenes comes when Noelle breaks out the Ouija board and the remaining counselors call on the spirits beyond. After asking their spirit who the summer camp killer was, the spirit responds with a simple “I.D.E.K.”
However, one of the pitfalls of the film is its inability to commit to the slasher genre. Slashers have high stakes, with the idea that anyone — even our leads — can be taken out, and anyone can be the killer.
While “Hell of a Summer” pays homage to the great slashers that came before through its camp setting, “Halloween” adjacent score, masked killers and even the name ‘Jason,’ it does little to add to the genre. When people die, no one seems to care. While the final reveal makes sense, it is not as compelling as other decisions may have been.
Overall, the film is no more scary than the incinerator scene in “Toy Story 3” (2010). The opening scene with camp owners John (Adam Pally) and Kathy (Rosebud Baker) is perhaps the most terrifying, with the former strumming a guitar to the latter; every other moment in the film lacks the same sense of urgency. The unreasonable choices made by the group of teens did not help, but at least they garnered several rounds of laughter from the theater.
“Hell of a Summer” should suffer from its lack of stakes, but truthfully the unserious nature of the film makes it a must-watch. With its compelling cast and comedy-heavy script, the film may be a new favorite.
“Hell of a Summer” is now playing in theaters.
