Hell of a Summer

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.

This movie was sooo bad...the jokes were fIat. The story was bad/cheap...there were no onscreen kiIIs or gore...yes there was no gore or kiIIs...all offscreen with a couple or aftermaths and one onscreen kiII...easily could be PG without the cursing...the two best scenes are in the trailer...you are better off watching All five sleepaway camp movies...yes even the last two horrible sleepaway camp films made...also the kiIIer outfit is so bad...its like devil mask from Scream Queens...VERY BASIC....if you were expecting friday the 13th, the burning or sleepaway camp throwback...you will be sad...this was a comedy that should be on HULU...I saw Scream boat and even that awful super B movie was more entertaining than this...This movie simply does nothing at all except tell fIat jokes...out of the 100 jokes they told in this movie, onIy about 5 of them landed.

Is it horror? No, not even remotely scary. Slasher? Nope, deaths are mild and most of the time off screen. Maybe it's funny? Fail. Dialogue and jokes were cheesy and amateurish. Even the characters were unlikeable. No personality, character development or growth. It was just bad all over. I was hoping for, at least, a funny slasher... but again... deaths were off screen and lacked creativity. And while the music was good, it made no sense. It had an 80s retro sound, but the movie took place in modern times since they all turn in cell phones. Nothing about this movie was good, it made 0 sense and had a cliche plot twist that's been done 100 times.

I saw the trailer for this film some months ago and it looked pretty good. As the horror fanatic I am, when I noticed that this film was out, I went ahead and watched it... It was not good at all.

The plot is the most generic thing that you can think off, a slasher in a camping in the middle of the woods. It also decided to throw away some Scream elements in there, which wasn't ideal, only making the film more predictable. The deaths are extremely bad and lack any sort of creativity. Also, for some reason, every one of them except two or three including the opening sequence are off screen. I mean, if you are going to make a bad slasher film, at least try to have some good kills, if not, it loses a lot.

The humor is flat, and the ending is predictable too. There's just nothing going for this, don't watch it.

As one of my most anticipated films of the year, it's genuinely disappointing to be let down by Hell of a Summer. While the movie does a solid job of paying homage to iconic camp slashers like Friday the 13th, Sleepaway Camp, and The Burning, it ultimately doesn't offer much beyond the nostalgia factor. The humor feels relatively mild, and while that could be forgivable if the film leaned more heavily into its horror elements, it doesn't quite succeed in that regard either. Despite a few moments of tension, there's a striking lack of satisfying kills. In fact, out of the entire film, I counted only one on-screen death, which was a missed opportunity for a more engaging horror experience.

That said, Hell of a Summer still has its bright spots. Finn Wolfhard stands out as the film's highlight-marking the first time I can say he's truly been my favorite part of a movie. Though his comedic timing isn't always perfect, his style of humor, which resembles comedian Daniel Avidan (aka Danny Sexbang of Ninja Sex Party and Game Grumps), works well. Wolfhard's dynamic both on and off-screen with Avidan is noticeable and adds an interesting layer to his performance.

In the end, Hell of a Summer is a letdown, but it's not without its redeeming qualities. I've certainly seen worse movies, and I'm willing to give the two first-time directors a second chance, hoping they'll take what they've learned from this project to improve their future work.