Finn Wolfhard in “Hell of a Summer”. Credit: Allanah Elster via EF Neon
Disclaimer: “Hell of a Summer” has not yet been released in theaters, with its wide-scale distribution officially set to begin Friday. The Lantern recently participated in an early film screening as well as a virtual roundtable interview with lead actors and directors Billy Bryk and Finn Wolfhard.
Who doesn’t love summer camp?
As one of the staples of American youth, summer camps are often associated with some of the best childhood memories of late nights around campfires and bonds that last a lifetime.
However, campers unlucky enough to find themselves trapped in the woods with a psycho killer — a surprisingly common narrative in the slasher-film microgenre — are less likely to be sentimental for summers gone by.
This predicament is the case with “Friday the 13th,” “Sleepaway Camp” and now, “Hell of a Summer,” the directorial debut of co-directors Finn Wolfhard (“Stranger Things”) and Billy Bryk (“Saturday Night”).
Wolfhard and Bryk, who both also act in the movie, star as part of a group of teenage camp counselors tasked with running Camp Pineway after their adult supervisors mysteriously disappear.
In particular, the over-eager Jason (Fred Hechinger) — who refuses to grow up and find a real job, despite being several years older than all the other counselors — feels the weight of responsibility fall upon his shoulders. But when various counselors begin getting murdered in increasingly twisted ways, it’s more than even Jason signed up for.
“Hell of a Summer” is a horror-comedy at its core, though its scales are tipped more heavily toward laughs than scares. In particular, Bryk’s character Bobby is the comedic highlight of the movie, a big-headed teenager desperate to disprove the other counselors’ theories that the killers targeted the more attractive camp members first.
Hechinger’s Jason has his fair share of funny moments as a Buddy-the-Elf archetype — someone who’s just a little too old and a little too big to be acting the way he is.
As for the horror elements, going into the movie expecting any genuine fear-inducing moments would make “Hell of a Summer” feel like a hell of a bummer. There are some decently creative kills early on in the movie, before settling into a lull once the plot really gets kicking. Even when it picks up a bit more near the finale, the killer reveal is fairly disappointing and fails to really strike fear in the audience.
And though “Hell of a Summer” is at its strongest when it emphasizes comedy, it feels more like a collection of sketches and bits than a really cohesive film. It begins much like “Wet Hot American Summer,” establishing the camp with a youthful, relaxed vibe. Unfortunately, the film doesn’t really balance this tone with its accompanying horror elements, making the genre switch feel a bit abrupt.
But “Hell of a Summer” suffers the most in the editing room, with some sketches ending without a real punchline and a lack of a soundtrack where one would’ve elevated a scene. This adds to the general choppiness of the story and draws attention to the fact that “Hell of a Summer” is a directorial debut.
But that’s not to take anything away from Wolfhard and Bryk. Though “Hell of a Summer” can be a bit of a mess at times, it still punches just hard enough at its most pivotal moments, making it an overall successful debut for the filmmaking duo.
In this sense, “Hell of a Summer” can function in a vacuum as a fairly entertaining comedic slasher and a promising directorial audition.
Rating: 3/5
