Reel Review: Hell of A Summer is a Love Letter to 80s Slashers with a Modern Take

Hell of A Summer follows a group of young adults who return to their favorite summer camp as counselors ready for another year of lakeside fun. However, after arriving to the beloved Pineway Camp, the owners are nowhere to be found, forcing the counselors to make their own fun until thinks take a sinister turn and counselors start showing up dead.

While the plot of Hell of A Summer is nothing astoundingly original, it feels like a proper homage to the 80s slasher classics. Reinvented by a new generation, this movie takes everything you love about horror comedies and slashers, and modernizes it with new motivations but familiar tropes. Each character has a distinct voice but also falls into very cliche tropes, but none of it feels overdone. This summer camp slasher is a bloody good time.

Billy Bryk and Finn Wolfhard co-wrote, co-directed, and co-starred in the film, a true feat given that the duo are both in their early twenties. It is so refreshing to see young voices being supported in a way that is true to their vision, tone, and generational opinions. They took an interesting approach when it comes to the more gory scenes by cutting away from what is inferred to be the most violent parts of this slasher. Instead of seeing the violent act, the camera pans to a more off center shot focusing on the blood spatter. For people who like the horror comedy genre but cannot handle the gore, this one is for you! However do be warned that there are still a few truly gory and violent scenes that show everything.

While this film may be Bryk and Wolfhard’s passion project, Fred Hechinger really steals the show. From recent success in Gladiator 2 and Thelma, his role in this movie was a highly anticipated one. Henchinger is able to play the sensitive, naive, and immature young adult so incredibly well. He has an innate ability to make you sympathize for him while also understanding why the other characters view him as they do. As the film’s main protagonist, Jason is worth rooting for and ultimately he lives up to every expectation you have of him.

While Hell of a Summer may not be an extraordinary reinvention of the summer camp slasher, it is a love letter to all the movies of the genre’s past. Without being overtly gen z and relying on technology, it digs into real characters and interesting dynamics. Billy Bryk and Finn Wolfhard’s debut is a fun time worth showing up to the theaters for. My only wish is that it’s release was pushed by a few months so that crowds could enjoy it at a drive-in theater.

Hell of a Summer is playing in theaters now.