Hell Of A Summer Review: A Campfire Slasher That's Light On Scares But Big On Charm

Nostalgia for summer camps is a strange thing. Whether you've been to camp as a child, a teen camper, and/or an adult counselor, chances are most of your experiences there have involved some sort of hardship, if not anxiety or humiliation. Yes, it's essentially the same as going to school itself, but intensified; instead of getting to go home every night, you're forced to spend 24/7 deep in an isolated rural area with the people that you're attending camp with. In every meaningful way, there is no escape.

Perhaps, then, this nostalgic pull that summer camp has can be chalked up to good ol' trauma bonding. In other words, it's not about the experience itself while it's happening, but about the sense of closeness and accomplishment one feels upon just getting through it. That would explain why so many nostalgic summer camp movies tend to fall into either the horror, comedy, or horror-comedy categories. Whether it's laughing through the pain with "Meatballs," "Wet Hot American Summer," and "Theater Camp," or stabbing through the pain with "Friday the 13th," "Sleepaway Camp," or "Fear Street Part Two: 1978," there's a warm glow of recognition to these films because of our collective dealings with such places.

"Hell of a Summer," the debut feature from actors and co-writers/directors Billy Bryk and Finn Wolfhard, is a campfire slasher comedy-horror that contains more of the former rather than the latter. That's not to say the film is attempting to sanitize its subject matter or looking to be a goofy romp, but that Bryk and Wolfhard's strengths lie more in writing and portraying endearing characters than coming up with dread-filled imagery and setpieces. While the movie isn't likely to make anyone sleepless or leap out of their seat, its many charms do add up. With its nostalgia-tinged tale set in the present day, "Hell of a Summer" becomes less of a lazy throwback and more of that rare beast, the cozy horror film.

Let's get this out of the way up top: "Hell of a Summer" is one of the most generic movies ever made, at least when it comes to the slasher subgenre. On the one hand, this is par for the course when it comes to slashers, and as a huge fan of the subgenre, I often argue that the formulaic aspects of the slasher are a feature, not a bug. Utilizing the tropes and elements that make up a slasher, and particularly a campfire slasher, doesn't outright mean that a film is devoid of originality. Take last year's "In a Violent Nature," for example. That movie was dripping in campfire slasher tropes, yet thanks to the utterly unique way it was shot, all of those hoary old cliches acted like guideposts to help acclimate audiences to the film's style, and by extension they then felt fresh again.

Unfortunately, "Hell of a Summer" never quite transcends its parade of slasher tropes. The plot is the usual threadbare set up: 24-year-old Jason (Fred Hechinger) is headed to Camp Pineway to spend yet another summer there as a counselor, despite everyone insisting he move on with his life. As he struggles to appeal to his jaded teenage coworkers during their counselors-only prep weekend while attempting to prove he can run the camp by himself, a masked killer begins to pick off the counselors one by one. Even worse, when things get tense, the surviving counselors come to believe Jason himself is the killer.

With this old-school slasher structure, there's no question that Bryk and Wolfhard are fans of the genre. The filmmakers are also clever to not draw too much attention to the tropes, either; this isn't something like "The Final Girls," which is constantly trying to outdo "Scream." Nor is it "Scream" or its many imitators; Bryk and Wolfhard aren't trying to make a capital-S Statement about the state of slashers or horror in society. In fact, their film is a little too surface-level, as the revelation of whodunit feels too weightless (and the ultimate motivation of the killer feels too derivative of, guess what, a "Scream" sequel). This isn't an issue unique to "Hell of a Summer," though, as several recent slashers (especially this year's "Heart Eyes") have had similar problems affording their killers compelling reasons for their bloodlust.

Of course, the saving grace of many a slasher lies in its kill sequences and setpieces, and "Hell of a Summer" is no slouch in this department ... sort of. While the film is R-rated, and thus the harsh language and gore one might expect to see in an R-rated slasher are present, this feels like one of the tamest slashers around in terms of blood and guts. If you're a gorehound (and most slasher fans tend to be), then you might still be disappointed with "Hell of a Summer," as not only is there not a ton of the red stuff, but some kills even take place — gasp! — offscreen.

Yet, if you're not going to knock the film a whole star for not being on par with "In a Violent Nature" or the "Terrifier" series, then "Hell of a Summer" might tickle your fancy. As I said before, Bryk and Wolfhard are clever filmmakers, and what their slasher lacks in grisliness it makes up for in inventiveness. I won't give anything away here, but there are at least two scenes in the film that I regard as a couple of the most clever kills in any slasher ever made. One is a great payoff to a running gag, and the other feels like the type of bait-and-switch kill that a classic Italian horror or a "Scream" sequel might have done in their prime. While none of the kills in the movie are likely to shock you, I reckon you might be chatting about several of them for days after.

Where Bryk and Wolfhard really excel is in their dialogue and characterizations. That's not a huge surprise, given the duo's training and history as actors. Nor is it surprising that they have an eye for talent, as the ensemble cast here is filled with highlights, especially Abby Quinn as Jason's confidant and love interest, Claire, D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai as Mike (who is making a helluva post-"Reservation Dogs" debut between this and "Warfare"), and Krista Nazaire, who makes a winning couple with Wolfhard's woke popular guy, Chris. Bryk gives his own character, Bobby, a hilarious persona to work with, making him Chris' sidekick who desperately wants to be the group's alpha male but is both too insecure and too honest to make it happen, such as when he unsuccessfully pretends to be vegan to impress a girl.

It's these characterizations and performances which really sets "Hell of a Summer" apart from the slasher pack. In the same way that it's honestly refreshing to see a horror film that trades on the nostalgia of the genre without slavishly attempting to prove fandom bonafides or outdo past triumphs, it's just as refreshing to see a present-day horror movie by and starring young adults that is absolutely for their generation yet isn't attempting to pander to and/or sum up that generation (unlike, say, "Bodies Bodies Bodies"). Again, Bryk and Wolfhard aren't trying to make an "X" or a "They/Them," nor a high-concept postmodern slasher a la "Happy Death Day" or "It's a Wonderful Knife." Instead, "Hell of a Summer" is an honest, character-driven horror comedy, with Hechinger playing a young man who gets a decidedly violent yet effective coming of age wake up call. Hechinger's performance is sublime, and if you're on board with the actor's idiosyncratic style, you might be won over by him and the film, too. Hey, it may be an on-the-nose joke for a Final Boy named Jason to be suspected of murder at a summer camp, but I find it endearing!

Despite the existence of so-called "comfort movies" and those for whom horror films are more of a comfort than a stress- or anxiety-inducer, horror films generally try to scare or at least disturb the majority of an audience. While there may be a few folks out there for whom "Hell of a Summer" gives them a chill, the majority of horror fans probably won't find themselves too fearful. What Bryk and Wolfhard have here instead is one of the coziest horror movies in recent memory, one which instantly feels charming from the start. Maybe thinking of "Hell of a Summer" as a warm hug of a film says more about me, a horror junkie, than it does about the movie itself, but the fact remains that the film does have a clever and endearing quality about it. Or perhaps, given this and other similar recent films like "Heart Eyes," slashers are starting to move away from extreme gore and nudity into a cozier, warmer space. 

During my handful of years attending summer camp, I overheard stories of fellow campers in other cabins making their own no-budget horror/slasher movies while at camp. These were not the efforts of career-minded or social-media-minded (since that wasn't yet a thing when I was young) kids trying to get famous, but just pals looking to have a little fun during their downtime from learning crafts, boating, archery and other such activities. "Hell of a Summer" acts like that type of horror movie if it actually got professionally made, and by the end of it, you might feel as if you too have spent a summer at camp with some new friends. If all horror is about trauma at the end of the day, then the pains of growing up are just as valid as knife wounds and beheadings.

/Film Rating: 7 out of 10

"Hell of a Summer" hits theaters on April 4, 2025.