Hell of a Summer
★
Hell of a Summer is a summer camp horror-comedy that fails to deliver scares or anything generally funny. I truly feel bad for the actors, who do a moderately good job of making do with what they’re given: a bland script with the most basic of plots, bad dialogue and zero character development. When someone is slashed on film, the reaction is a melancholy “Oh, look at that. Someone got killed.”
John (Adam Pally) and Kathy (Rosebud Baker) are the owners of Camp Pineway. They were once young campers there and eventually camp counselors. They’re the two most interesting characters in the film and are killed off in the first five minutes. It’s an uphill battle out of quicksand from here.
Krista Nazaire, Abby Quinn, Finn Wolfhard, and Fred Hechinger
© 2025 NEON / 30WEST
After their death, camp counselors arrive at Camp Pinewood to help prep the camp for summer campers. The counselors are Jason (Fred Hechinger), Demi (Pardis Saremi), Mike (D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai), Chris (Finn Wolfhard), Bobby (Billy Bryk), Ezra (Matthew Finlan), Ari (Daniel Gravelle), Miley (Julia Doyle), Noelle (Julia Lalonde), Shannon (Krista Nazaire) and Claire (Abby Quinn).
That’s a lot of names and a lot of characters. Don’t worry too much about keeping track of them. The story won’t inspire your sympathy for them as they die ho-hum deaths at the hands of perhaps one of the most unfrightening slasher villains in horror history.
It probably won’t surprise you to learn that at least one of the counselors may be the killer. It won’t surprise me to learn how astoundingly little it’ll matter to you who it is.
Finn Wolfhard as Chris
© 2025 NEON / 30WEST
It’s a shame, because the cast is quite capable and the cinematographer seems to know where to point the camera. A storyline where the characters go hunting for the film’s plot would be more entertaining and intriguing.
The dialogue lacks such cohesion and depth even solid performances can’t save this drab, ill-conceived horror flick.
If you’re at camp and get word this film is playing, lock your cabin door and wait about 90 minutes for the film to be over. You’ll enjoy honing your basket-weaving skills more than this.
Rated: R for horror violence, language throughout, and some sexual references.
Running Time: 1h 28m
Directed by: Billy Bryk, Finn Wolfhard
Written by: Billy Bryk, Finn Wolfhard
Starring: Fred Hechinger, Finn Wolfhard, Billy Bryk, Pardis Saremi, Abby Quinn, D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Matthew Finlan, Krista Nazaire, Rosebud Baker, Adam Pally, Julia Lalonde, Susan Coyne
Horror, Comedy
