A group of horny teenagers and careless counselors walk into a summer camp, and then slowly one by one people start getting slashed and torn apart by a mysterious masked killer. Did that sound familiar? If you're a fan of slashers, especially slashers from the 80s, chances are that you have already seen quite a few films with the same set-up. What started with the monstrous success of Friday the 13th has spawned not just one of the longest franchises in Hollywood but also a unique subgenre of horror itself. Now, co-directors Finn Wolfhard and Billy Bryk are bringing their own spin to the genre in their campy slasher Hell of a Summer.
Wolfhard is no stranger to throwback horror, as the Stranger Things and It star has almost become the face of the 80s horror revival phenomenon. Wolfhard and Bryk both also starred in Ghostbusters: Afterlife, another revisit of an iconic 80s horror comedy. So even though it is the duo's debut feature, it's safe to say they are one of the best candidates to tackle this genre. And the word out of the film's TIFF premiere seems to prove that hypothesis right. Hell of a Summer promises a scary good time and if an 80s comedy slasher looks like something up your alley, here is a guide to everything we know about the film so far.
When And Where Can You Watch 'Hell of a Summer'?
Hell of a Summer premiered as a part of the Midnight Madness screenings at the 48th Toronto International Film Festival and the critics seem to love the campy affair, praising it for its self-aware and lighthearted bloody moments. You can check out Collider's review of the movie right here.
The has been no word on a release date or distribution details for Hell of a Summer yet. The film's sales are being handled by Altitude Films, and whether the plan is for a theatrical or a streaming release is yet to be seen.
Is There a Trailer for 'Hell of a Summer'?
While there has been no trailer or clips released for the film yet, the team behind Hell of a Summer released a teaser image from the film back in February 2023.
What Is the Plot of 'Hell of a Summer'?
Hell of a Summer is a self-aware horror comedy featuring all the known tropes from an '80s slasher, right down to the characters filling in for each archetype, from the horny teenagers to the himbo and the mean girls. Wolfhard and Bryk play a pair of horned-up friends looking to score with their counselors at Camp Pineway, who inevitably become a part of the kill list of a masked killer at camp as everyone tries to survive the night.
Among the bodies anticipating their demise, the main focus is Jason, a slightly older counselor whose excitement for the job makes him refuse to realize that maybe he has outgrown the position. Once the kill count starts going up Jason becomes the primary suspect, after all, his name is Jason. Is this a classic case of arrested development leading to homicidal behavior or is it something more mysterious lurking in the shadows of Camp Pineway?
In an interview with Collider, Finn Wolfhard and Billy Bryk described their movie as:
"Hell of a Summer, it's a summer camp comedy-slasher. It's an ensemble coming-of-age movie about a counselor who's a little bit older than everybody else named Jason, and he's back, and he kind of can't let his camp glory days go. Then a masked killer starts picking off the teenage counselors one by one, and everybody sort of freaks out…And tries to survive the night."
Who Stars in 'Hell of a Summer'?
Like all slashers, Hell of a Summer features an ensemble cast to keep the body counts high. Fred Hechinger (Fear Street) plays Jason, the unlikely lead in the movie, and Finn Wolfhard and Billy Bryk themselves star as key members of the puzzle. Abby Quinn (Knock at the Cabin), D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai (Reservation Dogs), Daniel Gravelle, Pardis Saremi, Matthew Finlan, Julia Lalonde, and Krista Nazaire round out the remaining cast of the film.
Who Is Making 'Hell of a Summer'?
Finn Wolfhard and Billy Bryk make their directorial debut with Hell of a Summer and the duo also wrote the script for the film. The film is produced by Fred Hechinger, Trevor Groth, and Jay Van Hoy, along with Jason Bateman, Drew Brennan, Michael Costigan, Micah Green, Sarah Hong, Kristy Neville, and Maren Olson, who serve as executive producers.
Principal photography began in July 2022 in Ontario, Canada, and in August Finn Wolfhard took to Instagram to announce that production has wrapped.
More Movies Like Hell of a Summer That You Can Watch Right Now
Scream VI (2023) - When it comes to self-aware slasher, nobody does it quite like Scream, and after six entries in the franchise, the murder spree of Ghostface is still going strong. The latest sequel to the requel brings back the Carpenter sisters played by Jenna Ortega and Melissa Barrera along with the rest of the gang from Woodsboro, and takes all the slicing action to the bustling metropolis of New York this time around.
The Cabin in the Woods (2011) - Drew Goddard's cabin-in-the-middle-of-nowhere movie takes all the tropes of a typical horror movie and puts it through a meta meat-grinder. It sets up all your classic targets, like Kristen Conolly as "The Virgin", Chris Hemsworth as "The Athlete", and Fran Kranz as "The Fool", and then everything starts happening as you expect it to happen before the film pulls the rug under your feet with its final twist.
Sleepaway Camp (1983) - If you're looking to watch some of the typical 80s camp slashers, Sleepaway Camp can be a good place to start. The film starts with a shy young girl, Angela Baker after she is traumatized by a boat accident that kills her family and is forced to go to a summer camp with her cousin. At the camp, bodies slowly start riling up and anyone who shows less than honorable intentions towards Angela meets their fate. Featuring some of the most gruesome kills and a shocking twist, Sleepaway Camp is one of the most iconic American slashers.