[MOVIE REVIEW] Gen Z takes a bite out 80's slashers in 'Hell of a Summer'

Nostalgia is on the rise, even if you weren’t born in that decade. Finn Wolfhard and Billy Bryk wrote, directed, and starred in ‘Hell of a Summer’ a horror comedy that follows “Camp counselor Jason Hochberg thinks his biggest problem is feeling out of touch with his teenage co-workers. What he doesn't know is that a mysterious masked killer is lurking on the campgrounds, brutally picking off victims one by one.”

The film is a good intro to young horror fans who are looking to dip their toes into the genre, but for horror fans, it has more misses than hits, unfortunately. They rely heavily on 80’s horror tropes, quick cuts, awkward pacing, and quippy one-liners that could’ve worked but fell flat in execution. The first half was good, giving us a character who was dealing with an existential crisis about being older and not knowing what to do with his life and wanting to feel young again

Our camp counselors were fun and playful who felt lived in and could realistically be a group of teens who are trying to get laid and have the best summer of their life. The killer’s motive was an interesting take because it once again relates to the groups age and turns things on it’s head. This is a smart film that focuses a lot on the comedy and not so much the horror but I saw where they were going with it. There was a huge lack of on-screen deaths for a PG-13 film, so I don’t fault it for that. I do wish we had a cheesy slash to the face ala ‘Friday the 13th’, which was what it was aiming for.

‘Hell of a Summer’ is an ambitious directorial debut for Finn and Billy and I would say they suceeded in creating a fun and silly horror comedy. To recommend this to a wide audience wouldn’t be my first choice, I would definitely tell a younger generation to check it out if they’re unsure about horror as a genre. A summer camp horror film that we can add to our never ending list of 80’s tropes.