Hell of a Summer Review (2025)

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Hell of a Summer horror comedy review

Hell of a Summer is a horror comedy film directed by Billy Bryk and Finn Wolfhard, and the cast includes Billy Bryk and Finn Wolfhard, Fred Hechinger, Abby Quinn, D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Pardis Saremi, Rosebud Baker, and Adam Pally.

*Released in 2023 at festivals, I am counting this as a 2025 film as that's when it got its wide release.

Hell of a Summer is a coming of age slasher comedy movie set at a summer camp, only most of the kills are pretty much done off screen, and this element is kept more of a backdrop in the film, which I won't lie and say it wasn't a disappointing choice, and a lot of people going in to watch this expecting a slasher are going to be very disappointed, especially for a R rating, it could easily have been just a PG-13.

But anyway, this time, it's not teenagers exactly at the camp being targeted, but the camp counselors, one of them being Jason (Fred Hechinger), who is 24 and has been going to the same camp for eight years, and when he shows up with a bunch of other twenty-somethings to get ready before the kids arrive, yep you guessed, a killer shows up in an outfit that must have been hot as hell to wear.

The film has that summer movie vibe and style which I appreciated, it's got a nice nostalgic charm to it, and while it doesn't always land, it's one of the better aspects of the film, as is the acting which is pretty solid overall.

Fred Hechinger plays Jason and he's a treasure, and he’s got this awkward, oddball vibe that kind of works, and Abby Quinn shows up and she’s great and super likable. Bryk and Wolfhard are both in the movie too, and you can definitely tell they wrote it, because they give themselves all the good lines and scenes. Bit cheeky, but fair play, but I definitely had  some fun with the characters overall, especially Bobby.

Humor is always very subjective, and in Hell of a Summer, it was a mixed bag for me, some of it landed fairly well and other parts did not, which is fine by me, it did enough in that aspect, but I would say the movie is going to be very humor dependent on how you rate it, if it lands, you will have at least some fun, but if it doesn't, you won't, especially as the slasher side of the film doesn't have much going for it.

The movie’s fairly short at only an hour and a half too, so it doesn’t drag, so that’s a win,  and I enjoyed the soundtrack too, but the big reveal of the film I found quite underwhelming though, as the reasoning was meh with not much relevance to what the film is saying, and I don't think this part of the film was really earned at all, which was disappointing, and the writing on the whole is not that strong throughout.

The story itself is just very half baked, and it kind of fizzles out before it really gets going, and when it ends and you’re left thinking, “Wait, that’s it?” There’s no real wrap-up or anything, it just… ends. Like they ran out of film or someone said, “That’ll do”.

I wouldn't say it is a bad film though, even though as mentioned above, I think a lot of people will be disappointed with what they show, or don't show in this one, and will base everything on that, but it has some things going for it, as it looks decent, the characters and dialogue are sometimes fun, the score is good, and it’s that got energy/charm/nods that many will appreciate.

But it’s not quite there yet, especially story wise, as it doesn't really offer enough of anything for it to really stand out, and is quite generic, and even though slashers generally are, this film still doesn't do enough, and yes you can appreciate the nods, but it needs to offer more than a surface level film, which may or may not bother you.

It is a hard film for me to say you should go out of your way and watch it, especially as I don't know you and your humor tastes, and this is what the film relies on a lot, as the comedy elements really take over this film, but I would say it is worth a cheap stream.

But now that I know they this duo can make a movie, I’m really hoping the next one’s better, and I will be keeping an eye out for what they do next, as I didn't hate the movie, it has some decent things going for it, but overall I found it a bit disappointing, and it's not one I will be thinking about again.

It''s just alright, and for 2 young, raw directors, we have some things to appreciate and some fun to be had, which might be enough for you, but overall I found it all rather underwhelming.