"Hell of a Summer" is a tonal mess

Friends and actors Finn Wolfhard and Billy Bryk make their directorial debut with the comedy horror film "Hell of a Summer," produced by Neon Pictures. The duo also wrote the screenplay for the film. "Hell of a Summer" begins with a traditional slasher film opening sequence featuring a victim meeting a grisly demise before introducing the audience to the overly cheerful twenty-four-year-old Jason (played by Fred Hechinger). Jason has decided to postpone law school for another summer as he returns to summer camp as a counselor.

The lady counselors working with Jason include his love interest, Claire (Abby Quinn), vain aspiring influencer Demi (Pardis Saremi), vegan Miley (Julia Doyle), and sassy Shannon (Krista Nazaire). The gents on the roster are step-siblings Bobby, bad boy (Byrk) and Chris (Wolfhard), bad boy Mike (D 'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai) flamboyant theater geek Ezra (Matthew Finlan), and peanut-sensitive Ezra (Daniel Gravelle). Naturally, due to his age, Jason is somewhat seen as an outsider to the other except for Claire. However, when one of the counselors dies in a bloody manner, the group must band together if they want to stay alive.

Hell of a Summer is one of the movies that came across better on paper than its final product. The directors lean more toward comedy, which somewhat works in their favor, particularly for the Generation Z target demographic. Byrk and Wolfhard have good chemistry, but Fred Hechinger steals the show with his performance as the quirky Jason.

Hechinger is having a hell of a year and continues to show range. He's entirely into the character and sells the material with ease. Sadly, though, the rest of the supporting cast all fall into caricatures, and no one stands out with their performances, as they all come across as forced. Furthermore, horror fans may be upset at how some kill scenes are shot.

Lastly, the reveal of the killer comes off as somewhat of a copout with a cliched motive. Honestly, I wish the creatives had solely focused on the comedy aspect and done a throwback-style T&A because the horror elements the duo is aiming for here doesn't work.

As my readers know, I'm a child of the eighties, so I grew up on franchises like Friday the 13th and Sleepaway Camp and rarities like Final Exam. I didn't expect a classic with  Hell of a Summer. While the inexperience of directors Finn Wolfhard and Billy Bryk is clear, I do see their potential in the comedy genre.

Final Grade: C

 Hell of a Summer is in theaters now.