As I’ve gotten older, nostalgia has become quite the addiction. Looking back at past eras across different parts of life brings back memories of was once was and when it comes to film, the slasher era in cinema is one I hold dearly. I remember Friday nights at Blockbuster Video in the ’90s, walking through aisles lined with slasher films from the golden age of 1980’s horror. What was once a weekly ritual has become an endangered species of cinema.
Every so often, though, the genre step outside familiar faces of the genre and delivers something fresh, while still paying tribute to its blood soaked roots, Damien Leone’s Terrifer is a prime example that the audience for slashers is still alive and well. And now, in Q1 of 2025, we’ve now been treated to not 1, but 2 call backs to the eras golden age: a holiday-themed Heart Eyes, and now, a call back to the camp slashers of old with Hell of a Summer.
With dark satirical comedy and gnarly kills, Finn Wolfhard and Billy Byrk’s Hell of a Summer blazes through its ’80 slasher homage in deliciously entertaining fashion. From the classic camp setting to a synth score straight out of the Alan Howarth playbook, the film injects fresh blood into a beloved subgenre – while highlighting a promising bright future for both Wolfhard and Byrk behind the camera.
Hell of a Summer follows a group of counselors who arrive at Camp Pineway the eve before the campers arrive. As the counselors prepare for what they expect to be a fun and mischievous summer, their plans get turned upside down as a masked killer begins to stalk and take down the group, one by gruesome one.
Wolfhard and Byrk’ s screenplay doesn’t attempt to reinvent the slasher wheel- and that’s ultimately a part of the film’s charm. From its prologue kills, echoing the memorable openings of camp slasher classics like Sleepaway Camp and Friday the 13th, to its paint-by-numbers characters clearly teed up for the killers eventual body count, the beats are familiar. But for horror junkies like me, the familiarity doesn’t dull the films overall effectiveness-it enhances it. It’s as though we are reuniting with an old friend.
The ensemble’s loose, and playful chemistry elevates the archetypal characters the genre is known for. From the bad boy, the mean girl, and the awkward quiet girl to the inseparable best friends and the strange, clueless lead counselor, each character brings a believability that makes it easy to root for or, in some cases, root against them. Padris Saremi, D’Pharoah Woon-A-Tai, Matthew Finlan stand out as some of the films most entertaining supporting players, while Finn Wolfhard his consistent quirkiness to the role.
However, Hell of a Summer’s standout performances come from Fred Hechinger and Abby Quinn strike the perfect comedic and emotional balance that lend in the duo being the films heart. Despite the ongoing madness, Hechinger and Quinn make their character’s individuals you want to spend time with and elevate the film’s emotional weight.
Where Hell of a Summer might struggle is in attracting new fans to the sub-genre. If you’re already in the bag for slashers, it’ll be a welcome experience. However, I wouldn’t expect the film to serve as a gateway into the genre for newcomers. Paired with some shoddy editing and occasionally rough cinematography, there are moments where the film just isn’t all that pleasant of an experience.
Still, despite its flaws, Hell of a Summer is a film that’s worthy of praise. In an era where cinephiles no longer receive weekly slasher entries such as The Prowler, Blades, The Slumber Party Massacre or The House on Sorority Row, the film is a welcomed entry into the sub-genre cannon and a reminder that when there’s passion for the genre by its filmmakers, no sub-genre is never truly dead.
