Hell of a Summer
Review: The Rizzler made me see this. This horror comedy just released in theaters and I decided to go see it. Historically I don’t watch many horror films, but I’m trying to expand my horizons and horror comedies are a good way for me to do that. This film comes in the vein of your old style slashers, even having the familiar summer camp setting. There were some quality jokes and bits (the guy with the nut allergy made me laugh every time he talked about it) & the horror wasn’t too overly gruesome. The film played on some classic tropes & common archetypes that made it easy to follow. The film featured a very solid young cast. I’ll touch on the lead in a second, but first highlight the rest of the ensemble. The two debut directors of this film, Finn Wolfhard & Billy Bryk starred as best friends Chris & Bobby. Wolfhard is known for his roles in the ‘It’ & ‘Ghostbusters’ franchises, but mainly for his role as Mike in ‘Stranger Things.’ Bryk appeared with Wolfhard in ‘Ghostbusters: Afterlife’ & ‘Saturday Night’ and will also appear in ‘Friendship’ later this year. Also appearing were Abby Quinn (‘Little Women’ & ‘Knock at the Cabin’), Daniel Gravelle, Krista Nazaire, Pardis Saremi, Julia Lalonde, Julia Doyle, & Matthew Finlan. The other notable inclusion in the cast is D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai who is set to star in 2025’s ‘Warfare’ releasing soon & received an Emmy nomination for his role in ‘Reservation Dogs.’
High: But of all the cast, my favorite was Fred Hechinger. If you’re not familiar with Hechinger, familiarize yourself. Dude is in everything and is always a highlight. In this, he plays the lead role of Jason, a veteran counselor who is probably too old to still be coming to summer camp. Hechinger is best known for his role as Quinn in season one of ‘The White Lotus,’ but also has many film credits. He had 5 releases in 2024, including a role in Best Picture nominee ‘Nickel Boys.’ He also appeared in ‘Thelma’ as the titular character’s grandson, ‘Kraven the Hunter’ as the titular character’s brother, & most notably, played Emperor Caracalla in ‘Gladiator II.’
Low: It was pretty apparent to me who the killer was going to be. Predictability isn’t always a bad thing, and they still managed to incorporate a solid twist.
Rating: 7/10
