A hangout comedy built on the back of a slasher homage, “Hell of a Summer” works best when its charming ensemble cast outpace their prescribed roles. Co-directors and writers Billy Bryk and “Stranger Things” star Finn Wolfhard pay homage to ‘80s body count pics with a sappy but likable coming-of-age comedy about a group of summer camp counselors who are stalked and slayed by a masked killer. The undemanding nature of this genre pastiche does some of the heavy lifting for its likable ensemble cast, whose individual members either have good timing or a clear sense of how to play their respective stock characters. Then again, the jokes and kills are both so weak that it makes one wish the filmmakers had been more ruthless.
More visually composed and thoughtfully directed than most horror-comedies, “Hell of a Summer” also features more likable characters than other movies of its kind. That’s not nothing, given that Jason (Fred Hechinger), a 24-year-old cornball who loves everything about Camp Pineway, effectively serves as the spirit of the movie. Jason haplessly wears his heart on his sleeve, which makes him a target of nasty comments from everyone, including his mostly undeveloped love interest Claire (Abby Quinn), as well as harmless side characters like pompous theater kid Ezra (Matthew Finlan). Jason struggles to assert himself as the group’s leader during the Counselor Weekend that precedes Pineway’s seasonal opening, even though nobody in the group respects Hechinger’s maladroit character enough to take him seriously. He’s also the first person that they suspect when bodies start piling up.
For the most part, “Hell of a Summer” confirms rather than subverts “Scream” and its many imitators and sequels’ codification of slasher movie rules. Everybody’s still defined by type, so it’s not surprising to see that the aloof influencer Demi (Pardis Saremi) arrives with a trunk full of matching luggage, nor is it shocking to learn that Miley (Julia Doyle), the group’s designated vegan, also cares a little too much about astrology. Some character-defining cliches are more endearing than others, especially given the extra attention that, say, Bryk’s character, the clueless attention-seeker Bobby, gets when compared to lesser protagonists, like wannabe psychic Noelle (Julia Lalonde), who’s into goth stuff, I guess.
More could have also been done with Bobby’s character, especially in light of how his insecurities create tension with his buddy Chris (Wolfhard) and Chris’s partner Shannon (Krista Nazaire), the latter of whom does not reciprocate Bobby’s interest. Bryk gives himself a good, well-grounded line or two. He’s also a good enough performer to finesse some of his character’s threadbare routines, like when Bobby speculates that the killer must be a bear because of a convoluted theory involving Miley’s veggie burgers. It’s not a great joke, but it’s funnier in the moment than, say, when the killer pulls out a jar of peanut butter to torment aspiring filmmaker Ari (Daniel Gravelle), who has a peanut allergy.
The bulk of the jokes are lazy digs at stick-figure characters, so it’s not surprising that well-polished jokes about social anxiety and artsy ambition are better as set-ups than punchlines. Delivery counts, too, obviously, but not enough to add much to side characters like Noelle or Mike (D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai), a self-obsessed showboat. That’s especially disappointing in a comedy that’s light on suspense and narrative momentum.
Most of the movie focuses on Jason’s frantic attempts to keep everyone alive and together, which gives the filmmakers room to explore Camp Pineway. He’s a sweet kid, if not exactly leading man material. Bryk’s usually pretty good as a comedic foil, though, which helps to keep things moving from one episodic scene to the next. Bryk and Wolfhard’s chosen genre eventually proves to be a problem when the counselors start dying. At that point, the characters’ group dynamic is revealed to be so much throat-clearing before what we ostensibly came to see.
Bryk and Wolfhard may like these kids too much to let them die or be imperiled in memorable ways, but they don’t like them enough to develop their personalities beyond tic-y, schticky gags and dialogue exchanges that are more passable than they are memorable. Anyone who comes to “Hell of a Summer” hoping to enjoy some time with Wolfhard and a cast of equally likable younger actors will not be disappointed since the movie’s low-stakes, low-yield formula still does what it does. You’re more likely to be disappointed if you expect horror or some kind of ambience, unless you really like allergy and Makeout Point jokes. “Hell of a Summer” accomplishes most of what it sets out to do, even if its ambitions are as low as the over-ripe fruit that its filmmakers leisurely swipe at.
