Hell of a Summer

Hell of a Summer is a 2023 comedy horror film written and directed by Finn Wolfhard and Billy Bryk. It stars Fred Hechinger, Abby Quinn, D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Bryk, Wolfhard, Pardis Saremi, Rosebud Baker, and Adam Pally.
It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 10, 2023, and was released by Neon on April 4, 2025.
As the counselors are getting Camp Pineway ready the night before the campers arrive, a masked killer begins killing the staff.
In 2019, Finn Wolfhard and Billy Bryk met on the set of Ghostbusters: Afterlife and quickly realized they shared a similar sense of humor. Eager to write a film, Wolfhard experimented with different ideas until they both settled on a slasher concept. Their first draft, a 70-page script, drew inspiration from their favorite teen comedies and horror films, with a particular nod to Edgar Wright's Shaun of the Dead (2004). The project hit a pause in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, and it was not until after the lockdowns were lifted that they began searching for financing. Wolfhard, who was 19 in 2022, initially struggled to secure funding, as investors often pointed to his young age and inexperience. Eventually, 30West stepped in to fully finance and executive produce the film.
Hell of a Summer was announced in July 2022 with Wolfhard and Bryk also co-directing and starring in the film, making it Bryk's directorial debut. The film was produced by Jason Bateman and Michael Costigan's Aggregate Films, along with Jay Van Hoy. Fred Hechinger also served as producer and joined the main cast alongside D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Abby Quinn, and Pardis Saremi. Wolf stated that him and Bryk aimed to cast as many undiscovered talents as possible. Sara Kay, Jenny Lewis, and Carmen Cuba assisted with the casting.
Principal photography began in July 2022 in Ontario, Canada, and concluded in August after 19 days. By December, the film was in the editing process and in post-production by February 2023.
Hell of a Summer premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 10, 2023, where it was named second runner-up for the People's Choice Award for Midnight Madness. In August 2024, Neon acquired the United States distribution rights. The film was released in the United States on April 4, 2025. It was previously scheduled for April 18, 2025.
In the United States and Canada, Hell of a Summer was released alongside A Minecraft Movie, and is projected to gross around $1 million in its opening weekend. It made $215,000 from Thursday night previews. Audiences exiting the film in select cities were surveyed by PostTrak and gave the film an average rating of 3 out of 5 stars, with 43% saying they would definitely recommend the film.
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 49% of 39 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.7/10. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 56 out of 100, based on 9 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.
Valerie Complex of Deadline Hollywood gave the film a positive review. She praised Wolfhard and Bryk's direction, saying "they craft a distinct cinematic piece that is both a tribute to and a reinvention of the slasher genre". She wrote the film's lighting was an issue, which causes some of the nighttime scenes to be dimly lit. She ended her review writing that the film "is a delightful mix that strikes the right balance of '80s horror nostalgia and fresh, modern creativity. While it occasionally stumbles in its visual execution, the clever narrative and sharp societal insights ensure it’s a movie worth watching." Jourdain Searles from The Hollywood Reporter said of the film, "The biggest problem with Hell of a Summer is that there's really not much to say about it. Watching it is like being in a freshman film class in which the professor is asking everyone to come up with detailed notes on how to improve the film. But making a film is still an achievement in itself, paving the way for more polished work in the future. Maybe it's enough that Hell of a Summer leaves us eagerly wondering what Bryk and Wolfhard will make next."
Peter Debruge of Variety noted the homages to earlier slasher films, such as Friday the 13th and Scream, writing "the movie's hella derivative, but still quite entertaining, with an appealing cast and memorable characters". Writing for The New York Times, Calum Marsh labelled the film "surprisingly tame" and "boring" David Ehrlich of IndieWire graded the film a B-.