Hell of a Summer

Grade: C+

I’m going to echo Roger Ebert’s sentiments about Quentin Tarantino that he put into his review of Reservoir Dogs, when I say now that I know Finn Wolfhard and Billy Bryk can make a movie like Hell of a Summer, I’m really looking forward to them making a better one. And I think they can. At ages 22 and 25, this is their first feature film behind the camera and the typewriter, and I hope they have much more to offer us. I might be a rewatch away from a “recommend” for Hell of a Summer, and I’m not against seeing it again sometime. These reviews are about my initial knee-jerk first impression, and as it stands right now, I just barely can’t give it my thumbs up.

It’s a Dead Teenager movie (a Dead Camp Counselor one, actually) that’s set in a summer camp. The lead character’s name is Jason. He is 24, and has been attending Pineway Camp for the past eight years. He has an encyclopedic memory of his history there, often spouting out facts about an activity they did last year, or how he first met you such-and-such years ago. He arrives there with 5 to 10 other young adults; the calm before the storm, when the kids come in a couple days. We see activity from a killer there, dressed in all black, wearing a smiling devil face mask. The thought that I always have is how hot must it be to wear that outfit during the summer, and be as physical as they are.

I’ll go ahead and tell you that the killer is not Jason. When we do find out who is responsible for the deaths, it makes an earlier scene confusing, thinking back on it. Why are we shown what we see, except to be fooled and misled? I don’t know that the movie is playing fair with us. And then I wondered what the harm would have been in dropping the twist on us early, leaving us to zero in on the dialogue and presentation, not to mention sit back and enjoy watching these other characters be in the dark about everything. 

There’s an element of the coming-of-age, young adult summer flick, done so well in Snack Shack, but lacking the heart. The screenplay isn’t witty, sexy, funny, or hip enough, like in Bodies Bodies Bodies – which managed to be all those things AND made it easy for us to keep track of everyone’s names. It’s not for a lack of skill in the performances. These are talented actors who look like regular people, not glamorous air-brushed movie stars. As Jason, Fred Hechinger (Gladiator II, Nickel Boys, Thelma, Butcher’s Crossing) plays an entertaining awkward-as-art anti-hero. Abby Quinn (Knock at the Cabin, I’m Thinking of Ending Things) has an ethereal, girl next door charm. Bryk and Wolfhard are also in the movie, rounding out the ensemble, and you can tell they’re the ones who wrote the movie, based on what they get to do.

It’s compact, and never drags, at an hour and 28 minutes. The soundtrack has some banging classic rock songs that had me silently Shazaming a couple times. There is so much potential with this new writer/director team, but Hell of a Summer falls short in a few too many departments. There’s no regard for how the story would continue – you’ll be left to ask “what now?” Not enough is defined or cleaned up. For a debut, well done, Wolfhard and Bryk. Congratulations. Now get back to work.

Grade: C+