TIFF 2023: Hell of a Summer Review

This will be one of many reviews during this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, to keep up with our latest coverage, click here.

Nostalgia can be a powerful thing when it comes to film. One subgenre that audiences keep going back to every Halloween are the silly masked killer summer camp slashers of the 1980s and early 1990s. Producing perhaps not the best films on paper, they have a quality to them that make them easy for audiences to sit down and simply decompress. Not the most highbrow, their inherent silliness is often entertaining to watch. Hell of a Summer brings all of the above to the table, harkening back to the heyday of the subgenre, for better or worse. While entertaining, that familiarity means predictableness that somewhat takes away from it but also makes it entertaining. That being said, fans of these types of films will be at home here while others are likely to remain unconverted, not that it ever had to. Though it is set during today, it very much has the soul of those classic slashers, making for an interesting dynamic. But at the end of the day, for what it lacks in originality, it makes up for with a hilarious script and strong performances across the board.

The feature written and directorial debut of actors Billy Bryk and Finn Wolfhard, who also co-star, do a decent job at paying homage to the films that have carved the path for Hell of a Summer but their impact is best reflected in their script and performances as part of a ragtag group of camp counsellors or would be victims of the aforementioned masked killer. Representing a whole spectrum of personalities and quirks, having these mostly-horny teens play off of each other was a blast to watch as they were forced to survive the night as a masked killer was on the loose and seemingly killing them one-by-one. The ensuing anxiety and paranoia predictably drove the story forward as the characters unraveled and/or came together as they tried to survive though not all of them will make it. Also, a bit of a rollercoaster ride, the story predictably unraveled its way towards a killer reveal which shouldn’t come as that big of a surprise to audiences. Ultimately, the film was always going to be more about the journey than the destination.

As mentioned, the performances are the best part of the film because they and their chemistry are the only things that holds it together. The lead was Hechinger as Jason, an older counselor who clearly outgrew the role, if the gap between he and the other counselors was of any indication. Beyond all the silliness and ridiculousness, which was entertaining in its own right, the film was also about his character arc to anchor it all and Hechinger made it work. Bryk and Wolfhard were hilarious as their fantastic comedic timing made Bobby and Chris memorable characters.

In the end, Hell of a Summer is a fun throwback slasher comedy, for better or worse, whose predictable nature is made up for with its cast.

*still courtesy of TIFF*

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.