4 Thoughts We Had While Watching Finn Wolfhard’s Directorial Debut ‘Hell of A Summer’ Trailer
Our first thought after watching the Hell of a Summer trailer is “How Stranger Things’ Mike Wheeler already writing and directing movies?” Wolfhard and Billy Bryk’s directorial debut is full of cliché and stereotypes of a campy comedy-horror film, which translates to an entertaining movie, especially if you like gory slasher movies.
The trailer’s NSFW, so just watch it here.
Peter Pan Syndrome Vibes
Fred Hechinger’s character Jason, a 24-year-old who still works as a summer camp counselor, gives off strong Peter Pan syndrome vibes typical of Gen Z. He’s supposed to be interning at a law firm, but he gave it up to return to Camp Pineway for one last summer (avoiding responsibilities? Check. Refusing to grow up? Check).
Aside from Jason, there are other counselors at camp, but unlike him—who’s genuinely enthusiastic about camp activities—the others only want to drink, party, and hook up with each other.
Jason’s Mother is a National Treasure
Her scenes are just a few seconds at the beginning of the trailer, but when Jason asks her, “How many summers does a guy get to spend here?”—all doe-eyed, expecting his mother to say something supportive—she quips, “A lot, apparently,” and then drives away. It had us wishing she and her acerbic dialogue had more screen time, killing (pardon the pun) Jason’s eagerness for camp.
Matthew Finlan is so Unserious
His role may be a stereotype, but every time Matthew Finlan is on screen, he steals the spotlight. From thinking Demi’s (Pardis Saremi) death isn’t real and that the other counselors just stole his “f—ing murder mystery party idea,” to calling for help and saying, “The line’s been cut,” and admitting, “Ugh. I’ve always wanted to say that,” you kind of want him to survive and be the one to tell the police what happened.
Who’s the Killer in Hell of a Summer? Your Guess is as Good as Ours
Like Matthew Finlan’s character, Ezra said, “The killer is someone that we all know.” We guess that it’s one of the camp counselors. They all keep saying it’s Jason (imagine if it really is him in the end, that will be anti-climactic) since he also has a motive—he’s annoyed with the counselors who aren’t taking their jobs seriously. Or it could be Bobby (Billy Bryk), who wants girls to like him but gets jealous because Chris (Finn Wolfhard) and Shannon (Krista Nazaire) are already a couple.
It could also be Ezra, who loves theater and might have gone too far with the dramatics, or Ari (Daniel Gravelle), a film buff who could be secretly filming the whole thing (No? Too similar to Scream’s plot?). Or is it Noelle (Julia Lalonde), the goth girl obsessed with the afterlife?
Whoever it is, we’ll have to wait until April to know. Hell of a Summer hits theaters on April 18.
