By John Corrado

★★½ (out of 4)

The 2023 Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 7th to 17th, more information on tickets and showtimes can be found right here.

Finn Wolfhard of Stranger Things fame makes the jump to filmmaking with Hell of a Summer, a pretty fun 1980s throwback slasher movie that he co-directed with his buddy Billy Bryk. The result is a film that feels like it was made by a group of young people, and I mostly mean that in a good way.

The film is set at Camp Pineway, where 24-year-old Jason (Fred Hechinger) is coming back to work as a counsellor, not ready to let go of his youth. The young staffers – including Wolfhard’s Chris and Bryk’s Bobby, who both hope to catch the attention of the female counsellors – have come to prepare the place before the campers arrive. But a masked killer starts picking them off one by one, making everyone a suspect.

The story itself is nothing we haven’t seen before in the slasher genre. While this genre familiarity isn’t necessarily a bug, the twists also aren’t as clever as they could have been, and the bits of commentary on social media and Gen Z narcissism feel somewhat surface level, despite offering some playful hints at something more. But the main appeal of Hell of a Summer lies in the fun interplay between its young cast.

It very much leans into being a teen horror comedy (with slightly less blood and language, this could net a PG-13), but the cast brings a youthful energy to it that is easy to enjoy. It’s a decent directorial debut from young actors Wolfhard and Bryk, and with the former’s built-in fanbase from Stranger Things coming along, Hell of a Summer serves as an ideal gateway horror film for teenaged audiences.

Public Screenings: Sunday, September 10th, 11:59 PM at Royal Alexandra Theatre; Monday, September 11th, 9:00 PM at Scotiabank Theatre; Saturday, September 16th, 4:30 PM at Scotiabank Theatre