Stranger Things star Finn Wolfhard has left fans divided with his directorial debut.
The 22-year-old actor, who shot to fame on Netflix’s nostalgic thriller series, has stepped into filmmaking with new horror-comedy Hell of a Summer.
Written and directed by Wolfhard and fellow actor Billy Bryk, the story follows 24-year-old summer camp counsellor Jason Hochberg (Fred Hechinger), who is troubled by the his ‘old’ age compared to his teenage co-counsellors.
Jason soon comes face-to-face with a bigger problem when a masked killer begins to terrorise the camp.
While the film focuses on the brutal murders on camp, it also delves into poignant themes such as navigating young adulthood.
Released in the USA on Friday (April 4), the slasher film has been subject to brutal reviews from critics and audiences alike.
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes have awarded the dramedy a sour 48 per cent rating. Audiences on the website were more generous, rating the coming-of-age film an average 58 percent score.
Despite their slightly higher score, viewers were not entirely impressed by the flick.
One disappointed film fan slammed: “A lame attempt at a summer camp-style slasher film. It just limps along without any action, suspense, or direction. Once it gives itself away, you’re stuck on a second-rate carnival ride, unable to get off until it crawls to a stop.”
Another echoed the critique, branding the film as ‘boring’. “This is one of the most boring generic slasher movie I have ever seen the killer is bland and generic and the characters are kind of boring and the death scenes are boring,” they shared.
Despite the negative consensus, some movie-goers believe the film is still worth watching, which is good news for UK horror fans still awaiting its release.
One positive reviewer pushed back against critiques, writing: “Critics never give these kind of movies good reviews.. its not an Oscar nominee but it is a great, fun, ode to 80s slasher films from a fresh and young perspective.
“Totally worth the money to see it in the theatre, better then a lot of the “cerebral” horror films dumped on us in the last 6 months.”
Meanwhile, a second fan praised: “Laughed a lot. The characters were very relatable. Very very fun. A great directorial debut by Finn Wolfhard and Billy Bryk.”
Hell of a Summer is yet to land a UK release date.
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