Finn Wolfhard‘s overlooked horror movie fires up the global streaming charts at just the right time. The 23-year-old actor is heading into the new year in a big way by closing out his breakout run as Mike Wheeler with the era-defining Stranger Things cast, but he’ll also be booked and busy in the immediate future.
The actor is attached to a remake of the 1990s horror comedy Idle Hands. He’s likewise set to star in Crash Land alongside Gabriel LaBelle, with duo teaming up for what’s described as a comedic coming-of-age story about a group of small-town amateur stuntmen who pull off Jackass-style stunts. Months after its premiere, as well, Wolfhard’s under-the-radar slasher is seeing renewed interest to end 2025.
Hell of a Summer is trending on HBO Max’s Top 10 charts globally. The film, which Wolfhard co-wrote and co-directed with Billy Bryk, has kept a top-ranking position in the Top 5 since December 27, reaching #1 in a number of countries, including Brazil. It has taken the #2 spot in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Mexico, and Venezuela, among others.
In the U.S., Hell of a Summer is available to stream on Hulu and is available for free on the Kanopy platform. It can be purchased on DVD and Blu-ray, in addition to digital platforms.
Hell of a Summer follows Jason Hochberg (The White Lotus season 1 star Fred Hechinger), a camp counselor in his twenties who arrives at Camp Pineway. At first, he thinks that his biggest problem is that he doesn’t quite fit in with his teenage workers. But he doesn’t know that a masked killer is lurking, in classic slasher movie fashion, and brutally murdering counselors one by one.
Abby Quinn, D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Bryk, Wolfhard, Pardis Saremi, Rosebud Baker, and Adam Pally also star in the film, which was acquired by Neon, and grossed $3 million at the box office in a tally that roughly matched the slasher’s budget. It received mixed reviews from both critics and audiences, but its solid streaming performance shouldn’t come as a surprise.
Wolfhard is entering a highly visible period in his career with the end of Stranger Things. It could be that his face on the poster is enough of a lure for those who might’ve missed the small-scale release when it arrived in November. That’s doubly true since Hell of a Summer didn’t have a robust international rollout, which is common for an indie title, but it gives it more of a chance to pop on streaming.
- Release Date
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April 4, 2025
- Runtime
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88 minutes
