[Popcorn Frights 2022 Review] FINAL SUMMER

In the summer of 1991, a group of camp counselors at Camp Silver Lake start to close up shop for the final season. The youths act surprised about the news of the camp closing but considering the high number of “accidents” which occur every year, shutting down this death-trap actually seems well overdue. In the first few opening scenes writer/director John Isberg lays out quite a bit of backstory surrounding the camp as he establishes FINAL SUMMER as a massive tribute to 80s camp slashers. At first the creepy groundskeeper storyline likens the film to The Burning but for the rest of the movie, the story becomes a retelling of the first Friday the 13th. FINAL SUMMER uses many of the tried-and-true aspects of a good slasher: dark setting, a gaggle of defenseless youths, masked killer with impossible strength, and an urban legend. But despite possessing all the necessary ingredients for a fun slasher, the film lacks the charm and execution for a truly enjoyable watching experience.

The story follows a pretty derivative plot as we see a group of camp counselors suddenly trapped at their camp on the last day of the summer. A night which was supposed to offer fond memories, now becomes a fight for survival as a masked killer stalks in the darkness as he knocks off the teenagers one by one. The legends surrounding the killer seem to want to pull from numerous inspirations as everyone at the camp seems to have a different story, which does not help the exposition nor the dialogue. So, the buildup of the killer and the reveal come off as underdeveloped and rushed, which is a huge shame because visually the killer kicks ass. The mask holds some semblance to Jason’s famous disguise, but still presents enough originality to make their appearance stand out in the long history of masked murderers.

Isberg wanted to create a tribute to classic slasher films, so it seems he preferred to focus on just the stabbing and avoid any kind of commentary or deep character development. He pulls in some well-known names such as Thom Matthews (Return of the Living Dead) and pro wrestler Bishop Stevens (even if they only have bit parts). And while there were a couple stand-out performances with Jenna Kohn playing a sarcastic, intelligent, yet damaged girl, the dialogue prevented other characters from standing out or developing beyond a murder victim.

Besides the story and characters coming off as one-dimensional and not-fully fleshed out, the movie itself seems unfished. A few scenes appear out of focus, which makes me wonder if the director was trying to capture a distorted foggy look to the setting or if it was more of a technical issue. I think with some editing and rewrites Isberg would have a fun summer horror movie, but right now he focused too much on trying to be like Friday the 13th and did not spend enough time discovering his own voice.

One big component I felt FINAL SUMMER forgot was that it was supposed to be set in the nineties. Isberg nailed the “homage” aspect when it came to referencing the Friday the 13th series. The characters actually over focused on referencing this franchise as Jason Voorhees, the theme music, and Jason’s machete all get a nod. But other than that, the film does not acknowledge its supposed time period at all. The clothes and hair see far too modern, and other than a Pat Benatar song in the end credits, I just did not get an 80s/90s vibe. The director obviously put a lot of heart into the film as the movie reads as a kind of F13 fan fic. Isberg understands the slasher subgenre and clearly loves the classics, but he just could not put everything together in a way that could make the film stand out.