Ever since "Scream" came along and winked the slasher movie to death — all while being a damn good slasher movie itself — horror-comedies have had a difficult time finding the right tone of self-awareness while also creating a credible landscape of horror.

"Hell of a Summer" never rises to the level of a great horror movie, but it makes up for it by knowing its terrain and being aware of which genre cliches to poke fun at and flip on their ear.

The extremely likable Fred Hechinger — he hammed it up in "Gladiator II" and helped make "Kraven the Hunter" watchable — stars as Jason, a 24-year-old who just can't let his childhood summer camp go and is returning for yet another season as camp counselor.

There he's joined by a group of counselors — including popular girl Demi (Pardis Saremi), cool guy Mike (D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai), wannabe cool guy Bobby (Billy Bryk) and others — who fit neatly into familiar stereotypes. There are plenty of interesting dynamics going on in their various relationships before a masked killer shows up and starts turning their bodies inside out.

Bryk wrote, directed and stars alongside his creative partner Finn Wolfhard ("Stranger Things"), and the pair has a good comic sensibility and a strong sense of their characters. "Hell of a Summer" is a clever tribute to summer camp movies, from "Meatballs" to "Wet Hot American Summer," the latter of which also had a great time sending up the genre.

Its seams show as a horror movie, and neither the scares nor the killer's reveal add up to much. But what matters is Bryk and Wolfhard have strong storytelling instincts and are onto something here, and it will be fun to watch what they cook up next time around.

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'HELL OF A SUMMER'

Grade: B-

MPA rating: R (for horror violence, language throughout, and some sexual references)

Running time: 1:28

How to watch: Now in theaters

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