Watch Teens Strip for a Swim in Retro-Horror ‘Dead of Summer’ Clip
Remember those old slasher films from the Eighties, when summer camp was place where teen’s could listen to the Cure and skinny-dip at the lake — when they weren’t in danger of facing a killer lurking in the woods, that is? Dead of Summer, the upcoming TV show from Freeform (formerly known as ABC Family), finds a terror beyond the self-evident horrors of living with a bunch of hormonal adolescents for three months.
Set in the halcyon days of hair metal and Reagan, this throwback horror series takes place in the fictional Camp Stillwater, and in the clip above, the counselors abscond to the lake for a “Stillwater traidtion” — a late-night swim in their skivvies. What these kids don’t know, however, is that there’s apparently a long-dormant evil that’s been awakened amidst these cabins in the woods. Their only defense is camp director Deb Carpenter (Once Upon a Time‘s Elizabeth Mitchell), a former attendee who reopens the property after a long hiatus due to confidential reasons.
Will Deb learn from the example of Janeane Garofalo in Wet Hot American Summer and protect her young charges from danger? Or is that Carpenter surname a dark omen? No telling until the premiere on June 28 at 9p.m. on Freeform. But hey, it’s not called Safe Fun Summer.