As summer ramps up and we’ve already got Hell of a Summer reminding us that summer camp can be the greatest place in the world or the worst few weeks of your life, Protagonist Pictures has just announced that they’ll be tackling the “slasher camp” subgenre with a new film directed by SNL alum Hannah Levy. In the vein of Friday the 13th and Sleepaway Camp, Hot Ted puts the focus not on a mysterious outside force, but on one inside the camp itself: everybody’s counselor crush.
From a script by Grace McLeod, Hot Ted stars Billy Magnussen, Ella Purnell, and Ariana Greenblatt in Levy’s feature film directorial debut. The film’s logline is as follows:
When 16-year-old true-crime podcast enthusiast Zoe’s (Greenblatt) parents send her to Camp Shady Pines for the summer against her will, she’s the immediate black sheep of the Beaver Cabin. The summer takes a turn when their bunk counselor Liz doesn't arrive for breakfast one morning, and Zoe's counselor crush Amy (Purnell) tells everyone Liz had to leave for a “family emergency.” But Zoe doesn't buy it – and is convinced that hunky counselor Ted (Magnussen) is behind Liz's disappearance.
Ted's got all the hallmarks of a classic serial killer: he's not on social media, he owns a van, and he’s a little too nice to everyone. But is Ted a murderer, or is he just hot as hell? It's up to Zoe and the Beavers to investigate the truth: is Hot Ted really a serial killer or is he just, like… the perfect guy?
“Hot Ted is a psychosexual thriller as imagined by virgins. Mean Girls meets American Psycho,” said Levy. “This is the movie I’ve been dreaming to make– a reinvention of the camp comedy that speaks to being a teenager right now and always.”
Hot Ted is produced by Magnussen, Shane Andries, and Anne Hollister for HappyBad Bungalow, Javier Chapa and Phillip Braun for Mucho Mas, and Purnell. Executive producers include Morgan Cano-Long and Robert Muñoz for Mucho Mas, Protagonist CEO Dave Bishop, James Pugh, and George Hamilton.
Hot Ted has not yet set a release date. Stay tuned to FANGORIA for more updates.
