Hot Summer Nights

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2:24

Hot Summer Nights

R

2018

1h 47m

Mystery & Thriller

Romance

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

46%

Tomatometer

41 Reviews

59%

Popcornmeter

500+ Ratings

An awkward teenager gets in over his head dealing drugs while falling for his business partner's enigmatic sister during one scorching summer in Cape Cod, Mass.

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Critics Consensus

Hot Summer Nights is easy on the eyes and clearly indebted to some great films, but its strengths -- including a charismatic young cast -- are often outweighed by its uninspired story.

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Tomris Laffly

Time Out

While Bynum captures the year of Terminator 2: Judgment Day and its transitional early-'90s fashions with melancholic vividness, his paper-thin story of minimal character development ultimately resolves to a shrug.

Rated: 2/5

Aug 8, 2018

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Kristen Lopez

Spectrum Culture

Hot Summer Nights will appease fans of Chalamet by his presence alone, but this is a movie that plays like a CW-infused take on the nostalgic drug drama.

Rated: 2/5

Jul 31, 2018

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Ignatiy Vishnevetsky

AV Club

Hot Summer Nights is both groan-inducingly contrived and vapid, its talented young cast wasted on an incoherent script-less a web of betrayal, greed, and adolescent desire than a few dangling threads.

Rated: C

Jul 28, 2018

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Nyle Coleman

InSession Film

For everything Bynum gets wrong in the final act, he makes up for in fun and inventive storytelling in the first half.

Rated: B

May 9, 2024

Full Review

Cory Woodroof

615 Film

The Timothee Chalamet Experience rolls through town with A24's moody 90s teen drama Hot Summer Nights, or, Kewl Largo, where Goodfellas meets The Sandlot...

Feb 11, 2022

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Danielle Del Plato

Floated Alternative Culture Magazine

A twenty-second long sequence of a sticky and moist exchange of a lollipop is one of the most immersive sequences I have seen in some time.

Rated: 5/10

Dec 6, 2018

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thiago s

Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são fracas, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

08/19/25

Full Review

Audience Member

I was quite surprised that this wasn't a sappy teen romance movie, but I suppose seeing the A24 logo combined with Timothée and also Maika Monroe I was intrigued. It's also summer, so it's time. I thought the film was shot, edited and directed with a fun flair, which was entertaining to watch. It had an energy to it, an energy a film about youth is supposed to have. Also was surprised by the crime element of the film, and that this is not a romance film, it's a crime movie with some romance in it on occasion. The movie was pretty funny at times despite being more focused on telling a real story. I do have some questions about logistics, but those questions were forgotten due to movie magic, and me being swept away by the charm of the flick. Good soundtrack, good wardrobe, cool directing in a hot summer night. I like it. Thank you!

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

06/04/25

Full Review

Pedro Henrique C

Hot Summer Nights (2018) is a very well-developed version of the 90s, but I think A24 failed to represent some important elements of the time. Rating 4.0

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

10/31/25

Full Review

Viggo W

This movie so really beautiful and really calming, cute love and cool characters but i didnt really like the whole dramatic ending.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

05/15/25

Full Review

Rob A

A young Timothee Chalomet flashes potential here, but he's mostly stoic and quiet (and nerdy.) Maika Monroe was great, while Alex Roe and the supporting cast were just fine. Director Elijah Bynum spins a mostly dark, depressing yarn, perhaps intending it as a cautionary tale. According to the film's opening credits 'Summer Nights' is based on a true story. Sunshine and rainbows it's not, but if you like these particular stars (I do) it's worth a watch.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

06/04/25

Full Review

Myron K

The story is well told, but very fast-paced, which makes some parts seem choppy. Nevertheless, I find the actual love story authentic and playful. It might not resonate with 20- or 30-year-olds, but for those older, it resonates with a certain touch of nostalgia.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/18/25

Full Review

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Elijah Bynum

Director

Timothée Chalamet

Daniel

Alex Roe

Hunter

Maika Monroe

McKayla

Maia Mitchell

Amy

Emory Cohen

Dex

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Hot Summer Nights: Trailer 1

2:24

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Synopsis

An awkward teenager gets in over his head dealing drugs while falling for his business partner's enigmatic sister during one scorching summer in Cape Cod, Mass.

Director: Elijah Bynum
Producer: Dan Friedkin, Ryan Friedkin, Bradley Thomas
Screenwriter: Elijah Bynum
Distributor: A24
Production Co: Imperative Entertainment
Rating: R (Sexual References|Language Throughout|Drug Content|Some Strong Violence)
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Romance, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 27, 2018, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 24, 2018
Runtime: 1h 47m

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