If you thought Camp Crystal Lake was terrifying in the Friday the 13th franchise, that's nothing compared to the onslaught of horrors Freeform's new summer series Dead of Summer has in store. Set in the late '80s, this thriller will center around a group of camp counselors, who stumble upon a mysterious evil lurking on the grounds that quickly turns this age-old summer experience into a complete and total nightmare. The cast and crew are doing their best to keep many of the details under wraps so as to not give up the ghost (figuratively and maybe even literally) too soon, however, during a recent interview with Amber Coney, who plays counselor Carolina ‘Cricket’ Diaz on the show, Bustle was able to unlock a few Dead of Summer spoilers and get a better idea of what exactly fans can expect from this horror-centric show, starting with the fact that these counselors have no idea what they're in for.
"None of us have any idea a.) that the camp is haunted and b.) that something deeper and possibly evil is even happening," Coney teases to Bustle. "None of us either expect or want to believe that this camp could have a really dark history, especially because this place, as kids, was kind of a sanctuary for a lot of us." However, the harsh reality is that this place seems to be a cesspool of spiritual and supernatural evil, though, it will remain unclear who (or what) is behind all of this for quite some time. In fact, the theorizing is a big part of what will make this show so intriguing.
"You'll discover, along with the characters, what exactly might be going on, but it takes a while," Coney shares, while also admitting that even she's not sure if this mystery evil is human or otherworldly. "I legitimately don't know. I've only read up to Episode 7, so I have no idea what is actually going on... it could be anything." So basically, what that means is viewers should trust no one, because even the helpless counselors may not be as innocent as they appear. According to Coney, "anything is fair game at this point."
And considering that the show is called Dead of Summer, it goes without saying that not everyone will make it out of this season alive. "There will be death," Coney promises. So expect a fair amount of bloodshed to be spilled.
That being said, the continuous threat of death isn't the only thing this series will provide. Given that Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz (the creators of Lost and Once Upon a Time) are at the helm of the project, you better believe flashbacks will be involved and allow viewers the chance to get to know each of these characters better, including Coney's (pictured on the right). "Each character gets a flashback episode," she explains. "You see how they're behaving in present day and what they're dealing with. For me, it's insecurity and want for validation. When you see my flashback, which is in Episode 3, you'll discover where that's coming from and see why those issues are so deep-seated."
All-in-all, I think it's pretty clear that Dead of Summer, which premieres June 28 at 9 p.m. on Freeform, is about to become your new summer obsession. Let's just hope our favorite characters will be able to make it out of this disaster in one piece.
Images: Tyler Shields/Freeform; Katie Yu/Freeform
