‘Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp’ Trailer: Welcome To Camp!
The new trailer for Netflix’s Wet Hot American Summer prequel series, Wet Hot American Summer: First Day Of Camp, has arrived, and it’s here to remind you that it’s not just the shorts—the series really is set in 1981. Shot in the style of an old VHS tape that’s been accumulating tape mold in an abandoned file cabinet or maybe behind a tool shed for the past 24 years, the trailer opens with the dulcet tones of H. Jon Benjamin as he touts the many exciting activities campers can experience at Camp Firewood, including archery (watch your head), water sports (not that kind), ”street dance,” and arts and crafts, a.k.a. watching Molly Shannon make tender love to a pottery wheel.
Many of the Wet Hot cast members returning for the prequel, including Amy Poehler, Bradley Cooper, Ken Marino, Elizabeth Banks, and Paul Rudd, appear in the trailer, all rendered extra ’80s by the faded color on the “tape.” The analog touches in the trailer are all on point, including tape fuzz, audio that fades in and out with the tracking, and the aforementioned color distortion. (Kudos to whoever made the effort of filming the trailer in 4:3.) There’s even a little bit of porn spliced in, because of course Camp Firewood recorded its promotional video over a porno. Or someone tried to tape over a Camp Firewood promotional video with a porno. Either one seems appropriate.