Stranger Things star Finn Wolfhard and actors Billy Bryck and Fred Hechinger stopped by the Texas Union Theater at UT on March 26 to show their film “Hell of a Summer,” in theaters April 4.
The movie, written and directed by Wolfhard and Bryck, follows a group of young, eclectic camp counselors who must hilariously fight for their lives as serial killers pick them off one by one. The burden to lead and protect falls on 24-year-old camp veteran Jason (Hechinger), who swore the year before he’d never return.
The film is a laugh-out-loud ode to campy summer camp thrillers everywhere. It follows its predecessor’s formula of stereotypical teenagers, chained to their tropes and hormones, while keeping the audience scared and humored. It was self-aware, yet totally committed to its plot and characters.
In a Q&A panel, Bryck and Wolfhard discussed the fine balance they had to find between comedy and horror for this film to work.
“We always wanted to be aware that the comedy felt grounded in some way, because if it ever got too absurd, then the stakes wouldn’t feel real as a horror film,” Bryck said.
I have to admit it took me a while to figure this film out: am I laughing at the characters or with them? And the answer is definitely with them.
From a vegan having a moonlight affair with a hamburger to someone begging for their life by offering to join a threesome with gorgeous psychopaths, “Hell of a Summer” knows how to keep its audience laughing.
Bryck and Wolfhard said the premise of the movie came from a bit they had both coincidentally written about a summer camp plagued by a kill list ordered from hottest to not. In this bit, one camper was disappointed by his low, yet lifesaving, rating. The joke, although only mentioned as a theory among the victims, sets the tone perfectly for this film.
With the character survival rate of only 38%, this movie definitely made me feel better about never being able to attend summer camp. In fact, Brick, Hechinger and Wolfhard said they realized during the quick 19-day shoot that none of them had fond summer camp memories. Filming this movie, they shared, was a way for them to get a real camp experience.
“We all had these romantic ideas like, ‘Oh, I wish I was a summer camp kid,’” Hechinger said. “In a way, it felt like filming this movie created those memories. We filmed there every day. We all lived together. It really did mirror the experience in a lovely way.”
Despite the crude humor and gore, “Hell of a Summer” had heart. Throughout the film, we watch Jason struggle to fit in and assert himself as an authority figure in the group. At 24, he’s struggling to leave behind his childhood summers for adult monotony. In a theatre full of twenty-somethings, his struggle was understood and respected.
Ultimately, the magic I experienced while watching “Hell of a Summer” may not have been entirely planned by the film’s creators at all. It was in the laughter that filled the theater, the collective gasps at obviously expected deaths and sighs at surprisingly heartfelt lines. This screening reminded me of the pure joy of being in a theater full of people eager to see a good movie.
That experience was everything a film is meant to be. It was dramatic and over the top, but it was fun. Nothing beats the feeling of watching a movie and dissecting it with someone else later, regardless if you’re raving over it or rebuking it. It’s the whole reason Letterboxd exists.
In honor of “Hell of a Summer,” grab as many friends as you possibly can and book tickets to the midnight showing of the next movie your favorite actor is starring in. Don’t be afraid to giggle or cry. As the audience in the Union Theater that night showcased, it’s the whole reason people make movies in the first place.
