Riding into Nashville, the directors Finn Wolfhard and Billy Bryk arrived on their bus tour to present a preview of their directorial debut, “Hell of a Summer,” at the Belcourt Theatre. Welcomed with open arms, the crowd took in the two alongside their producer and fellow actor, Fred Hechinger, who plays the lead role of Jason. In this promotional event that included a Q&A segment at the end of the screening, the three answered questions from the audience, a personal touch that connected the viewers to the efforts they put into this movie.

As an adult camp counselor of 25, Jason is excluded and singled out by his younger co-workers including the cocky Bobby (Billy Bryk) and the lovestruck Chris (Finn Wolfhard). The group of counselors, however, are not alone and are slowly being hunted down by a mysterious masked killer.

“Hell of a Summer” undertakes many genres, balancing them all quite effectively. Comedy and horror are at the forefront, but the more you watch, the more the film reveals about itself.

“It’s a coming-of-age comedy that takes place at a slasher camp,” Haschinger said. 

The film also functions as a “Meta-Slasher,” similar to the “Scream” franchise; it’s aware of the rules of the horror genre and flips it on its head. The movie constantly invites the audience in with humor before living up to the conventions of horror, giving us some hellish and creative murders unseen in the comedy-horror genre. Despite how outlandish this movie may be with its jokes, it doesn’t aim to be a parody movie. The characters are authentic in their flaws and hypocritical nature that encompasses the stereotyped Gen-Z attitude of being nonchalant and arrogant, including towards murder. It’s certainly a contemporary piece that speaks to the younger audience that thoroughly enjoyed it at the screening.

In an exclusive roundtable, The Hustler joined other student journalists to discuss the process of making their first feature film with Wolfhard and Bryk.

Inspiration for the “slasher summer camp”

The concept of a slasher movie taking place in a sleepaway camp isn’t unheard of, but staging it as a mix of horror and comedy is a unique take on the subgenre. With a heavy emphasis on featuring a young ensemble cast, the two directors seem to have been aiming to fill a gap in the film industry.

“[Wolfhard] and I bonded over a love of coming-of-age teen ensemble movies…like ‘Superbad’ and ‘Dazed and Confused,’ Bryk said.

Wolfhard and Bryk succeed in fitting these vastly different genres together, which shouldn’t work, but in a “timeless” setting of the camps with a contemporary ensemble, it’s an exciting blend.

“Making a horror-comedy felt like a no-brainer to push the comedy further…hav[ing] one [of the genres] informing and elevating the other,” Bryk said. 

Shaping their directorial style

Both directors originate from the acting tradition in film, meeting on the set of  “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” where they both discovered their dreams of being filmmakers. Their acting backgrounds supported them in being able to vocalize and provide directions to their fellow castmates but it also provided its challenges on the production side of “Hell of a Summer.” Both Wolfhard and Bryk expressed their honest frustrations with directing a feature film that they are heavily involved in as leading actors.

“You can feel when something potentially feels good [as an actor],” Bryk said..

In shaping their directorial style, the two mentioned they would embody their characters whilst reading through, seeing if it satisfied them as actors, which would allow them to see how to direct the actors on set.

The two directors, having been in the industry for a while, have gained an impressive network of people to rely on and ask for advice.

“Jesse Eisenberg is someone who we both worked with…he was very supportive of the process and read our script and was very excited [for us],” Bryk said.

Other filmmakers such as Matt Johnson (“Blackberry”) and Jason Reitman (“Juno” and “Ghostbusters: Afterlife”) have supported them in their directing careers, providing them advice and the edge they need to progress as filmmakers.

Reflecting on the film

Wolfhard and Bryk began writing this film in 2019, when their friendship first began and now in 2025, are releasing it, having changed as a pair and as individuals.

“For Billy and I, in our friendship, we are able to look back on this movie as an artifact as who we were at this time,” Wolfhard said. 

“Our sensibilities are very, very similar, but I don’t think this is a movie we would’ve made on our own…It was specific to our friendship,” Bryk said.

The distinct humorous nature is brought about by the things that would make the two laugh, a monument that “Hell of a Summer” is fuelled by their own entertainment as well as the audience that they are catering to.

The main hope of the directors was to show their movie to young people, who they thought would resonate with their story. Their main inspiration and dream for this are taken from a similar tour done by Jason Schwartzman and Wes Anderson for the movie, “Rushmore.” 

“It’s a real testament to NEON…[it’s] not normal and it’s something we try not to take for granted,” Bryk said on NEON allowing their unconventional route of promotion. 

“Hell of a Summer” is marked to be released in cinemas on April 4.