Hell of a Summer, written and directed by Stranger Things alum Finn Wolfhard and fellow actor Billy Bryk, is a throwback to the heyday of the 1980s slasher horror and the teen comedies of the 2000s. The story of twenty-four-year-old Jason, a counselor, returning to work at his beloved Camp Pineway for yet another summer. This year, the naive and chipper Jason finds it hard to connect with the young, hip teenage counselors, including the pretty and popular Demi (Pardis Saremi), her athletic but ditsy boyfriend Mike (Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai), and aloof best buds Bobby (Bryk) and Chris (Wolfhard). Jason’s one ally is Claire (Abby Quinn of Torn Hearts fame), a down-to-earth lone wolf with no time for cliques or drama. But drama finds its way into paradise in the form of a masked killer – and soon, the campground becomes a hunting ground.
In this interview with CBR, Abby Quinn, D’Pharoah Woon-A-Tai and Pardis Saremi discuss working with Wolfhard and Bryk, their experiences interacting with prosthetics and fake blood, and the surprising teen flick inspirations behind their respective roles in Hell of a Summer.
CBR: Abby, you acted in a lot of different genres, but recently you’ve been in a lot more horror films. You were in Knock At the Cabin and Torn Hearts. What is it that’s been drawing you to horror? Is this a happy accident, or is this something you intended?
Abby Quinn: I would say a bit of both, but mostly a happy accident, because I’ve kind of been finding out about myself today! It’s been like a way into horror films, because it’s not my go-to genre. I guess I’m more of like a rom-com, musical, or maybe something really sad, but making horror movies has been really enlightening for me, and really fun, because I haven’t been exposed to that very much in terms of watching. So it’s made me develop a much bigger appreciation and understanding for horror these past couple of years, because I’ve been lucky enough to actually be in them. And I love making them!
It’s said that the horror genre is one of the most fun to act in because it’s so extreme. Pardis and D’Pharaoh, without giving too much away, your characters are pretty pivotal. You get involved in a lot of scenes with blood, gore, fire, and sharp implements. Let’s just put it like that. So of these stunts, which ones were some of your favorites to perform?
D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai: Without spoiling anything? [laughs]
Pardis Saremi: [laughs]
Woon-A-Tai: I don’t know! All I can say is that, honestly, when I would watch on set, these stuntss that would go down with a lot of the characters, it looked very fun – it looked very fun! And it was so cool that Finn and Billy were very in it, making sure that the actors, if they wanted to be a part of the stunts, to do it for real, that they could. They were very open to that. So it looked fun. Yeah, it looked fun!
Saremi: Yeah, I agree. The funny thing is, I’m thinking of – not stunts – but the other horror elements, like the blood! That was a crazy thing to encounter – like, the effects, that sort of stuff was crazy. I’d never really done that sort of thing! I mean, I was caked in it and had to scrub forever and ever! But it’s crazy, yeah, the stuff that goes into it, it’s really fun. And, like you said, it’s been so fun to watch all the stunts on set. It was really weird.
The three of you play characters that are beloved stock character types in the horror genre. They’re the people that we look forward to seeing, the killers, the heroes, the victims, anyone who happens to get horribly chopped up in some way or another. Did your directors and co-stars, Billy Bryk and Finn Wolfhard, give you any references to work with for your performances? Or did you come up with your portrayals of Claire, Demi and Mike on your own, respectively?
Saremi: I don’t remember them giving – at least me – any references for my character, specifically. To me, she felt so much actually less horror genre, and a lot more like, I was thinking, Mean Girls, Clueless, like this 2000s fashion girl, the ultra-feminine kind of mean girl. And I tried to drive into that stereotype and really lean into it. It felt just more nostalgic, that campy, super mean girl. I had a lot of fun with it.
Woon-A-Tai: Yeah, same. I would agree. I wouldn’t say that they gave me any specific references to look up. I know that my character, Mike, when you see him in the project, he’s very recognizable in the sense of like you’ve seen this character before many times throughout the horror genre. It’s a very typical trope to have, when it comes to this «dumb jock» kind of vibe. And I grew up on horror projects, so it was, in a sense, very subconscious, that I just kind of knew what I was doing! I’ve just seen this character so often, watching horror films, that I just kind of knew him, and I could play a dumb guy pretty well. So, I had it in the bag!
Quinn: I remember, I think I was in a group chat with Billy and Finn, weeks before filming, and we were kind of talking about inspiration, or I remember costuming kind of going back and forth about that, and they referenced Freaks and Geeks, I’m pretty sure. And I remember there was a photo of Linda Cardellini in this green army jacket. And they really liked that, sent it, and that, to me, was like a big inspiration – her character in Freaks and Geeks – again, not like a horror movie, yeah!
Woon-A-Tai: And sometimes, as well, I was wearing my own personal clothes. So I was really questioning, «If my life’s a horror movie, am I the dumb jock?» Because I’m wearing my own s*** right now, you know? [laughs] Like, why are they pulling from my closet? What does that say about me right now? You know what I mean? [laughs]
Now that I’ve watched this film, imagining Linda Cardellini versus Regina George and a male version of Karen, and it actually just works perfectly.
Saremi: Oh my God, you guys! [laughs]
It’s amazing how high school tropes just blend into horror. They’re made for each other!
Hell of a Summer hits theaters April 4th.
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