On March 25, the “Hell of a Summer” tour, led by Finn Wolfhard, Billy Bryk and Fred Hechinger, rolled into Austin. The trio screened their new comedy-horror film at a packed theater at the Alamo Drafthouse on South Lamar, followed by in-person Q&As.

The Daily Texan joined Wolfhard, Bryk and Hechinger for a Zoom college press roundtable event on March 31 ahead of the film’s April 4 release date. The co-directors discussed their time spent in Austin, how they resonate with college audiences and their commitment to making a timeless, coming-of-age ensemble movie that authentically bridges generational gaps.

“UT Austin was the best screening of the tour,” Wolfhard said. “We had the most amazing time.”

Touring gave the filmmakers an insight into how the movie impacts viewers. Wolfhard (“Stranger Things”) said the team was excited to screen in Austin, as the audience of people close in age to them validated their experiences as young writers. Reflecting on once being a 19-year-old starting in movie directing, Bryk (“When You Finish Saving the World”) said sharing this project with college students reminded him of his journey.

“I love screening at colleges for younger people because I was 19 and had just dropped out of college when we wrote this movie,” Bryk said. “There is something special about being young and trying to make a movie that you hope resonates with young people.”

Determined to make a campy slasher portraying teenagers in a timeless way, Wolfhard and Bryk said they avoided relying on slang or trends that commonly sour coming-of-age films attempting to mimic youth.

“A big goal with this film was to rid older generations of this idea that there is a massive divide between them and Gen Z,” Bryk said. “We wanted to put young, contemporary characters … in a setting that felt stuck in time. Everyone knows what summer camp feels like, as it hasn’t changed much in 60 years.”

This approach also allowed the filmmakers to further break down generational barriers seen in scriptwriting.

“We were sick of reading scripts that felt like older people talking down on younger people, trying too hard to appeal to younger audiences,” Wolfhard said. “If you try so hard to write a story about a generation that you don’t understand, you’re going to fail. The best way forward is to write something that feels relatable to you and trust that young people today still have those same experiences you had as a teenager.”

Touring serves as a “dream come true” for the directors. From the beginning, the two envisioned promoting their movie and owe the opportunity to Neon.

“From the very beginning, Finn and I talked about this picture of Jason Schwartzman and Wes Anderson in front of a ‘Rushmore’ tour bus that they took around, screening their movie,” Bryk said. “We thought, ‘If we could make a movie and go around with a bus, and screen it for people, that would be the dream.’ Cut to six years later, and that’s exactly what we’re doing!”