Fred Hechinger Hell of a summer

25 year-old Hechinger has the makings of a Scream King.

Words by Dio Anthony

By now, film lovers understand that if at any point a group of attractive young people walk into a summer camp, with minimal supervision into their antics--someone's bound to die. Those are the rules of horror, the slasher, and practically any film derived from the Friday the 13th Lore.

By now, any film lover also understands that these rules are continuously upgraded. Making way for new tropes, laws, and eventually a whole new set of kills. For decades the genre has turned out star after star, icons, set pieces, and lines that have stood the test of every kind of time. A Laurie Strode by way of certified scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis. A Ghostface mask brought to life by Kevin Williamson's imagination. The ultimate question in What's Your Favorite Scary Movie?

Billy Bryk and Finn Wolfhard's Hell of A Summer aims to flip all those rules and clichés upside down. With a set of characters just familiar enough to make us warm up to them, but not to the point of predictability. Theirs is an entertaining and witty run through the woods, evidenced by the young people behind the words written into the script. Fred Hechinger as Jason, the film's counselor-in-chief is head of the screaming counselors and does it with wit and charm. We asked him a few questions about the genre and his life, that we were quite literally dying to know.

What scary movie tropes would you as Fred likely fall into? Are you a final girl, or first to go?

Having worked on a few horror movies and loving the genre a lot, I think the trope I would fall into is trying to outsmart the killer, and in doing so, falling deeper into the plot and into the tragedy of it. I'd be too paranoid. I would take precautious measures that would go overboard and then result in falling into the plot. Sometimes you just gotta keep it simple. Save your friends, and get out of the house.

What was the first horror movie that really, really got you?

It's not really a horror movie, but Billy [Bryk] and I realized that The Wizard of Oz was the first movie to really scare us. I love The Wizard of Oz. I think I also enjoyed that it scared me. I probably watched it many times because I found it a blend of disturbing and delightful. I remember the monkeys and feeling both fascinated and scared at the same time. It's a scary thing that you want to go closer towards.

I feel like a lot of horror is like that. You want to watch, but at a safe measure and not actually be a part of what’s taking place. I was also obsessed with The Wizard of Oz, and even had a custom Tin Man costume made for me one year for Halloween. What’s your one survival tip for surviving a crazed killer?

Have a good trusted community around you. People that you can really count on. in times of great danger they are your most important resource.

What’s your favorite horror trope—and one you’d love to flip upside down?

In Hell of A Summer the characters aspire to be heroic, and ultimately I believe they are, but they're heroic in their own unique, eccentric, even annoying or difficult way. I love that once the violence starts in this movie the characters don't just snap into being classic movie heroes separate from the people that they were before. Instead, they have to become heroic through their own eccentricity. So, for example, Billy's character, Bobby, doesn't lose his petty grievances over being considered hot or not once the killer comes into the picture. It dials up his own vanity. And, even though he's fighting with that vanity, the whole movie, he figures out how to be helpful in the way that only he can be helpful. And I just thought that that was very true to life. It flipped the cliché that you can see in movies where characters aren't true to themselves. I don't like it in a movie where a character just serves the plot. I want the plot to exist through the characters.

I have this idea of two-second horror stories. Wondering if you indulge with me for one.

For example: my phone’s at 1%..and it’s my GPS.

Maybe for me it'd be like— Getting stuck in an elevator with… someone you don't like.

Or like a very bad version of yourself.

Yeah! Getting stuck in an elevator, with the worst version of yourself.

That's good. That's a scary movie in itself.

Now we're just pitching.

Yes! ‘The elevator.’ What’s one scary movie you think not enough people talk about?

Oh, that's a great question. I'd love to shout-out Leigh Janaik, who is my friend and a brilliant director who directed me in Fear Street. Her first movie before Fear Street is called Honeymoon. It’s a domestic horror movie about a couple. And it's a wonderful independent horror movie that's based on relationships. The terrifying nature of relationships. That's a great movie that I think deserves more attention.

Also, I've been so sad about David Lynch's passing. There have been movie theaters around the city showing his movies on the big screen again. I just re-watched Eraserhead a couple weeks ago which is his first movie that he made. A lot of that movie is a lot of different genres, or arguably just the one genre, which is Lynch. But, but part of that is horror and seeing it on a big screen again was a very beautiful experience. It's the kind of movie I can recommend to everyone and is always due for a rewatch.

Do you have a favorite Final Girl or final guy in all of horror?

I saw Green Room recently, which is a great movie. The last scene really stuck with me in terms of what it takes to survive.

What song feels like it was written just for you?

[Laughs] I love music. Every day it's a different song. My friend Samia is about to release her new album, and I've just been listening to it nonstop the past couple days. It's an incredible album, and she's an amazing artist. There's a song called Hole in A Frame that I've been listening to a bunch

Who did you want to be when you were 13?

I probably wanted to be Kermit The Frog.

What's your emotional support snack?

I am partial to gummy bears.

When's the last time you completely embarrassed yourself?

[Laughs] Probably like five minutes ago. I think it's important to embarrass yourself. It means you're taking risks.

It does, you’re also building self-esteem and cultivating confidence by doing so. Was it nerve-wracking presenting the film to such big audiences during the press tour for Hell of A Summer?

I find there's always a side of sharing things that's nerve-wracking. Honestly, I find talking about work, presenting it, to be much more nerve-wracking even than working. I think there should be a healthy distance between an artist and who they are as a person, in the sense that you're playing characters all the time. I think actually being yourself in front of a big group is kind of impossible. You can be honest and all that stuff, and it does get more comfortable.

“I think everyone has some version of a thing that they think they can’t say out loud. ”

— Fred Hechinger

What's one tiny hill that you'll always die on?

I think movies should reflect people. They should be the messy, funny, beautiful, weird combination of people. And so I'll always fight to have a story serve the characters rather than any kind of corporatized outsized agenda.

What makes you instantly nostalgic?

I smelled something the other day that was a nostalgic smell. It's gonna sound weird, but–new shoes smell. When you buy a new pair of shoes. There's something about that smell where I feel like a little kid that just got a new pair.

Right before school starts or something like that.

Maybe that's what it is! That September feeling. Another thing, Sunday nights always feel a little bit nostalgic. Watching The Simpsons on a Sunday night feels nostalgic.

What's your most irrational fear that still kind of controls your life?

It's probably whatever superstitions I carry. You know, not wanting to walk under ladders and things like that. I do believe things like that

If your younger self could see you now, what would they roast you about?

[Laughs] So much. Everything.

What's one truth you think people are scared to admit out loud? These are getting a little deep.

That's okay, we can get deep. I think for the most part, people are confused and don't really know and usually would rather pretend to know than admit that they don't know.

This is gonna sound a little corny, but I'm an actor, right? I do a job where people actually support and motivate me to be vulnerable.Yet it still can be a scary thing to do.I think we do live in a world where vulnerability is seen as a scarier thing than it should be. I think vulnerability should be fostered. I just think everyone has some version of a thing that they think they can't say out loud. Some spirit about themselves or something that they're carrying. I think we all have some version of something that we think, if we say this out loud, the world will break, our lives will fall apart. But in actuality, and in my experience, anytime I've said whatever that thing is that day it only opens up my life. It only enriches it, it can be terrifying at first, but it generally only makes it better.

Truth will set you free, which is also a little corny.

It's corny, but it's true. It's easier said than done. Like, you can say the truth will set you free, but again, in practicality, really saying that truth takes so much gumption and effort and perseverance. We have to support each other to get there as fast as we can.

When do you feel most like yourself?

Two things immediately popped into my head that are kind of opposite, but maybe connected. One is when I'm in the thick of it, intensely focused on set. When you're sort of deep in the experience of playing a character and building a movie collectively. The second thing is the opposite, which is when I'm at my most relaxed and I'm just on the couch with my friends. Not even thinking about anything, just joking around or playing music or something like that.

Have you ever ghosted someone and have you been ghosted before?

Yeah. I feel like everybody has been on both sides there. [Laughs]. I think it’s better, even when it’s difficult to just communicate it all. It’s easier for everyone, than the terrifying things we make up in our own minds about ourselves, you know what I mean? It’s usually easier than we think.

Do you collect anything without realizing it?

Match boxes. I have an unofficial collection. I picked up a fair amount while on the press tour. I also actually picked up a fair amount of baseball caps on the road too. We went mini golfing and I have a mini golf baseball cap. I have a cap from one of the movie theaters. I have a cap from another movie theater. I have a cap from one of the colleges.

What are some things on your counter right now?

I have some books beside my bed. I've been reading a lot of Janet Malcolm. So I have one of her books next to me. I have some John Fonte beside my bed, who I think is amazing. There’s some chapstick. I just bought an alarm clock, like an actual alarm clock a couple weeks ago. 'Cause I wanted to be able to turn off my phone and put it in the other room. Like an hour or a couple hours before I head to sleep. But the alarm clock that I purchased is so loud. Every single morning, it is the most heinous, break-your-brain level ring. So, I'm considering finding a slightly more gentle alarm clock. I know the purpose is to wake you up, but it feels like I'm being shocked with cold water.

Finish these sentences:

I don't care what anyone says, I love: movies.

I'm constantly thinking about: my friends.

Right now I’m totally obsessed with: relaxing after this press tour.

After this phone call, I'm going to: Do some work. We've been on the press tour for a little bit over a week now. A lot of the energy has been put into sharing the movie and getting it out there. For the next couple hours, I’m going to redirect to some secret projects that I've been working on that are in earlier, middle stages that I'm excited about. I might take a walk as well.

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