From slasher camps, shark-infested beaches, and unsettling cults, terror doesn’t only hide in the shadows, it can happen right under the sweltering sun.
While Halloween is the usual time to dim the lights, cuddle under the blankets, and queue up the creepiest films, summer is also a great time to take a break from the heat and turn on some sunny, yet surprisingly sinister movies. From iconic horror films to more recent summer scares, there are plenty of spooky stories to watch this season.
The Classics
Friday the 13th
Where better to start than with one of horror’s most iconic summer camp slashers and killers? Friday the 13th kicked off a bloody legacy that spawned eleven sequels and helped define the summer camp horror subgenre.
After a tragic drowning death just a year prior, Camp Crystal Lake is set to reopen, despite warnings from locals. As the new counselors settle in, they are picked off one by one by a mysterious and ruthless killer. While Jason Voorhees became the face of the franchise, the original has a killer twist of its own.
Friday the 13th is available to stream on Amazon Prime.
Jaws
“You’re gonna need a bigger boat.”
Steven Spielberg’s Jaws didn’t just terrify audiences in 1975, it redefined summer blockbusters and launched the “sharksploitation” subgenre, paving the way for everything from The Meg and The Shallows to Sharknado.
Set on the idyllic New England coast of Amity Island, the film opens with the grisly death of a young woman during a late-night swim. Police Chief Martin Brody (Roy Schneider) advises that the public beach be shut down to prevent any more deaths. Yet, the local mayor inisists on keeping the beaches open over fear that Amity Island will lose revenue from all of the tourists visiting during the summer season. Brody teams up with a marine biologist and a professional shark hunter to face off against the monstrous great white in one of cinema’s most iconic sea battles.
The film’s impact was visceral from the start. In the book Spielberg: The First Ten Years, which takes a look at the beginning of Steven Speilberg’s remarkable career, he discusses one of the first screenings of Jaws, “A man got up and started walking out — I thought, ‘Oh my God. Our first walkout. Then he began running and I went, ‘Oh, no, he’s not walking out — he’s running out.’ I could tell he was headed for the bathrooms, but he didn’t make it and vomited all over the floor. And I just went, ‘Oh my God, what have I done? What kind of a movie have I made? A man has just barfed because of my film.'”
Jaws is available to stream on Peacock.
I Know What You Did Last Summer
Summer is right in the name and the horror begins right on the 4th of July.
This late-’90s star-studded teen slasher, starring Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, and Freddie Prinze Jr., follows four friends whose beach day takes a deadly turn. After accidentally hitting a pedestrian with their car on the way home from the beach, they decide to cover it up by dumping the body into the water, only to realize the victim may not have been dead. A year later, Julie (Hewitt) receives a chilling note: “I know what you did last summer!” The group of friends are then stalked by a hook-wielding killer.
A long-awaited legacy sequel is set to hit theaters on July 18, 2025. Now is the perfect time to revisit this summer slasher classic.
I Know What You Did Last Summer is available to stream on Amazon Prime.
Modern Summer Scares
Infinity Pool
Brandon Cronenberg directs this 2023 sci-fi body horror film, following in the footsteps of his father, David Cronenberg, the legendary filmmaker behind Videodrome and The Fly (1986).
Set in the fictional seaside country of Li Tolqa, the film follows struggling writer James Foster (Alexander Skarsgård) and his wife Em (Cleopatra) as they vacation at a luxurious but isolated resort. Things take a dark turn when James meets an intense fan of his only novel, Gabi (Mia Goth), and the couple ventures beyond the resort’s borders despite warnings. After a drunken car accident leaves a local man dead, James and Em quickly learn the country has a twisted justice system. The consequences are both terrifying and bizarre.
Mia Goth, once again, steals the show and solidifies her place as one of modern horror’s most hypnotic and captivating stars.
Infinity Pool is available to stream on Amazon Prime.
Us
Did Us come to mind as a summer horror watch? Jordan Peele’s 2019 film turns all the familiar joys of summer—boardwalk strolls, carnivals, beach days, boat rides, and family time at a cabin—into a nightmare.
In the film, Adelaide Wilson (Lupita Nyong’o) reluctantly returns to the beaches of Santa Cruz where she grew up. Although her husband is excited about their summer vacation with the kids, Adelaide cannot shake the memory of a past traumatic event she experienced on the boardwalk. The Wilsons’ peaceful beach getaway quickly turns into a nightmare when they come face-to-face with a terrifying set of doppelgängers.
Us is available to stream on Netflix.
Fear Street Part Two: 1978
The second installment in Netflix’s Fear Street trilogy, based on R.L. Stine’s book series of the same name, returns to summer camp setting. Set at Camp Nightwing, the film follows a group of teens who fall victim to the centuries-old curse of the Shadyside witch, as a brutal axe-wielding killer begins attacking campers. With a strong performance by Stranger Things star Sadie Sink, Fear Street Part 2: 1978 blends nostalgia with supernatural twists for a fun summer scare.
The film also pays homage to the genre’s roots. Fear Street Part 2: 1978 filmed at the same camp featured in Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives, a fun nod to the franchise that helped define the summer slasher subgenre. Many even believe the filming location is haunted, adding an extra layer of real-life creepiness to the story.
Fear Street Part 2: 1978 is available to stream on Netflix.
Already checked off these titles? There are plenty of summer-set horror films worth adding to your hot-weather binge list. Midsommar, Summer of ’84, Uncle Sam, and even the classic The Texas Chain Saw Massacre are fun additions to any watchlist.
Whether you’re lounging at a resort, planning a beach day, or sending the kids off to camp, these films might make you think twice about your summer getaway plans.
