The Best Horror Movies Set During Summer
Some of the most iconic horror movies are set during summer, so we're ranking the best of them. Do you have a favorite summer horror movie? Scary movies that take place during summer often include cabins, camping, and fishing- things that are usually fun, but are terrifying when there is a killer on the loose. Iconic horror movies that take place in the summer include Jaws and Friday the 13th, but what are some of the other scariest summer movies out there?
There is of course I Know What You Did Last Summer, the 1997 film that despite being panned by critics was an enormous box office success that spawned several sequels. Other great choices for scary summer horror movies include The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and Rob Zombie's The Devil's Rejects, the pseudo-sequel to House of 1000 Corpses.
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Roy Scheider, Robert ShawJaws
Released: 1975
Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Runtime: 124
Advisories: Adult Language, Adult Situations, Violence
Premiered: June 20, 1975
When a young woman is killed by a shark while skinny-dipping near the New England tourist town of Amity Island, police chief Martin Brody (Roy Scheider) wants to close the beaches, but mayor Larry ...more2
Kevin Bacon, Tom SaviniFriday the 13th
Released: 1980
Directed by: Sean S. Cunningham
Friday the 13th is a 1980 American slasher film directed by Sean S. Cunningham and written by Victor Miller. The film concerns a group of teenagers who are taken out one by one while attempting to ...more3
Gunnar Hansen, Marilyn BurnsReleased: 1974
Directed by: Tobe Hooper
This movie is a 1974 American slasher film, directed and produced by Tobe Hooper, who cowrote it with Kim Henkel. It stars Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, Edwin Neal, Jim Siedow and Gunnar Hansen, ...more4
Gina Philips, Justin LongJeepers Creepers
Released: 2001
Directed by: Victor Salva
Runtime: 89
Advisories: Adult Language, Adult Situations, Brief Nudity, Graphic Violence
Premiered: July 20, 2001
After making a horrific discovery in the basement of an old abandoned church, Trish (Gina Philips) and her brother Darry (Justin Long) watch their routine road trip home from college turn into a ...more5
Mike Kellin, Katherine KamhiSleepaway Camp
Released: 1983
Directed by: Robert Hiltzik
Sleepaway Camp is a 1983 exploitation slasher film written and directed by Robert Hiltzik who also served as executive producer. The film came at a time when slasher films were in their heyday, and ...more6
Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle GellarI Know What You Did Last Summer
Released: 1997
Directed by: Jim Gillespie
Runtime: 101
Advisories: Adult Language, Adult Situations, Graphic Violence
Premiered: October 17, 1997
A year after running over a fisherman and dumping his body in the water, four friends reconvene when Julie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) receives a frightening letter telling her that their crime was seen. ...more7
Suze Lanier-Bramlett, Robert HoustonThe Hills Have Eyes
Released: 1977
Directed by: Wes Craven
Runtime: 83
Advisories: Adult Language, Adult Situations, Graphic Violence
Premiered: July 22, 1977
Wes Craven's cult classic about cannibalistic mountain folk on the trail of stranded vacationers in the arid Southwest. ...more8
Aaron Stanford, Kathleen QuinlanThe Hills Have Eyes
Released: 2006
Directed by: Alexandre Aja
Runtime: 107
Advisories: Adult Language, Adult Situations, Graphic Violence
Premiered: March 10, 2006
A family road trip takes a terrifying turn when the travelers become stranded in a barren atomic zone established by the U.S. government. However, the unlucky travelers discover to their horror that ...more9
Bradford Dillman, Heather Menzies-UrichPiranha
Released: 1978
Directed by: Joe Dante
Runtime: 92
Advisories: Adult Language, Adult Situations, Brief Nudity, Graphic Violence
Premiered: July 3, 1978
Two people (Bradford Dillman, Heather Menzies) unwittingly free a mad military scientist's (Kevin McCarthy) mutant fish near a summer camp and resort lake. ...more10
Jonathan Tucker, Jena MaloneThe Ruins
Released: 2008
Directed by: Carter Smith
Runtime: 91
Advisories: Adult Language, Adult Situations, Graphic Violence, Nudity
Premiered: April 4, 2008
Amy (Jena Malone), Stacy (Laura Ramsey), Jeff (Jonathan Tucker) and Eric (Shawn Ashmore) look for fun during a sunny holiday in Mexico, but they get much more than that after visiting an ...more11
Sid Haig, Bill MoseleyThe Devil's Rejects
Released: 2005
Directed by: Rob Zombie
Runtime: 109
Advisories: Adult Language, Adult Situations, Graphic Violence, Nudity, Strong Sexual Content
Premiered: July 22, 2005
After a raid on the rural home of the psychopathic Firefly family, two members of the clan, Otis (Bill Moseley) and Baby (Sheri Moon Zombie), manage to flee the scene. Heading to a remote desert ...more12
Brian Matthews, Leah AyresThe Burning
Released: 1981
Directed by: Tony Maylam
Runtime: 90
Advisories: Adult Language, Adult Situations, Graphic Violence, Nudity
At summer camp, some teenagers pull a prank on the camp's caretaker, Cropsy (Lou David). But the joke goes terribly wrong, and the teens leave Cropsy for dead after setting him on fire. But no one ...more13
Florence Pugh, Jack ReynorMidsommar
Released: 2019
Directed by: Ari Aster
Midsommar (Swedish for "Midsummer") is a 2019 American horror film written and directed by Ari Aster. A couple travels to Sweden to visit their friend's rural hometown for its fabled mid-summer ...more14
Cécile De France, MaïwennHigh Tension
Released: 2003
Directed by: Alexandre Aja
Runtime: 91
Advisories: Adult Language, Adult Situations, Graphic Violence
A beautiful young Frenchwoman, Alex (Maïwenn Le Besco), travels out to the country to visit her family and brings along her friend Marie (Cécile de France). Soon after they get settled in the ...more15
Steve Zahn, Timothy OlyphantA Perfect Getaway
Released: 2009
Directed by: David Twohy
Runtime: 97
Advisories: Adult Language, Adult Situations, Graphic Violence
Premiered: August 7, 2009
Newlyweds Cliff (Steve Zahn) and Cydney (Milla Jovovich) are celebrating their honeymoon by hiking through a secluded region of Hawaii. Their idyllic trek takes a dark turn when they find a group of ...more16
Pamela Springsteen, Renee EstevezSleepaway Camp 2
Released: 1988
Directed by: Michael A. Simpson
Runtime: 80
Advisories: Adult Language, Adult Situations, Nudity, Violence
Angela Baker (Pamela Springsteen), a psychotic transsexual, escapes from a mental hospital and surfaces at a summer camp as a counselor who lectures her teenage charges on proper moral behavior. ...more17
Chuck Connors, Jocelyn JonesTourist Trap
Released: 1979
Directed by: David Schmoeller
Runtime: 85
Advisories: Violence
A vehicle breakdown strands teens near a madman's (Chuck Connors) desert wax museum filled with lifelike dummies. ...more18
Gaylen Ross, Harriet BassReleased: 1982
Directed by: Joe Giannone
Madman is a 1982 slasher film written and directed by Joe Giannone. The plot follows a group of campers who are stalked and killed after summoning an axe-murderer of local legend. Originally based on ...more19
Finn Atkins, Michael FassbenderEden Lake
Released: 2008
Directed by: James Watkins
Runtime: 91
Advisories: Adult Language, Adult Situations, Nudity, Violence
Premiered: October 31, 2008
During a romantic weekend getaway, a young couple confronts a gang of youths, and suffers brutal consequences. ...more20
Pamela Springsteen, Tracy GriffithSleepaway Camp 3
Released: 1989
Directed by: Michael A. Simpson
Runtime: 79
Advisories: Adult Language, Adult Situations, Nudity, Violence
Psychotic Angela (Pamela Springsteen) is itching to do what she does best: slaughter dozens of teenage campers. As luck would have it, the previous site of her murders has been renamed and converted ...more21
George Kennedy, Jamie RoseReleased: 1981
Directed by: Jeff Lieberman
Just Before Dawn is a 1981 independent slasher film directed by Jeff Lieberman, and starring Chris Lemmon, Gregg Henry, Deborah Benson, Jamie Rose, and George Kennedy. The film follows a group of ...more22
Josh Duhamel, Melissa GeorgeTuristas
Released: 2006
Directed by: John Stockwell
Runtime: 94
Advisories: Adult Language, Adult Situations, Graphic Violence, Nudity
Premiered: December 1, 2006
Travelers (Josh Duhamel, Melissa George, Olivia Wilde) are in the midst of enjoying a dream vacation along the Brazilian coast. Joining a party of revelers on the beach, the friends are drugged and ...more23
Bill Paxton, Jay ChandrasekharClub Dread
Released: 2004
Directed by: Jay Chandrasekhar
Runtime: 103
Advisories: Adult Language, Adult Situations, Graphic Violence, Nudity
Premiered: February 16, 2004
Years ago Coconut Pete (Bill Paxton) had a hit record, but now he runs a tropical island resort where he spends his days basking in hedonism with the rest of the resort's offbeat staff. The paradise24
Chuck ConnorsSummer Camp Nightmare
Released: 1987
Directed by: Bert L. Dragin
Summer Camp Nightmare is a 1987 horror film starring Chuck Connors and Charlie Stratton. The film is based on the novel The Butterfly Revolution by William Butler. ...more25
Wil Traval, Lindsay FarrisPrimal
Released: 2010
Directed by: Josh Reed
"Primordial nature runs amuck in a smartly played, scripted, spectacular slice of neo Ozploitation. 12,000 years ago a caveman tried to communicate the presence of an unknown primal entity only to ...more
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