From rabid dogs to tourist traps, these underrated horror movies prove that summer is the most terrifying season.
For most casual horror fans, there’s a tendency to associate the genre with autumn, and I don’t disagree. Most of the genre’s most iconic films take place on or around Halloween (Halloween, Terrifier, Trick ‘r Treat, Hell House, LLC) or are otherwise set against an unmistakably autumnal backdrop (Sleepy Hollow, Ginger Snaps, The Witch, The Blair Witch Project).
But seasoned (I know, sorry) horror fans know that some of the most disturbing films are set during the summertime. On the one hand, there’s something uniquely upsetting about watching terrible things unfold beneath the unending sunshine. On the other hand, the warmer months tend to bring about an uptick in violent crimes, unpredictable weather (Heatwaves! Fires! Hurricanes!), and animal attacks. The beaches are overcrowded. The summer camps are full of kids with too much freedom and not enough supervision. Even the ice cream truck can start to sound ominous after dark.
The following is a list of some of my favorite horror movies that take place in the summer. You won’t find Jaws here, and you also won’t findFriday the 13th, Midsommar, or The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. This isn’t because they aren’t great summer horror movies, but because they’ve already earned their place in the summer horror canon. Instead, I wanted to focus on picks that are underrated or completely overlooked when it comes to summer horror.
With the way the temperatures are already rising, I have a feeling you’re going to be hiding from the sun, watching one of these soon.
Cujo, the 1983 adaptation of Stephen King‘s novel of the same name about a beautiful St. Bernard who goes on a killing spree after contracting rabies, is one of the hardest movies to watch on this list. It’s not easy watching a friendly dog transform into a snarling, bloodthirsty monster, and it’s certainly not easy going into a movie knowing that the dog will die. But–and before I continue, let me just take a moment to apologize to the dog lovers here, I know you’re reading this–what makes Cujo such a difficult watch is that for most of the runtime, you’re watching a mother try to protect herself and her young child inside of an unbearably hot Ford Pinto for days. Sorry, I love animals, but I also love humans!
I know when people think of Cujo, they think of the dog, but the image of Tad hyperventilating and clawing at his throat while his mother cradles him in the front seat will never leave me.
You can watch Cujo now for free on PlutoTV.
5. In a Violent Nature
Courtesy of IFC Films
In a Violent Nature is an ultraviolent yet oddly contemplative slasher that follows an undead killer named Johnny (Ryan Barrett) as he stalks and murders the teenage campers who accidentally resurrected him. Set sometime in the summer in the lush Ontario wilderness, the film is full of long takes of Johnny walking through endless stretches of green and gold (there’s a stunning wide shot of the sunset meeting the treeline), the sound of his heavy footsteps interrupting the sound of birdsong and insects buzzing in the sunlight.
The kills are disgusting–Johnny isn’t afraid to use a rusty hook or log splitter on his victims–but what makes them so effective is that they’re all happening in a setting that is just as beautiful as it is completely and totally indifferent.
You can watch In a Violent Nature now on Hulu.
4. Us
Courtesy of Universal Pictures
In the summer of 1986, a little girl named Adelaide (Madison Curry) enters a fun house far from the boardwalk. She sees her doppelgänger in the house of mirrors, and when she finds her way out, she is completely mute and withdrawn. 33 years later, an adult Adelaide (Lupita Nyong’o, who should have earned an Oscar nomination for Best Actress) and her family go on vacation to a beach house with their friends, only for them to be attacked by their very own doppelgängers–Adelaide’s included.
Us has all the hallmarks of an idyllic American summer: A beautiful beach house, crowded boardwalks, carnival games, and brightly lit roller coasters. At one point, Adelaide’s son, Jason (Evan Alex), is wearing a JawsT-shirt, which director Jordan Peele said he knew he wanted to do as soon as he finished the script. It’s an ambitious, striking film (the nighttime shots of the boardwalk and the doppelgänger family immediately come to mind) that rewards audiences on multiple viewings. No wonder Steven Spielberg agreed to let Peele use that shirt.
You can rent Us now on Prime Video.
3. Rosemary’s Baby
Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
Though we’re with Rosemary Woodhouse (Mia Farrow) throughout all nine months of her hellish pregnancy, some of the most terrifying moments happen during what seems to be just another sweltering summer in New York City. Dressed in a light blue pinafore, her forehead drenched with sweat, she makes a desperate attempt to escape from the clutches of her witchy elderly neighbors and her husband, Guy (John Cassavetes).
She goes into labor shortly after and is told that the baby is stillborn. As she comes to, alone in a stifling yellow room, she watches a weather report about the intense heat wave and incoming thunderstorm. It’s only during this moment that Rosemary realizes she isn’t hysterical–her baby is alive, and the witches are hiding him in another room. If you’ve read Ira Levin‘s novel, then you already know that her baby is born on June 28, making the son of Satan a Cancer.
You can watch Rosemary’s Baby now on Paramount+.
2. Tourist Trap
Courtesy of Compass International Pictures
Tourist Trap has it all: Gorgeous, tan people in cute little outfits, an abandoned museum full of mannequins, and a villain with unexplained/unacknowledged telekinesis. It’s a campy, strange little gem from the ’70s that not enough people have seen, which is funny considering it was the direct inspirationfor the 2005 remake of House of Wax. Here, a group of friends stumble across a tourist trap run by a lonely cowboy named Mr. Slausen (Chuck Connors) and are picked off one by one by his crazed younger brother, Davey.
What makes Tourist Trap so much fun is the mannequins. They have big, flappy mouths and glowing painted eyes. They pop out of closets and bust through windows. They also really love to laugh. A lot. So much so that you might miss out on the equally bizarre score, which just might be one of my personal favorites.
You can watch Tourist Trap on Tubi and Prime Video.
1. The Burning
Courtesy of Filmways Pictures
I didn’t go to summer camp as a kid, but I did grow up in New York, which meant I was vaguely aware of Cropsey, the Staten Island boogeyman rumored to abduct and kill children. The Burning takes inspiration from the urban legend to tell the story of a former camp caretaker turned killer who, after being severely burned in a prank gone horribly wrong, is killing off a new group of campers while hunting the person responsible.
The camp feels lived in, each of the campers has unique personalities and relationships with each other, and you get to see a very young Jason Alexander in his first-ever acting credit alongside Holly Hunter and Fisher Stevens. It might drag for the first hour, but it all leads up to a brutal sequence involving a raft, a pair of gardening shears, and a handful of very unlucky campers.
You can watch The Burning on Prime Video (with an MGM+ subscription).
