The 10 Best Horror Movies To Watch Before Summer Ends

Summer is winding down, and as much as we love fall, some films don’t hit the same in sweater weather season. Sure, I want to revisit movies like Us, You Might Be the Killer, Friday the 13th (1980), and Bodies Bodies Bodies. However, there is something magical about watching a scary movie during the same season as the characters getting it on screen. It is why we look to Misery, The Lodge, and 30 Days of Night when the snow starts to fall. Or why we reach for Halloween (1978) and a PSL the second there is a chill in the air. We associate so many movies with their respective seasons that we set horror-viewing traditions around them and become creatures of habit.

This is why I want to spend the last few weeks of summer watching summer horror and pretending I don’t live in the impending tundra that is Minnesota. Check out 10 summer horror movies that perfectly capture the essence of warm screams and beach bodies.

The Cabin in the Woods (dir. Drew Goddard)

Where You Can Watch: Peacock

College students head to a remote cabin, not knowing their fate is controlled by technicians using horror cliches to prepare them for sacrifice. Joss Whedon is a problem, but this movie still begrudgingly slaps. Not only does it capture the remote summer cabin energy, but it also flips it by using those tropes to get us to a very chaotic ending. Even the to-go coffee mug bong has such a summertime vibe. It’s definitely a horror comedy that should be required viewing this time of year, especially for those who felt seen when Bradley Whitford’s character sang-yelled, “Tequila Is My Lady!”

Fear Street Part Two: 1978 (dir. Leigh Janiak)

Where You Can Watch: Netflix

Fun in the Sun takes a deadly turn for tweens at Camp Nightwing during the eventful summer of 1978. The Fear Street trilogy cashed in on 1970s summer camp horror nostalgia, and it worked. As a long-time fan of the R.L. Stine book series these movies are inspired by, I wasn’t the biggest fan of them. However, the second part pulled me back in with gruesome kills and the constant iconic needle drops. It was also cool seeing some badass performances from Sadie Sink, Emily Rudd, and Ryan Simpkins, as they played pretty badass characters in a period genre film. 

Get Out (dir. Jordan Peele)

Where You Can Watch: Peacock

A Black man meets his white girlfriend’s family but soon discovers there is a lot more than the expected microaggressions to be concerned about. This was the movie that made a lot of people realize Jordan Peele was serious about horror. It was also the first of his three movies that really saw him fuck up a Black character’s summer plans. This movie feels hot and uncomfortable, and the problematic conversations and behaviors swarm Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) like mosquitos. While people like to get caught up in the comedy, I’m stuck on the shared experiences of being the only Black person in a predominantly white space. This is even worse when the food is bland on top of everything else.

I Know What You Did Last Summer (dir. Jim Gillespie)

Where You Can Watch: VOD

Four young friends run a man over, then decide to get rid of the body and move on with their lives. It’s a tale as old as time, but this one happens at the peak of summer in a seaside town. It also has Croaker Pageant Queen Helen Shivers, so it’s an extra special summertime watch. If you’re sad about summer leaving, maybe watching childhood crushes Ryan Phillippe and Freddie Prinze Jr. wear tank tops while doing small-town summer business will cheer you up. Or, at the very least, remind you of when we used to be a proper society.

It (dir. Andrés Muschietti)

Where You Can Watch: VOD

A group of bullied kids must destroy a shape-shifting creature that preys on the children in their small town. Knowing Pennywise is a summer girl makes me happy. Sorry to some of the kids he took out that fateful summer of 1989. Not only has this version of the Stephen King tale become one of my favorite summer rewatches, but it left some pretty big clown shoes for the second chapter to fill. I would argue too big because, aside from Bill Hader and Bill Skarsgård, all of the adults driving the story were overshadowed by the cast of children. I gently whisper, “We all float down here,” when I feel guilty about not revisiting the second film as often.

Jaws (dir. Steven Spielberg)

Where You Can Watch: Netflix

A killer shark unleashes chaos on a beach community. Jaws is the reason so many of us never learned to swim. We saw a shark take down its first victim, and we moved on. However, even in this fictional world, capitalism is king. So, they lost more town members than they needed to. Perhaps this film moves, sounds, and tastes like summer because Spielberg filmed it in the ocean. Is it any wonder it feels like an easy, breezy, teethy summer holiday whenever we catch it on some random channel or app? All I know is, shorts season is now shark season in many homes.

Midsommar (dir. Ari Aster)

Where You Can Watch: Max

A woman tags along with her unimpressive boyfriend’s trip to Swedish for a festival that turns out to be bizarre and violent. I’ve spent a lot of time with Ari Aster’s work between all my rewatches of Hereditary, and the time I watched his disturbing shorts on YouTube. This is my least favorite of his films that I’ve seen, but I cannot begrudge it its rightful place in summer horror cinema. This movie feels like Satan sponsored Coachella and canceled the musical acts. It’s a walking summertime stress fest. However, it stars Florence Pugh,  William Jackson Harper, Archie Madekwe, Will Poulter, and both of Will Poulter’s eyebrows. So, many people keep reliving this anxiety attack, and what better way to close out festival season than another harrowing rewatch?

Nope (dir. Jordan Peele)

Where You Can Watch: Starz

Two siblings discover an uncanny secret while struggling to keep their failing business afloat. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Jordan Peele doesn’t know how to make a bad horror movie. So, seeing him revive old-school summer genre films similar to Steven Spielberg’s Jaws sent so many of us into orbit. It doesn’t hurt that he had a stacked cast that included Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, Steven Yeun, Brandon Perea, and Keith David along for this summertime adventure. This is the movie I plan on watching this weekend as I squeeze the last few drops out of the sunshine season.

Sleepaway Camp (dir. Robert Hiltzik)

Where You Can Watch: Peacock, Pluto TV, Prime Video, and Tubi

A killer is murdering the teens at a summer camp in this popular take on summertime slashers. We have seen so many camps stalked by serial killers in the genre that I am surprised I haven’t made it a streaming guide problem yet. However, this one stands out for a myriad of reasons. This 1983 gem is definitely on the list of problematic favorites for many of its fans, specifically for the uncomfortable reveal of Angela Baker at the end. However, horror heads also have found many reasons to love and reevaluate parts of this title and its legacy. Check out Sleepaway Camp by BJ and Harmony Colangelo if you want to add another summer read alongside your summer viewing plans.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (dir. Tobe Hooper)

Where You Can Watch: Freevee, Peacock, Plex, Pluto TV, The Roku Channel, and Tubi

Five friends on a road trip through rural Texas stumble across a sinister nightmare. Nothing says summer like the sounds of chainsaws, thanks to Tobe Hooper’s wildly popular horror movie. TCM is basically a bingo card of things we associate with the hottest time of the year. Road trips, family gatherings, and even questionable barbecued meat. So, of course, it has to come up on any list celebrating sunlight and warm vibes. This beefy title still influences film today (probably most recently 2022’s X) as the franchise expands into other forms of media. 

These are just 10 of the best summer horror movies streaming. Let me know what gruesome seasonal goodies are your favorites at @misssharai.

Categorized:Editorials Streaming Guides