7 Summery Yet Spooky Movies Perfect for Your Summerween Horror Marathon

As lovers of Halloween, we struggle to wait for the fall season to indulge in our favorite horror movies and other spooky activities. That's why we've fully embraced the concept of Summerween—which is basically an unofficial Halloween celebration with a summer twist.

And lucky for all of us, we don't have to look too far for great Summerween flicks to watch, because summertime celebrations have been a horror movie staple for decades. Whether these films involve going away to camp, summer holiday festivities or just take place over the summer break, the season is becomes an important part of the narrative. Curious where to start? We have seven suggestions for the a terrifyingly fun Summerween scary movie marathon.

Jaws (1975)

Even 50 years after it originally came out, Steven Spielberg's iconic shark flick Jaws remains a timeless horror classic, and for good reason. Despite the fact that a ruthless great white shark is terrorizing the beach town of Amity Island, the mayor insists on keeping the beaches open for the 4th of July weekend to attract tourists (and their money). It's up to the police chief, an oceanographer and an oddball shark hunter to bring down the killer shark, with the perfect amount of tension and scares contrasting its idyllic beach setting.

(Jaws via Universal Pictures)

 

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Friday the 13th (1980)

If there's one film that defined the important role of summer camps within the world of horror, it was Friday the 13th. The film takes place at Camp Crystal Lake, where a group of teenage camp counselors is looking to reopen the campsite where a child named Jason drowned 23 years earlier. Soon, the terror begins, with the counselors getting picked off one by one by some unknown slasher in increasingly brutal deaths. It's proof you don't need a big budget to be terrifying, and solidified many of the horror movie tropes we all know and love today.

(Friday the 13th via Paramount Pictures)

 

Sleepaway Camp (1983)

Sleepaway Camp may be a bit derivative of Friday the 13th, but it's what it does differently that sets it apart and makes it completely unforgettable. It follows a teen girl named Angela who lost her family in a boating trip as a child and the trauma she's still dealing with as she spends her summer at a sleepaway camp. She's shy and quickly becomes the target of  bullies, all of whom begin to meet horrible fates. We don't plan to spoil the twist here, but it's one that's as infamous as it is memorable and iconic.

(Sleepaway Camp via United Film Distribution Company)

 

Also read about: How to Be Less Afraid of Horror Movies

 

I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)

I Know What You Did Last Summer is a classic '90s slasher that takes place over two summers. The terror begins when a group of four friends get into a car accident, killing a man. They dispose of the body, doing what they can to leave the incident in the past and becoming estranged from each other. The next summer, however, one of teens receives a letter reading "I know what you did last summer!" The four must come back together to discover the truth and evade a terrifying hooked killer seeking retribution.

(I Know What You Did Last Summer via Columbia Pictures)

 

The Cabin in the Woods (2011)

Prefer a bit of humor in your horror? Cabin in the Woods has you covered, starting out as a classic scary movie about college kids who decide to spend part of their summer break in a cabin in the woods. However, the parody soon turns into something else entirely as the group faces off against the cabin's zombified residents and realizes they're being manipulated by some outside force to act according to tried and true horror tropes.

(The Cabin in the Woods via Lionsgate)

 

Also read about: The Hottest Horror Movies Arriving in 2025

 

Us (2019)

With Us, Jordan Peele proved yet against that the beach can be utterly terrifying. The film follows mom Adelaide Wilson and her family as they go on vacation, staying in Adelaide's family beach house in Santa Cruz near the boardwalk. However, it soon becomes clear that things are not as they seem as the family confront doubles who look exactly like them—made even worse by their unwavering desire to kill them in order to set themselves free.

(Us via Universal Pictures)

 

Midsommar (2019)

Don't think horror can be vibrant, beautiful and colorful? Check out Ari Aster's Midsommar, which follows Dani, a young woman grieving after losing her family in a preventable tragedy. She accepts an invite to travel to Sweden with her boyfriend to attend a midsommar festival, hoping to mend her dying relationship. While the country is beautiful and things at first appear tranquil and healing, the festivities prove to be anything but peaceful as the ritual transforms into a waking nightmare.

(Midsommar via A24)

 

Love the concept of Summerween? Click HERE for more of our favorite suggestions for keeping the festivities going.