10 Best Summer Camp Horror Movies

This is a film that needs no introduction given its well-cemented status in the horror hall of fame. It was the first rodeo we went on with the now legendary Voorhees family, and is probably one of the most well-known films amongst the summer camp collective.

Camp Crystal lake seems to be plagued with murders in the years following a young boy’s drowning in 1957. Counsellors are being picked off en route to or on site of the camp, and even after a sleek new refurbishment the camp’s history cannot be wiped away.

On first release a lot of critics compared it to John Carpenter’s Halloween, stating that it paled in comparison even with its intense, semi-realistic murders and gore. Of course fans didn't care at the time, and Friday came into its own and became a phenomenon in and of itself.

It's such a well loved film (along with a couple of its sequels, surprisingly) because it introduced an intriguing villain and featured a fantastic double twist. Its staying power is a testament to how well the slasher plays its cards in terms of plot and clichés, not letting itself be defined by a formula but instead being one of the main films that helped shape the genre.

With Camp Crystal Lake now being one of the most famous camp names amongst horror fans, there’s no doubt that this film had a huge impact on the years of slashers to come, even leading to more sequels than any film reasonably needs and a cross-over with another of modern horror’s most iconic villains, Freddy Krueger.