10 Summer Horror Movies You Have To See

Summer time is upon us, and that means one thing. Time to go to the beach and finally get some sun? No, of course not. It means it's time for some bloody good, summer themed horror films.

A lot of horror movies are set in the fall, which is understandable. For one, October is the most popular month for scary movies, and so it makes sense to set them around then. Plus, Autumn is just kind of an eerie time, with night sweeping in earlier and earlier and a cool darkness taking over.

But it's June now, and sometimes what you're in the mood for is a good horror film set in summer to match the beachy feeling of these next few months. Sure there are movies with serial killers stalking girls on Halloween night to watch during October, but what is there to watch during this time of year?  

Luckily, there are a bunch of summer-themed horror movies to check out to get into the spirit of the season. The major ones typically break down into two categories: films set during summer camp or films set at the beach, usually inspired heavily by Friday the 13th and Jaws respectively. 

In a time for fun in the sun, swimming in the ocean, camping in the wilderness and relaxing with friends, here are 10 summer horror movies you should check out. 

Friday the 13th is a defining film that helped make going to summer camp into something terrifying. While the franchise would later become associated with goofiness and over the top kills, the original is actually pretty suspenseful, and it does a few things really well that the last half of the franchise kind of lost. 

Taking place at the infamous Camp Crystal Lake, Friday the 13th does a great job capturing a lot of feelings associated with summer time. For one, it involves the idea of separating oneself from the rest of the world to relax in this unfamiliar little bubble, something a lot of young people experience when going on vacation this time of year.   

And since it takes place at camp following young counsellors, with adults not really in the picture, it reminds you of being a teenager again on summer break without many responsibilities. Young, stupid kids hang around, goof off, go swimming and play games, and before everything starts going wrong, Friday the 13th captures that summer feeling.

The movies also tap into what it's like to sit around a campfire, roasting marshmallows and telling scary stories, maybe even about that legend of Jason Vorhees. For a lot of films to follow, in addition to the kills, that idea of the creepy urban legend told around campfire would be constantly emulated.