Not all summer horror is the same. This guide organizes the best horror films by subgenre — summer camp slashers, beach and ocean horror, road trip nightmares, and folk horror rituals — with 3-4 curated picks per category and a 'watch it if' guide for every film. Your Summerween movie marathon starts here.

There's something uniquely unsettling about horror in the summertime. No fog, no bare branches — just heat, light, and whatever's lurking underneath the familiar. From the sun-bleached terror of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre to the icy darkness of 30 Days of Night, these 10 films cover the full spectrum of summer scares. Close the blinds, crank the AC, and pick your poison.