It’s that time of year to start preparing for your Summer vacation. But beware! These 13 horror films prove you may be better off staying home.
It’s almost summer! Time for sun, fun and travel. As a horror lover, I have a crazy list of scary films that I can vicariously go on a summer vacation with, any time of year.
Oddly enough (to me, anyway) I know a lot of people that are afraid of going on vacations; the fear of the unknown, I suppose. The vacation from hell horror films exist to entertain, but also to show us the dangers lurking around every corner — and why we probably should stay home in the safety of our little cocoons. Who knows how many bad things almost happen to us, and we are just plain lucky?
I look at horror films as a reminder to pay attention to my surroundings, to avoid walking down dark alleys, to never be alone in strange places, to research my destinations; basically, try not to be a victim. But many folks are just more comfortable staying home. So, if you can’t (or are too afraid to) go anywhere this hot sultry summer, I hope that at least you can enjoy vacationing in Zombie Girl fashion.
Here are thirteen adventures off my long summer vacation horror list, in no particular order of importance. Please enjoy them, and have a good trip, but don’t forget to wear sunscreen!
1. Rogue (2007)
What’s it about? Rogue is the tale of a group of tourists in Australia who embark on their version of the famous 3-Hour Tour, (You remember Gilligan, right?) whose vacation is ruined when they are stalked by a man-eating crocodile.
Why it’s on this list:
Do you like summer boat rides? Do you adore hot weather and giant reptiles? Then this is the film for you. The film was directed, written, and produced by Greg McLean who also gave us the brutal Wolf Creek.
Rogue was inspired by the true story of Sweetheart, a giant male saltwater crocodile that attacked boats in the late 1970s. Though unlike the film, in real life Sweetheart was never responsible for an attack on a human. The crocodile in the film however is ruthless.
Rogue received positive reviews from critics and fans alike but was a sadly a huge commercial failure. This film is a lot of fun, has decent cinematography and the acting is pretty darn good. Even if they are textbook, I liked the characters and the story was well written. I think it’s one of the best of the crocodile horror genre. (Is that a thing?) I really enjoyed the SFX that brought the giant critter to life and of course all the practical gore. The crocodile was scary and not shown too much, which is a good plan with creature films. The less we see them, the scarier they are.
I have always wanted to visit Australia, but if the crocs get that big, and with the fearless Crocodile Hunter Steve no longer around, I may have to skip the boat and/or cave tour to stay on dry land. (Spoiler Note: There is one death that I wish they could have done without. Furry animal lovers beware.)
2. Hostel (2006)
What’s it about? Three backpackers head to a Slovakian city that promises to meet their hedonistic expectations. With no idea of the hell that awaits them, the boys find out the hard way that their decision to stay at a hostel is a bloody and gruesome mistake. They soon find themselves kidnapped and preyed upon by a mysterious group that tortures and kills unsuspecting tourists.
Why it’s on this list:
Summer is the time for a backpacking trip to Europe! Pack your bags, buy your tickets and get moving. I feel like this film is what every parent of a teen on a summer vacation envisions in their nightmares. Hostel really goes there and then some.
I know torture is hard to watch, but this film does it horrifically well and even has quite a sense of humor. Hostel is absolutely, only for a specific gore loving audience. Eli Roth wrote and directed this bloody gem, and despite all the violence it is a movie that will stay a horror classic. Even with all the blood and guts, the story is well written, and all the cool scenes shot in Czech Republic add to the ambiance.
I love the abandoned hospital in Prague where all the bad shit happens, it was perfect. Just for the record, it has not kept me from traveling to Europe, if anything I want to go there more. I’m not afraid! I can’t wait to do a tour of this area again someday soon!
3. Come Out and Play (2012)
What’s it about? When a couple decides to go on a getaway to a peaceful island in Mexico, they are surprised to find the streets empty. Little by little they realize the adults are all dead and the children have killed them all. They are next unless they can do the unthinkable. Can they kill the children stalking them, to save their own lives?
Why it’s on this list:
Mexico has the reputation (well deserved) as being a beautiful place to forget your troubles, have a drink and relax. So, it’s the perfect place for a vacation. Usually though, there are not hordes of children wanting to chop you up and play with the pieces.
Back in the ‘70s I saw the almost the exact same film called Who Can Kill A Child? I would have shared that film, except that it’s almost impossible to get ahold of, so this remake will suffice. The film is similar in many ways to The Birds too — even to the slow walk with children, instead of birds, sitting on fences watching them walk by. Stephen King probably saw the original too, and I don’t think it would be too much of a stretch to think it could have inspired Children of the Corn.
Come Out and Play has a discordant and unsettling score, a brutal premise and you can almost feel the humidity and smell the fear and death. In horror films there is usually something right around the corner to get you, in this case it’s killer kids. I always knew kids were evil little monsters, but this film proves it. It asks a hard question; “What would you do in this situation?” I’ll tell you what, if a group of kids ever asks me to play Pinata, I’m gonna get out of there as fast as I can!
4. Tourist Trap (1979)
What’s it about? Tourist Trap is a bizarre film about a group of young friends who find themselves stranded at secluded roadside museum and are stalked by a masked assailant who uses his telekinetic powers to move around his rooms full of mannequins. This nightmare of madness stars a strangely, yet perfectly cast Chuck Connors, who was better known as being a tough guy in The Rifleman.
Why it’s on this list:
Everyone knows what a tourist trap is. That store full of kitschy stuff for sale in little towns or at the end of every ride at amusement parks. Possibly a museum telling the story of a historical town, where the aliens landed or maybe it’s a haunted house. Whatever it is, the only reason it’s there is to make money off tourists. Or is it just the perfect place to grab an unsuspecting victim? They were dumb enough to stop there in the first place, weren’t they? You just set the trap and wait for the car to drive up……
I love Tourist Trap. Even with its obviously low budget, it is an artistically done, unique and unsettling film. The rooms filled to the brim with mannequins that move by themselves; arms, legs, heads all doing their own thing with hideous laughter. What is real? Is it a mannequin being controlled by telekinesis, or is it a madman dressed like a mannequin coming to kill you? And if that doesn’t do it for you, how about Tanya Roberts in shorty shorts?
5. Friday the 13th (1980)
What’s it about? In 1957 a young boy named Jason Voorhees attends a summer camp by the name of Camp Crystal Lake. During his stay he drowns in the lake. In 1979 a group of camp counselors are stalked and murdered by an unknown assailant while trying to reopen the same summer camp. These counselors just wanted to have a place to make those happy camp memories: Singing around the campfire, swimming in the lake, hooking up, etc… could it be Jason out for revenge?
Why it’s on this list:
No horror list about summer vacations is complete without Friday the 13th. I know it’s been talked about to infinitum. But I went to summer camp every year, and this film really takes me back to those summers, even if we didn’t have a creep stalking and killing us. If you have seen it, it’s time to watch it again. If you haven’t, well this cult classic is a must see!
There are even tours at the actual camp used to shoot the film. I’ve never gotten there yet, but I love summer camp, so I guess that needs to be on my personal summer to-do list.
Just an FYI, there are 12 films in this slasher franchise and the newest, fan driven and 13th film, Friday the 13th: Vengeance will be out June 10, 2019!
6. The Descent (2005)
What’s it about? Six female friends go on a spelunking expedition inside an isolated cave system in the Appalachian Mountains. Inside the cave, they find cannibalistic creatures more horrible than they could have seen in any nightmare.
Why it’s on this list:
This is the perfect film for true adventure addicts. You can’t be afraid of small spaces to crawl around in real caves, or to have even worked on this film! I was on the edge of my seat and felt incredibly claustrophobic the entire run time. The tension in the theater was as thick as the nasty air would have been in those caves. It is almost impossible to get me so locked into a film that I forget where I am, but The Descent accomplished that.
The cave interiors, shot unbelievably on a soundstage in London, were beautiful and awful at the same time. The relationships, the feeling of fear and the dimension of the acting under such duress was fantastic. The blind, humanoid and cannibalistic creatures, that developed hunting skills much like bats, were the bloody crowning glory. The actresses were not shown the creatures until they shot the scenes. You can see in the film how uncomfortable they all really were! What incredible practical SFX! And blood, wow, there is so much blood!
Will I ever go into a deep dark cave in the middle of nowhere? No way! No cave, anywhere! Did I love the film? Absolutely! The Decent scared me and left me creeped out more than almost any other film, ever. Happy caving.
7. A Perfect Getaway (2009)
What’s it about? Newlyweds on their honeymoon in Hawaii find terror in paradise when they encounter other hikers who claim that some tourists were found brutally murdered. Who can they trust and who are the psychopaths?
Why it’s on this list:
This film is a twist and turn of red herrings that make everyone into a suspect. The terrorized couple on vacation trope is a horror staple, and this thriller does it beautifully. Though nothing is as beautiful as the breathtaking Hawaiian backdrop. This could have been the vacation to end all vacations for Cliff and Cydney, if someone wasn’t lying and killing people around them.
The paranoia is strong in this film where no one is to be trusted. Hitchcock would be proud of the touches of pitch-black humor, the incredible twist, and the no-holds-barred battle of life and death at the climax.
I’m pretty sure I’ll never be hiking anywhere so remote that I would need to be worried of getting murdered. But if I do, I only want to go with hiking buddies who have been background checked, so I know what their motives are.
8. The Hills Have Eyes (1977)
What’s it about? A family going to California accidentally drive through a nuclear testing range closed to the public. When their car breaks down, they are stalked by a group of mutant cannibals who are super excited that they somehow got dinner delivered right to their doorstep.
Why it’s on this list:
This is one of my all-time favorite Wes Craven films. It is not a movie for the faint of heart however, even though it’s from 1977. What I like about this film is that we are left until almost halfway through to really understand what kind of monsters they are up against. Horror icon Michael Berryman is fantastic and after seeing this film, I was so surprised to meet him and find out what a wonderful guy he is in real life.
In style with his other films, Wes Craven bring us a creepy dark comedy and survival thriller, but some humanity too. The Hills Have Eyes has mutant cannibals yes, but it’s also a film that explores how brutal we can all become under this kind of duress.
Many of the scenes in this film have stuck in my head since my first viewing, and I’ve always been a little bit wary and uncomfortable when traveling through the desert.
9. Aftershock (2012)
What’s it about? A group of travelers in Chile find out that the only thing more terrifying than mother nature is human nature. While partying in an underground nightclub, a giant earthquake hits the town. The group quickly realizes that getting to the surface is just the beginning of their horrible nightmare.
Why it’s on this list:
I grew up in California, and everyone I met from other places asked me about earthquakes. Yes, I felt a few growing up, but nothing like the ones I’ve seen on TV in other countries. I feel like an earthquake is mother nature’s ultimate cure for a boring summer vacation.
Not all monsters are supernatural. I admit this is a brutal film and not for everyone, because it shows again how primitive humans really are.
Aftershock starts out with a geeky Eli Roth and his traveling companions on a trip to Chile. Wanting the ultimate party experience and finally getting to a nightclub where they might get lucky, an earthquake hits and destroys the town. With survival the only name of the game, a tsunami on its way, criminals running free in the streets from a damaged prison, the group finds survival is going to be quite a challenge.
Aftershock is an intense, nihilistic, gory and suspenseful film, that I’m sure the Chilean government didn’t appreciate for their tourism. It made my skin crawl in places and I’m sure if you decide to see it, it will yours too. You can’t say their vacation wasn’t exciting!
10. Frozen (2010)
What’s it about? Three skiers stranded on a chairlift are forced to make life-or-death choices, which prove more perilous than staying put and freezing to death.
Why it’s on this list:
You may be saying summer vacation, skiing? But yes, there are many places where the snow is available almost all year round. I am sure people fall off ski lifts every year and survive, but usually they are not left alone on a ski lift after dark. The part that makes this film so terrifying in my opinion is that they are not off in another country, they are close to home on a weekend trip. Also, there is nothing supernatural or monstrous to fear, what can kill them is simply injury, wolves or the elements; mother nature at her icy cruelest.
At first it seems like it could just be a cold overnight wait, they could huddle up, and all will be well. But what starts as an inconvenience turns serious as a huge storm comes in and they realize the ski lift is closed for the rest of the week.
These three actors had to carry the whole film and they were fantastic. A slow burn at first, the tension built gradually, and I believed the terror. I felt the cold and understood how their paranoia and the desire to just give up, would wear them out. The terrific practical effects looked incredibly painful; the frost bite made me cringe. Emotionally, this film really got to me. It was amazing to think someplace so normal could turn into horror so fast.
I have never been skiing, but after seeing Frozen, I may have to leave this activity for the much more adventure loving folks.
11. Catskill Park (2018)
What’s it about? This found footage film features four friends on a camping trip that turns into a living nightmare when a blizzard traps them in 36 inches of sudden snow. If that’s not bad enough, they hear shrieking alien sounds outside of their tents. To this day, all four of them are (of course) still missing.
Why it’s on this list:
I felt the need to put at least one found footage camping trip on this list. I am on the fence about this genre, but I enjoyed this film, because it is kind of a Sci-Fi and Horror hybrid.
Despite the shaky camerawork that is the hallmark of found footage, there were some very tense and scary scenes. I was seriously startled quite a few times, so in this case the jump scares really got me. I loved the creative SFX for the aliens, their ship and the numerous nasty wounds and operations.
The darkness of the woods, the shadows and the creepy sound effects all worked together to create a terrifying feeling of, “WTF is happening?”. The best scene for me was when one of the characters got knocked super-fast, right out of the frame. (along with a monstrous growling sound)
My advice for this type of vacation: If someone has a headcam and is carrying a backpack, run the other way. Things are guaranteed not to go well, and you will never see them again. Didn’t you guys see Blair Witch?
12. Open Water (2003)
What’s it about? Open Water, which is based on true events, tells the story of a scuba diving couple on vacation who emerge from an hour underwater only to discover they’ve been left behind by their tour. You as the audience are placed right in the center of their terrifying story of survival.
Why it’s on this list:
I had a decision to make, this film or Jaws. I just need to say that I love Jaws and have seen it so many times that I could never try to count. But Open Water is so raw, gripping and real, that I had to put it on this particular list in hopes that maybe you have not all seen it yet. Blanchard Ryan and Daniel Travis are incredible in that they and the sharks are pretty much the whole film. The REAL SHARKS let me add!
Abandoned by their boat and slowly dying, fighting sharks and the elements, these divers grab our hearts. Rooting for their survival left me shaken. A relentless, surprisingly quiet and suspenseful film that had me on the edge of my seat and often gasping, is exactly why I could never scuba dive. Even the thought makes me sweat! The reality of whether their lives really matter, whose fault it was, how hard should they work to survive, became even more important than the lack of drinking water or the sharks circling them. Realizing “We paid to do this” was such a crazy moment in their once wonderful, now horrifying adventure.
Open Water is fantastic, period. It is not really a horror movie, more of a drama thriller, be it a heart stopping one. I know you will love this film!
13. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
What’s it about? Five young people are en route to visit their grandfather’s grave. Driving through a remote area of Texas they end up falling victim to a family of cannibalistic psychopaths. To a small extent, the film is based on the real-life serial killer, Ed Gein.
Why it’s on this list:
The road trip is a true vacation staple. Usually impromptu and not well thought out, almost always in a car that could break down at any second, a road trip can take people off the beaten path, in order to get somewhere they just thought of. I love road trips, though thankfully, none of mine have ever gone this badly.
A true exercise in terror, Toby Hooper’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is one of my favorite films and back in the day, left me a bit scared to go to Texas. I drove a Volkswagen van like the one in the film, and it was always breaking down.
The film is built on tension. A weirdo hitchhiker with photos of dead things. Miles of roads with nothing but abandoned looking farms covered in weeds. This is not a place you want to hang out. It is dusty, dirty, and they should just keep moving, but of course they have no idea where they are. As soon as they stop at the farmhouse, we know things are not going to go well, so no surprise when they get picked off one by one.
I will never forget this film. Grandpa sucking blood, the meat hooks, the metal door slamming, the sound of a chainsaw, all these are in my brain forever. Even though it is in my mind one of the goriest films I ever saw, it was not truly very bloody. It was however horrible and what we imagine when we think we know what’s happening is worse yet. Inside the house it’s disgusting; full of bones, filth, furniture made from flesh and a killer wearing human skin chasing you with a chainsaw. The art direction on this low budget film gave us every horrible idea we needed, and our brains filled in the rest. The climax to this film is one of the best in horror history!
Road trips aren’t as dangerous these days, with better cars and cell phones, but I imagine the killers have gotten savvier too, so watch out if you are going off the grid for a little drive.
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I know there are so many more films in this genre. I might even have to make another list. But in the meantime — be careful, plan ahead and have a wonderful summer vacation!
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