No summer camp is complete without bonfires and horror stories. Somehow, it has become the perfect backdrop for every tropey horror movie you’ve ever seen as a child.
Whether it is a masked killer on the loose in some campground deep in the woods or some urban legends that have turned out to be horrifyingly real, there are endless possibilities. So, if you are looking to make your next movie night a bit more terrifying and nostalgic at the same time, here are the best summer camp horror movies to watch right now.
10. Cheerleader Camp (1988)
At a remote summer camp for aspiring cheerleaders, a group of teenage girls finds their training interrupted when a mysterious killer dressed as the team’s mascot begins picking them off one by one.
‘Cheerleader Camp’ is exactly the kind of over-the-top, trope-filled summer camp slasher it promises to be. It is cheesy, campy, and sometimes straight-up outrageous. But that’s what makes it such an entertaining watch. And there is a gripping whodunit mystery that keeps you guessing until the very end.
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9. They/Them (2022)
Far from your traditional summer camp slashers, ‘They/Them’ unfolds at an LGBTQIA+ conversion camp. Here, the real horror begins long before any masked killer appears. As the campers endure cruel and disturbing so-called conversion practises, the terror gets much more psychological and real.
But of course, a mysterious killer is stalking the woods who is also methodically murdering counsellors and staff. Blending social commentary with classic horror tropes, ‘They/Them’ is one very unique and unsettling take on the genre.
8. Madman (1981)
Blending several classic horror tropes into one, ‘Madman’ is a part summer-camp slasher and part urban legend. During a campfire gathering, a group of campers and counsellors start swapping ghost stories.
Until one counsellor tells the tale of Madman Marz, a local legend who supposedly murdered his entire family with an axe. But by speaking his name aloud, they unknowingly summon the killer himself. What follows is their worst nightmare coming alive.
7. Scooby-Doo! Camp Scare (2010)
We had to add this timeless animated classic. Silly, spooky and endlessly entertaining, ‘Scooby-Doo! Camp Scare’ follows Scooby-Doo and the Mystery Inc. gang as they arrive at Camp Little Moose to work as summer camp counsellors.
But after getting there, they discover the camp has been deserted, and a terrifying local urban legend has somehow come alive to haunt them. The gang embarks on a journey to uncover the truth in this classic Scooby-Doo whodunit.
6. Stage Fright (2014)
Blending musical, comedy, and slasher into one wildly entertaining package, ‘Stage Fright’ is unlike any other summer camp horror movie you will watch. Set at a snobbish musical theatre camp, the story follows a group of aspiring performers who find themselves the victims of a bloodthirsty masked killer who hates musical theatre.
As opening night draws closer, the body count keeps rising, culminating in the spectacularly bloody finale that the audience mistakes for part of the performance. Equal parts campy, hilarious, and gruesome, ‘Stage Fright’ is a refreshingly unique take on the summer camp slasher.
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5. Sleepaway Camp (1983)
Widely regarded as one of the most shocking camp slashers ever made, ‘Sleepaway Camp’ is forever remembered for its brutally creative kills and that unforgettable ending. The story follows Angela Baker, a shy and deeply traumatized teenager.
After losing her family in a tragic boating accident, she is sent to a summer camp with her cousin. Soon after they arrive, campers begin turning up dead in increasingly gruesome ways.
4. Fear Street Part Two: 1978 (2021)
One of the best modern entries in the summer camp horror movies genre and a standout film in the ‘Fear Street’ trilogy, ‘Fear Street Part Two: 1978’ somehow pays the perfect homage to classic slashers. Instead of trying to reinvent them, the movie has embraced the genre’s best tropes.
Set in 1878, the film follows Ziggy Berman and her fellow campers at Camp Nightwing who unknowingly get caught in a centuries-old curse. As a brutal killing spree begins, Ziggy must uncover the mystery behind the curse and end it once and for all.
3. The Burning (1981)
It has been nearly a decade since a cruel prank gone wrong left camp caretaker Cropsy horribly burned. Now, he is returning to Camp Stonewater to seek bloody revenge on a new generation of campers.
‘The Burning’ is every classic summer camp horror movie wrapped into one. From isolated woods to an unstoppable masked killer and the addition of a terrifying urban legend, there is everything you can ever ask for from this genre.
2. The Final Girls (2015)
More meta and trope-filled than almost any modern slasher, ‘The Final Girls’ cleverly celebrates everything that we love about summer camp horror movies. After a tragic accident, Max and her friends find themselves transported into a fictional 1986 summer camp slasher called ‘Camp Bloodbath’.
To survive, they must rely on their knowledge of horror movie rules and clichés to outsmart the masked killer that is stalking their camp. Funny, surprisingly emotional and filled with easter eggs for slasher film fans, ‘The Final Girls’ is a genuinely entertaining summer camp horror film.
1. Friday The 13th (1980)
You simply can’t beat the classic. ‘Friday the 13th’ is the film that kick-started the summer camp slasher craze and remains the blueprint for countless horror movies in this genre. It still remains the one classic that we can always turn to for an endless dose of horror and entertainment.
A year after the tragic drowning of a young boy at Camp Crystal Lake, a new group of counselors arrives to prepare the camp for reopening. But before the campers even arrive, an unknown killer begins picking them off one by one.
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