We’re halfway through summer, and while many people may be busy spending all their days at the beach, others may want to cozy up at home and watch some beach horror films instead. While many film buffs may think of classics like Jaws, this list will instead detail eight more underrated beach horror movies that may make viewers afraid to visit the beach for the rest of the summer.
The Beach House
A Lovecraftian body horror film for the ages, The Beach House stars Liana Liberato as a young woman vacationing with her boyfriend at his parents’ beach house and is a great film to kick off our list of underrated beach horror movies. However, things get strange when it is revealed that another older couple is already staying at the home.
While the older couple’s appearance is peculiar, the real danger lurks within the water. The film has a lot to say about global warming and features some gruesome sequences, with one, in particular, involving Liberato’s character removing a worm-like creature from her foot.
The Beach House is available to stream on Shudder and AMC+.
Psycho Beach Party
A campy horror comedy parodying 60s beach movies, Psycho Beach Party is slyly funny and a fun riff on Scream. Starring Lauren Ambrose and featuring Amy Adams in a supporting role, Psycho Beach Party follows a teen girl named Chicklet in the 60s who tries to assert herself into the popular crowd at Malibu Beach.
Soon after Chicklet reveals a powerful alter ego, beachgoers end up dead. The film is a parody in the essence of The Brady Bunch Movie with hints of Scary Movie but still holds up as a suspenseful slasher as well.
Psycho Beach Party is available to stream on Tubi.
Creepshow
One of the most engaging anthology horror films of all time, Creepshow features one tale that takes place on a beach, and it’s one of the most horrifying short stories told in an anthology film ever. The story, titled Something to Tide You Over, follows a disturbed and extremely wealthy man named Richard who buries his wife and her lover in the sand, leaving them to drown. The joke is on Richard though, when his murderous intentions come back to haunt him.
This short from George A. Romero’s underappreciated classic utilizes the beach in one of the most terrifying ways imaginable. Something to Tide You Over keeps hitting the audience over the head again and again until it reaches its gleefully macabre climax.
Creepshow is available to stream with a premium subscription on YouTube.
Turistas
While it may be part of the torture-porn subgenre that exploded in the 2000s, Turistas is a taut thriller filled with many shocking twists and turns. The 2006 film follows several tourists who connect after experiencing a bus crash together. However, after a night of debauchery in paradise, the new friends soon fall into the hands of organ harvesters.
Turistas is a violent film that comes across as tone-deaf to some, but it is one of the most brutal horror films to take place on a beach. A vivisection scene will go down in history as one of the most graphic sequences of violence on screen. Also, an inventive kill involving a skewer is extremely hard to forget.
Turistas is available to stream on Fandango at Home.
Meg 2: The Trench
This sequel starring Jason Statham is bigger and badder than its predecessor, introducing many new prehistoric monsters into the mix. Meg 2: The Trench largely takes place in an underwater lab as well as the titular trench, but in the film’s third act, the story takes us to a highly populated resort ironically called Fun Island.
The carnage in the film’s last 30 minutes is off the charts, with many beachgoers being devoured whole by the villainous Megalodon. Other creatures, including a shockingly huge octopus and massive man-eating lizards, also rack up a high body count, helping to create one of the best climaxes of the decade so far.
Meg 2: The Trench is Available to stream on Max.
Evolution
A psychological sci-fi nightmare from director Lucile Hadžihalilović, Evolution takes place in a strange beachside town only occupied by young boys and adult women. The film is body horror at its finest, but will creep up on the viewer, and may prove to be too uncomfortable for some movie lovers.
Evolution is a film that isn’t afraid to take the viewer to extremely dark places, but, if it’s any consolation, the movie features some breathtaking seaside scenery and exquisite cinematography.
Evolution is available to stream on Shudder and AMC+.
Club Dread
Another comedy horror slasher, Club Dread is way gorier than many other horror spoofs. The outrageous film from Broken Lizard follows a serial killer who halts the fun at a swingers resort.
Club Dread is a hilarious comedy, but is also surprisingly scary, and works very well as a slasher. The film features a slasher villain who has every right to be considered in the ranks of the fisherman from I Know What You Did Last Summer, and the finale on the beach is a bloody riot.
Club Dread is available to rent on Prime Video, Apple TV, and YouTube.
Sweetheart
Starring Kiersey Clemons, Sweetheart is a creature feature, as well as a well-done survival horror film. The 2019 flick follows a young woman who ends up stranded on an island, only to realize a strange monster stalks her every move.
Sweetheart is riveting, documenting a strong heroine’s desperate attempt at survival. Also, the creature design is fantastic, which makes it one of the best beach horror movies.
Sweetheart is available to rent on Prime Video, Apple TV, and YouTube.
