The sun typically makes for a welcome sight in horror; sunrise often chases away the boogeyman, after all. But not always…
Sometimes, the scorching hot summer sun compounds the horror. It’s not just a menacing threat characters will face, human and inhuman alike, but the harsh elements that further dwindle survival odds. Broad daylight also leaves nowhere to hide, making for intense thrills and chills if done well.
With the days growing longer as summer rapidly approaches, this week’s streaming picks are dedicated to daylight horror movies that bring the heat.
Here’s where you can stream them this week.
For more Stay Home, Watch Horror picks, click here.
Cujo – MGM+, Pluto TV
Those living in hot climates are acutely aware of how inherently terrifying it is to be trapped in a hot car under the blazing sun. Donna and Tad Trenton take the broken family Ford Pinto to their repairman to get the alternator fixed but find themselves forced to take refuge in it thanks to a rabid St. Bernard. If they leave, well, they risk death. But staying inside their makeshift shelter means death, too, in the form of heatstroke and dehydration. It’s a no-win situation that makes for a harrowing thriller. This adaptation of Stephen King’s novel doesn’t get as lethal with its blistering elements, but it comes close.
The Hitcher – Cinemax
This road trip nightmare stars C. Thomas Howell as Jim Halsey, a young man driving from Chicago to San Diego to deliver a car. The solitude on isolated stretches of Texas highway instills severe drowsiness, so Jim picks up a hitchhiker to stave off sleep. He soon learns that his mysterious Hitcher (Rutger Hauer) is a deranged killer who has made Jim his latest target in a dangerous cat-and-mouse game. No road trip horror list would be complete without a mention of The Hitcher. Even though Hauer’s performance could carry the film alone, screenwriter Eric Red (Bad Moon, Near Dark) and director Robert Harmon bring their A-game to deliver one of the best ‘80s gems.
Long Weekend – Kanopy
This quintessential entry in eco-horror follows a suburban couple on a weekend getaway at a remote beach with their dog in tow. Director Colin Eggleston traces the couple’s arrival, signaling a dangerous lack of care for their environment before the horror even begins. That there’s icy tension between them only further exacerbates things. A last-ditch effort to save their relationship becomes an intense onslaught when Mother Nature decides it’s had enough and fights back. Long Weekend creatively incorporates a variety of pissed-off fauna to enact retribution, and it builds to a suitably grim conclusion.
Predator – Hulu
Arnold Schwarzenegger might have had his final face-off with the iconic alien creature after the sun sets, but most of this sci-fi horror classic takes place during the day, under the blistering sun that left the special ops team drenched in sweat when venturing into the jungle. Seeing a group of highly lethal men get eviscerated so quickly and easily by an unseen creature during a time of day when they should have a tactical advantage is a large part of why this film works. If you’d like to keep the Predator action going, Hulu’s Predator: Killer of Killers debuts on June 6.
Revenge – Mubi, Shudder
The Substance director Coralie Fargeat’s impressive debut makes another worthy entry in French extreme horror. Fargeat subverts the rape-revenge sub-genre with a different protagonist and authentic social commentary before unleashing a bloodbath like no other in a tense cat-and-mouse game against a bright desert backdrop. Stylized and with beautiful cinematography that crescendos into an insanely bloody finale, Fargeat’s bold declarations will surely polarize audiences with her blood-soaked metaphors.
