15 scariest summer horror movies of all-time
By Wesley Lara
12. Turistas (2006)
Directed by John Stockwell
I was originally going to add in Hostel to the list simply for the premise of a bunch of dude-bros going backpacking in a place they don’t know or respect, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized just how little the film felt like a summer film. Even with people on vacation, Hostel didn’t emulate anything of what is expected of a summer horror movie.
Luckily, a sound replacement came in the form of a similarly styled horror movie about the black market: Turistas.
Released in 2006, Turistas piggy-backed off of the success and controversy of Hostel with an eerily similar premise of a bunch of clueless American tourists falling victim to a shady underground organization. However, rather than it being a torture-for-pleasure business, this came in the form of the black market collecting and harvesting organs from anybody in the nearby Brazilian area. So again, this a movie that preyed on the fears of traveling abroad and getting literally lost in translation.
The hot and sunny Brazilian weather provides a solid front for the organization, taking advantage of unsuspecting victims just looking to enjoy themselves on vacation. It’s far from tasteful just how grim Brazil is made to be, but the summer atmosphere brings a nice twist to the gore subgenre of horror. Traveling abroad is a popular activity in the summer, but after Turistas, a nice night staying in sounds a lot better instead.