Summer is all about blowing off appendages with fireworks, getting wasted on a pool floaty, and screaming at children playing near your house. While autumn is truly the coolest of seasons — showcasing vibrant colors, brisk temps that give us excuses to don our stylish jackets and scarves, and scaring us shitless with spooky Halloween — summer is all about letting loose and chillaxin’ without worrying about anything.
Film buffs know that each season warrants certain films. While it’s obvious to suggest Christmas films during the holidays, any true movie fan will seek out ones that capture the staid loneliness of winter. Misery, The Shining, and The Thing are all excellent films to watch during winter. And lord knows spooky and horror films are meant for autumn. But what about summer films?
We’re not just talking about prototypical and formulaic summer films that give us all the trappings of summer. We are talking about agonizing, sweaty, and desperate films that vibe perfectly on balmy summer nights. In other words, National Lampoon’s Vacation does not make the cut and neither does One Crazy Summer. These films’ plots are pretty simple and predicated on summer, thus giving us no intrinsic feel. And don’t even bother saying anything that involves summer camp, either.
Since we’re all about elevating the conversation at Mandatory, we have come up with some films that just hit different on lazy summer nights.
Cover Photo: svetikd (Getty Images)
The Best Films to Watch on Lazy Summer Nights
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1. 'Fight Club'
Perhaps it's the neon lights, pacing, and aggressive EDM in this film, but it just screams hot summer nights.
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2. 'In the Heat of the Night'
This timeless classic is absolutely perfect to watch on a war summer evening. The film is one big hot and uncomfortable saga surrounding race and takes place in the balmy Deep South.
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3. 'Taxi Driver'
Even though this film takes place in summer (during a heat wave, in fact), the sheer grittiness and griminess of 1970s NYC is magnified ten-fold in this Scorsese classic. You could almost feel the sweat rolling off De Niro's brow in many of these shots.
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4. 'Collateral'
This underrated Michael Mann film gives us Tom Cruise in a way we never thought we'd see: a highly sociopathic killer. The entire film's murderous but sometimes cool and calming events take place over the course of one night in LA. Both Cruise and Foxx deliver excellent performances. This very surreal and unforgettable night is the epitome of summer.
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5. 'Terminator 2'
Perhaps it's because most of us were young kids when this film came out in the summer of '91, but the whole thing takes place mostly at night during summer in LA. All of the scenes just vibe perfectly on a summer night.
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6. 'Dog Day Afternoon'
Even though the title suggests an afternoon premise, this classic featuring Al Pacino in a drawn-out bank robbery instantly creates sweaty tension, thus perfect for viewing on a warm summer night.
