Is there a greater place on earth than a hot beach in summertime? No, there is not. So long as the sand is soft, the waves are blue and the vibes are kicking, beaches are probably the closest humankind can get to pure paradise. It’s no wonder that the beach has long been the setting for all manner of films, from Sebastián Silva's indie mystery Rotting in the Sun (2023) to the first film you think about when you think of the beach: Danny Boyle’s The Beach.
Of course, there’s often a dark undertone to many a beach movie, like a holiday romance that’s on the edge of curdling, or a summer that’s gone on for way too long, or, in some instances, as you'll see below, a beach that will make you old. That’s why beach movies are more often than not dark, strange and unexpected, with plenty tipping into nightmarish and even brutal territory. Not always though—some of them really are just chill and fun. Either way, here are twelve great beach movies, to watch for an endless, endless summer (very unlike this year's one).
Old (2021)
Old, written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense, Signs, After Earth, Knock at the Cabin), is the sort of movie that you’ll think is the worst movie you’ve ever seen, at first, until you gradually change your mind and decide that it’s one of the best (or at least, this is what happened to me). This bad-good dichotomy is hilariously reflected in the reviews that followed, which ranged from two to five stars, with nobody being able to agree whether this schlocky, batshit creation was pure genius or just clunky. If you’ve yet to see it, all you need to know is this: the film follows a group of families stuck on a beach which, they soon discover, accelerates the aging process until they are all suddenly wrinkly and dying. You can watch Old on Amazon Prime.
Fire Island (2022)
Fire Island—a romantic comedy about a bunch of queer friends going on holiday to a real-life gay hotspot—is a fun and easily digestible film that isn’t going to leave you feeling deeply disturbed and / or wanting to never go on vacation again (which isn’t the case for at least two thirds of the movies on this list). The film stars Joel Kim Booster, who also wrote and executive-produced it. There’s also plenty of raunch and nudity—just butts, though, unfortunately. “I was like, 'I want a dick.' It’s Fire Island. It’s sex scenes. It’s orgies. Like, you’re going to see dick,” director Andrew Ahn told Vulture. “They came back to me being like, 'We’ll give you as many butts as you want,'" Ahn said. “And I was like, 'You know what? I’ll take that deal.'.” You can watch Fire Island on Disney+.
Infinity Pool (2023)
As with all great beach films, director Brandon Cronenberg's Infinity Pool starts out as an idyllic holiday, in the same vein as White Lotus, before descending into what can only be described as pure, unbridled madness and horror. Mia Goth in particular excels in the role of Gabi, who is the epitome of the TikTok meme “never let them guess your next move.” Some might argue that Infinity Pool isn’t necessarily a beach film—much of it is set in a harsh prison of sorts, after all. But to that I say: as long as the beach shows up multiple times, then it counts a beach film! You can watch Infinity Pool on Amazon Prime.
Jaws (1975)
What do you think of when you think of beaches? Sun? Sea? The salty tang of sweat on glistening, bikini-clad bodies? Sure, but also, a lot of us actually think of sharks, the giant killer apex predators with the chompy teeth and a famous taste for blood. The chances of coming up against a shark while at the beach are miniscule in most places, but Jaws, released in 1975, made all of us believe forever more that we might get ripped to shreds if we were to go a little far out on the board. Definitely the most iconic and well-known movie on this list, this Steven Spielberg classic is one of those rare beach films that make us want to stay well, well away from the beach. You can watch Jaws on Netflix.
Lords of Dogtown (2005)
It's sickening really. It's sickening that we exist in the here and now and aren't, in fact, Californian teenagers in the 1970s who have basically just invented ramp skateboarding. Based on the real-life story of the Z-Boys (who were also immortalized in Stacy Peralta’s very good skate doc Dogtown and Z-Boys), Catherine Hardwicke’s Lords of Dogtown tells the story of some surf dudes who took their surfing style to the concrete and got really famous for it. Part rockstar story, part ocean-splattered Californian dream, this'll make you want to not just spend one summer at the beach but your whole life, man. You can watch Lords of Dogtown on Amazon Prime.
The Beach Bum (2019)
In what is surely one of Matthew McConaughey’s most spectacularly made-for-him roles, Harmony Korine’s The Beach Bum follows Moondog (McConaughey), a faded poet who spends his time smoking pot, getting turnt and living that slow-fast beach lifestyle. It’s possibly the closest that Korine has ever come to pure, fun comedy, without a simmering or disturbing undertone (although it has its flashes). Maybe the whole thing was too fun: After The Beach Bum, Korine kind of fell out of love with regular movies, telling GQ, “I just lost interest in normal films.” Don’t let that put you off this film though. It's like the summer you haven't had this year. You can watch The Beach Bum on Amazon Prime.
How to Have Sex (2023)
Molly Manning Walker’s highly acclaimed debut feature film isn't an easy watch—partly because it's just so realistic. Anyone who grew up in the UK and went on a post-A-levels piss up holiday in somewhere like Malia or Magaluf will recognize the constant drinking, cheesy chips on a night out, and general mayhem that permeates How to Have Sex. But again, while there are funny moments, this isn't a light-hearted beach flick. The film deftly explores themes of sexual consent, how sexual assault doesn't always look like we were raised to believe it did (random stranger hiding in bush) and the complicated feelings that can follow it. You can watch How to Have Sex on Amazon Prime.
The Endless Summer (1966)
While not technically a movie movie (it’s a documentary, released in 1966), The Endless Summer is too special not to mention. Shot on a $50,000 budget, the film follows surfers Mike Hynson and Robert August on a surfing trip around the world, from New Zealand to Australia, Ghana to South Africa, Tahiti to Hawaii. Essentially, the premise is this: is it possible to have an endless summer? And if so, what would it look like? According to this film, it would look like sparkling waves, glistening skylines, and tanned bodies flying through the ocean. You can watch The Endless Summer on Amazon Prime.
Spring Breakers (2012)
Harmony Corine’s effervescent 2012 cult classic is both a quintessential beach movie, and also so much more. Set primarily in St. Petersburg, Florida, Spring Breakers follows college students Brit, Candy, Cotty and Faith (Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Benson and Rachel Korine) as they attend wild beach parties in neon bikinis and soak up plenty of sun, sex, drugs and alcohol. As the film unfurls, their world slowly descends into a sort of weird and woozy fever dream, set to a bright, fizzy soundtrack of Skrillex and Ellie Goulding. Highlights include the girls singing Britney Spears’ “Everytime” around a piano in pink ski masks and sweat pants while clutching machine guns, and also Hudgens—formerly of High School Musical—saying the words: “Give me your motherfucking money or I'm going to shoot your fucking brains out.” You can watch Spring Breakers on Amazon Prime.
Triangle of Sadness (2022)
Part Titanic, part Cast Away, part White Lotus, part something you've never seen before, Ruben Östlund’s Triangle of Sadness was easily one of the smartest, most hilarious and absurd movies to have come out of 2022. Here's the premise: a bunch of rich, mostly good-looking people embark on what they assume will be a relaxing luxury cruise. The cruise—and I don't think this is spoiling too much, you can see from the trailer—comes to a juddering halt, and they wind up parked on a island. Class becomes meaningless, luxury unavailable and the hierarchy shuffles in ways that you'll gasp and laugh at. You can watch Triangle of Sadness on Hulu.
Rotting in the Sun (2023)
There are some films and TV shows—Girls, Bodies Bodies Bodies, Bottoms—that really hinge on the fun, colloquial dialogue, and Sebastián Silva’s Rotting in the Sun is definitely one of those. First, if you've not seen this one yet, be warned: there are a lot of dicks. Flaccid dicks. Hard ones. Dicks that are incidental. This is a film that is essentially about beaches and dicks. But what starts as a chill gay holiday soon becomes a murder mystery-type thriller, which will feel like those anxiety-inducing nightmares you have when you've accidentally killed someone and are desperately trying to cover up your tracks (no? just me?). You can watch Rotting in the Sun on Mubi.
The Beach (2000)
You didn’t think we’d put together a list of beach movies without including the mother of them all, The Beach, did you? Based on the 1996 Alex Garland novel of the same name, The Beach (directed by Danny Boyle) follows young traveller Richard (Leonardo Dicaprio) on his escapades around Bangkok, Thailand, before he eventually discovers a map to a secret, remote island inhabited by people wishing to live off grid, nicknamed “the beach”. When he finds it, the beach is beautiful – white sands, crystalline ocean, gorgeous young people living off the land. But what first seems like paradise quickly spirals into something a lot darker, more brutal and nightmarish.
When this film first came out, it received mixed to negative reviews and moderate box office success. In the two decades since, however, it’s become a much-loved time capsule of the era. So much so that the beach in which it’s actually filmed had to be shut down because it eventually became so trashed and overrun with tourists. Why must we ruin everything! You can watch The Beach on Amazon Prime.