The blockbuster boom of the mid-1970s revolutionized the way Hollywood thought about film, deciding in the following decade to focus on ‘high-concept’ films whose plots could be summarized in a sentence or two. When paired with schools breaking out for summer vacation, the late 70s and early 80s led to the start of the ‘summer movie,’ a movie both released in, and set during the summer season, to attract teenage and young adult audiences. But what exactly is it about the three months from June to September that was so attractive in storytelling, and what makes those 80s summer movies so appealing?

To start, during childhood and adolescence, summer has always been a time for growth and change. Those few months between each school year were a time for haircuts, growth spurts, family moves, and all-around self-exploration. Because of this, it is no surprise that 1980s film executives developed a fascination with this timeframe to match their teen and coming-of-age movies throughout the decade.

This period started the group-of-boys-change-forever subgenre that is now referenced in shows and movies such as the Duffer Brothers’ Stranger Things (2016-Present) and Roadkill Superstars’ Summer of ‘84 (2018). The blueprint for this niche but endearing genre comes from films including Richard Donner’s The Goonies (1985), about a band of friends who discover a map for hidden pirate treasure, and Rob Reiner’s Stand By Me (1986), where four 12-year-olds go on a hike in search of a dead body. The summer setting allows these boys freedom from their parents and school, leaving them to their own devices as they dive head-first into adventures, exploring their friendships and the changing world around them.

Another reason the summer season was so popular in 80s cinema was because of the rise of the slasher film genre, which rose to fame following hits like Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) and John Carpenter’s Halloween (1978). In this low-budget, high-thrill genre, the location of a summer camp was often used as a backdrop for crazed murder sprees. The attractiveness of this setting is both in its familiarity, with many American children spending summers away at some point in their lives, as well as the isolation and lack of supervision, with campers and counsellors alike rarely being older than 21. This lack of supervision makes the young victims more vulnerable while opening the door for debauchery and promiscuity that places a target on the characters’ backs. The 1980s saw films like Sean Cunningham’s Friday the 13th (1980) and Robert Hiltzik’s Sleepaway Camp (1983) hit the big screen. Here, a hot summer night encouraged guys to wear crop tops and girls to wear bikinis, giving such films the perfect amount of sex appeal to draw in a teenage audience before dousing the screen in blood.

Another perfectly set classic of 80s American summer cinema is Emile Ardolino’s Dirty Dancing (1987), released in August of that year. Set in a holiday resort in the Catskills, the film primarily utilizes the summer season to explore the dynamics between the working class, such as the dance teachers, all working multiple jobs throughout the summer and the white-collar, college-educated hospitality staff and guests. Summer also becomes synonymous with change, both through Frances ‘Baby’ Houseman’s (Jennifer Grey) coming-of-age, as the story takes place during her summer before university and this period of the 1960s when American cultural norms were shifting. Additionally, in Dirty Dancing’s case, summer also serves as a tool to emphasize the sexual tension present throughout the film by allowing Johnny (Patrick Swayze) to be shirtless as he takes Baby outside to practice their dancing, thus making the sensuality and suggestiveness of the film more justifiable.

Though there are many reasons, both genre-specific and otherwise, why summer was so prominent and effective in 80s movies, perhaps the biggest reason behind its popularity is a lot simpler: the release schedule. Indeed, by the 80s, it had become apparent that summer was the most profitable time of the year for the film industry. Because of this, film’s settings were tailored to the time when they would be released. After all, it would have been hard to sell audiences on The Breakfast Club (1985, Hughes), set in high school detention in the middle of July when the last thing they wanted to think about was their looming return to real life.

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