10 Must-Add Songs For The Ultimate Slasher Summer Playlist

TV & Film

Jul 12

Slasher summer is a trend that was introduced to most of us last year on TikTok. While the summer slasher subgenre is not new, the idea of dedicating July and August to enjoying your favorite pieces of slasher summer content is. Last year, we did lists of the best books and movies to enjoy, but this year I wanted to do something a bit different and look at the 10 best songs to add to a slasher summer playlist.

One of the things that sets slasher summer films like Fear Street Part 2 apart from other slashers like Halloween is the film’s soundtrack. Slasher summer films almost always have the best soundtracks, and you must have the perfect playlist if you’re going to have the perfect slasher summer. If you don’t feel like you’re constantly at risk of being murdered by a slasher while listening to your playlist then you haven’t compiled the right songs, so here are the songs that I think are must-haves on a slasher summer playlist!

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10. “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” - Blue Öyster Cult

Blue Oyster Cult — Image Source: Spotify

This is one of my favorite songs of all time, and while it leans more towards spooky season than slasher summer, I had to include it. This song has been getting more attention recently thanks to Fortnite adding it to their list of Jam Tracks. Listening to this song just makes me feel like someone is lurking around outside waiting to break in! That is probably because the first time I ever heard this song was in Halloween when Laurie and Annie were being stalked by Michael.

9. “Rock Me Amadeus” - Falco

This song should be on every summer playlist, but especially on slasher summer playlists! The song is just infused with summer camp vibes, and if I heard this playing while a masked killer was skulking through the woods I wouldn’t even bat an eye. This song was also used in the most recent season of Stranger Things further securing the fact that it has the perfect creepy vibes.

8. “Psycho Killer” - Talking Heads

This song is so much fun no matter what time of year you’re listening. I can’t explain why this song fits so perfectly on this list, but once you listen to it you will understand! This song has been featured in shows like The Vampire Diaries and Stranger Things, but it has also been making its way into films like the cult classic Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon.

7. “Call Me” - Blondie

I feel like this is probably the most surprising song on this list, but every time I hear it I can just picture the heroine of the film getting ready in her cabin for what she thinks is going to be an idyllic day at camp. Unfortunately, everyone she knows is about to be murdered by a masked killer. It just fits so perfectly!

6. “Girls On Film” - Duran Duran

This is another song that I think just has slasher summer embedded in its soul. Every time I listen to this song I feel like I am being transported into an 80s slasher film. Sadly, this song hasn’t quite made its way into film and TV shows in the way that I think it should, and the only thing even horror-adjacent that it has been featured in is Stranger Things season two.

5. “Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)” - Eurythmics

This is another surprising song for the list that my husband suggested at the last minute. I never would have considered adding this song to a slasher summer playlist, but when you think about it in that context it is perfect! It is such an eerie song that fits so well with the overall vibe of this playlist.

4. “Into The Fire” - Dokken

This was another of my husband’s suggestions, and it is perfect. It was used in A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, and it is one of the most perfectly used songs in any horror film. I think Freddy Kreuger resides within the bars of this song because you can’t listen to it without expecting him to burst through your door at any moment.

3. “Talking In Your Sleep” - The Romantics

This song was made for slasher films. If I ever heard this song not in a slasher, it would feel completely out of place. The only place I have ever heard this song aside from the radio is in season two of Stranger Things and Five Nights At Freddy’s which is really sad because this song is epic.

2. “Tainted Love” - Soft Cell

This song feels so quintessentially slasher summer that I would have sworn I had heard it in dozens of shows and movies. After looking it up, I realized that I have never heard this song in a single horror film or TV show which is a shock and an absolute shame. I hope this is remedied in the near future because it is perfect!

1. “Cruel Summer” - Bananarama

This is one of my favorite songs of all time, and it fits the slasher summer vibe perfectly! This song has been featured in so much content, but I think that it was most perfectly used in American Horror Story 1984. This song is a blast for any summer playlist, but you could not call your playlist slasher summer if this song was not included.

You can listen to all of these songs plus some of my other favorite slasher summer songs on my Spotify playlist below.