It's summer 2024. The days are getting long and hot. The Texas inferno is officially upon us. And yet, hope is on the horizon...
No, that's not a mirage you're seein' - it's the shadowy form of Phantom Fest creeping its way back to Austin this fall with its latest batch of film, art, culture, and spookiness. Updates are coming soon - join our Mailing List here to be the first to know details when they drop.
In the meantime, hunker down, keep cool, and read on for the 2024 Phantom Fest team's take on must-have summer culture content.
3 songs on your summer playlist are:
Bethany-Jo:
“You Gotta Be” by Des’ree “Summer Time High Time” by Cuco “Inside Out” by Eve 6
My summer jams usually consist of 90’s nostalgia. I crave for the days when I was a kid swimming, camping, and chillin’ at the BBQ all the while listening to my dad’s Tejano jams and 90’s radio.
Jordan:
“Next Time Around” by Little Joy
The drummer from The Strokes was in a Brazilian alt-pop supergroup and it was awesome.
“The Swimming Song” by Loudon Wainwright III
It’s so happy-sounding but I also think he's just survived an existential crisis.
“Living In the City” by Hurray For The Riff Raff
They're like a Puerto Rican, millennial Springsteen and I mean that in the best way possible.
Adam:
“California Sun” by The Ramones
“Cruel Summer” by Bananarama
“Dance the Night” by Dua Lipa.
A good summer playlist is filled with possibility and should remind you of a cool breeze and “tasty waves,” as Jeff Spicoli would say. (Full disclosure: I haven’t surfed a day in my life.)
The best summer horror film is:
Jordan:
It’s too hot to pay much attention in the summer, so I fall back on nostalgic movies that I’ve seen a bunch, like Creature From the Black Lagoon. And honestly upon modern viewing, it still hits. (We need to normalize shorter hemlines on men’s swimsuits again! Gill-Man was an eco-warrior! A woman created the design of the monster but her male co-worker stole the credit and that’s some bullshit!)
Adam:
The Descent. As the other Phantoms have rightly said, there are a tremendous number of brilliant summer horror selections and films like Jaws have transformed the summer experience forever. But give me arguably the scariest movie of the last century. Neil Marshall’s story of a spelunking trip gone wrong is a savage tale of self-preservation, mixing real life terrors with things that go bump in the night. And it contains one of the best alternate endings ever created.
Bethany-Jo:
Sleepaway Camp, hands down. What could be better than a summer camp gender-bendy slasher?
There are SO MANY incredible summer horror films from classics like Jaws, slashers like Friday the 13th and nostalgic ones like IT to films like the more recent and purposefully-crafted Midsommer. But the first film that I think of when I think about summer horror, is the incomparable Sleepaway Camp. Taking place at a summer camp equipped with mean girls, horny camp counselors, a gender bending twist, incredible POV shots, and one of the best movie quotes of all time: “Eat shit and live.”
My childhood summer movie crush was:
ADAM:
Katie Finnerty from Wet Hot American Summer!
Crushes at summer camp are pretty much mandatory growing up. Enter Katie Finnerty (Marguerite Moreau), the sugar-sweet girl next door who Gerald “Coop” Cooperberg (Michael Showalter) literally falls head over heels for. She’s down to Earth, gorgeous, and the type of girl you’d want to take home to mom. But there’s one big problem with this picture, kids, and that’s just it. Summer camps are minefields of infatuation, no place for anyone who wants to make a good thing last. And wouldn’t you know it? Katie confirms these feelings to Coop in a soul-crushing, albeit hilarious, pledge to stick with her bad boy boyfriend Andy (Paul Rudd) at the end of the film. Cruel summer, indeed.
BETHANY-JO:
Benny “The Jet” Rodriguez. What more can I say? No one can ever pull off P.F. Flyers the way Benny “The Jet” Rodriguez did in The Sandlot. He made my prepubescent heart race and face flush with the heat of lustful shame.
JORDAN:
I watched Wild America A LOT, which has both JTT & Devon Sawa serving floppy-haired gangly teen magnetism. Cute young aspiring filmmakers who love the natural world? Swoon.
The perfect summer day in Austin would include:
BETHANY-JO: Going to the Paramount to watch a Summer Classic Film Series double feature. The Paramount will always hold a special place in my heart. It is quintessential Austin if you ask me, and I am from here so my opinion is obviously super important. Follow that film up with my favorite diner burger at Dan’s, followed up by some time at Barton Springs, preferably from 9pm - 10pm for the free swim. Then I like to end the night at Sandy’s for some frozen custard. Add a little walk/drive from Sandy’s over to Auditorium Shores to finish off that frozen custard is always ideal.
JORDAN: I’d drag myself out of bed early in the morning before it hits 100, find some water and trees, string up a hammock and read. Then I’d pick up coffee from my faves at Figure 8 before joining Bethany-Jo at the Paramount summer film series downtown to escape the heat. Once the sun is down I’d find some live music at a go-to spot down south (Sagebrush, Sam’s Town Point, or C-Boys can usually be counted on to deliver).
Adam:
Any day that isn’t so hot that it mirrors me mimicking the nuclear holocaust scene from Terminator 2: Judgment Day. First stop is to get an iced coffee from a spot like Epoch, Patika, or Radio (Honestly there are about 100 coffee shops I love going to). Then I follow that up with a film at a local theater or rent a video from Video Vortex at Alamo Drafthouse. Spend some of the afternoon grabbing a snow cone and going to Cidercade, and then grab a Frozen Gin & Tonic and multiple items off the mouthwatering menu from Loro. The throughline here is a perfect summer day in Austin is NOT SPENT OUTSIDE. IYKYK.
What are you reading this summer?
ADAM:
The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music by Dave Grohl
Dave Grohl has not-so-quietly become one of the most influential artists of all time, and his recollection of his life’s journey is sure to be equal parts insightful and inspiring.
JORDAN:
I like to juggle wildly different books at the same time so I can switch it up. Alienated Majesty Books is a great local shop I could spend hours in.
Fiction: I've got the third and final book from Stephen Graham Jones’s horror “Indian Lake Trilogy" - so excited to finish the series.
Non-fiction: I’m gonna keep educating myself on Palestinian liberation by making use of these free e-books.
BETHANY-JO:
Black Metal: Evolution of the Cult by Dayal Patterson
I am fortunate enough to have grown up with a mother who filled our home with music as well as supported my sisters and I to explore and seek out new music from all genres. Over time Metal has become one of my all-time favorite genres.
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