Scarecrow Video will always be a Seattle gem. The nonprofit video store is a mecca for movies and physical media, stocking more than 150,000 films in its library, from popular classics to titles you can’t find anywhere else. However, like many valuable arts organizations, they need the public’s support to survive. In June, Scarecrow staff put out an SOS—Save Our Scarecrow—and announced that they need to raise $1.8 million before the end of 2024. Kate Barr, Scarecrow treasurer and board member, says the fundraising is a “marathon, not a sprint.”

“If those big, moneyed angel donors don’t show up at our door, then the other way that this could really work is if we have a grassroots effort that catches fire,” said Barr. “Maybe it’s just people who give small amounts, but it’s a lot of people being able to give small amounts, and that turns the tide. The largest number of people that we serve on a day-to-day basis, and have forever, are people of limited means. The home video revolution was all about affordability.”

It’s never too late to pitch in and start renting movies—and Scarecrow has both in-person and rent-by-mail programs. In the spirit of the season, I compiled a list of some of my favorite summer features, from dynamic dramas to fun horror flicks. As for Barr, she says her summer pick is the 1973 classic American Graffiti, which, along with all the films listed below, is available now in the Scarecrow’s extensive library.

Do the Right Thing 

Dir. Spike Lee (1989)

Spike Lee’s masterpiece remains a scorcher of a film that is not just one of the best in his career, but one of the greatest American movies ever made. The film, often credited for bringing 1980s streetwear to the mainstream thanks to Ruth E. Carter’s iconic costume design, is set during the hottest day of the summer in a Brooklyn neighborhood. It’s both an intimate character study and a bright, bold portrait of an era, and just as essential all these decades later as it was when it was first released on June 30, 1989.

Jaws

Dir. Steven Spielberg (1975)

Some films remain at the front of our minds for a reason, and Steven Spielberg’s spectacular summer blockbuster about a small town’s shark problem will always have a home in my brain, tucked between the films it inspired, including Godzilla Minus One and Nope. It’s killer in every regard, from the terrifying-in-its-subtlety opening scene to Robert Shaw’s USS Indianapolis monologue to the film’s glorious, blood-soaked finish. It’s a scrappy film that moves with complete and utter confidence, creating as much tension with all you don’t see as it does with what you do.

Midsommar

Dir. Ari Aster (2019)

The most recent film on this list is also one of its most menacing. Many of Midsommar’s horrors play out in blindingly bright daylight, as a pack of students are ritualistically picked off one by one over the course of a mysterious nine-day midsummer festival at a rural Swedish commune. The more the petrifying tapestry unfolds—slowly and methodically, making its cut feel even deeper and more jarring—the more you find yourself getting swept up in the film’s unsettling, visceral vision. If you’re searching for a memorable breakup film—summer love rarely lasts—look no further than what Ari Aster offers here. Better yet, Midsommar would also make for quite a bonding experience when watched with a date… but maybe wait until you’re a little further into the relationship.

Moonrise Kingdom

Dir. Wes Anderson (2012)

Wes Anderson often gets (unfairly) pigeonholed as a one-note whimsy machine, but he proves he is so much more in the brilliant Moonrise Kingdom, where we see his habitual sweetness offset with somberness. It makes for something truly special, the way it sneaks up on you. Set during the summer of 1964, as two youths attempt to run away together into the wilderness of a fictional island, Moonrise Kingdom is a gorgeous yet gentle film with plenty of biting humor sprinkled throughout. When it all comes together, it’s the perfect summer watch if you’re looking to feel some melancholy. 

The Graduate

Dir. Mike Nichols (1967)

A withering dramedy that pulls no punches as it builds to one of the most iconic and haunting endings ever put to screen, The Graduate remains as clear-eyed as ever. Its central subject, Benjamin Braddock (played by a new-to-Hollywood Dustin Hoffman), is a woefully aimless youth, but the film wanders through his summer after college graduation, when the full scope of life supposedly stretches before you. This film never misses a step and the mundanities and insecurities of its characters are laid bare in a way few movies have achieved since. If you’ve never seen it, get ready for that final scene to rip your soul out. 

Thelma & Louise

Dir. Ridley Scott (1991)

It’s a tale as old as time: Two friends take a summer road trip that quickly goes off the, uh, rails. But Thelma & Louise has maintained its firepower more than 30 years after its release. Whenever we look back on the great American road trip movies, this will forever remain at the top, thanks to excellent performances by both Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis. Whether you’ve seen it a thousand times before or this summer will be your first watch, it’s always thrilling to see these women hit the road one last time.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

Dir. Tobe Hooper (1974)

All modern movies owe a debt to the late Tobe Hooper’s grimy, gruesome, and ultimately graceful gem of a horror film. Not only did it carve out its place in the slasher canon, but genre cinema itself will forever live in the shadow it still casts. It follows a group of young people who set out on a drive in the stifling summer heat of Texas. They soon run into a bit of trouble on the road, which threatens to end not just their trip—dun dun duuuun—but their lives. Though it spawned many sequels, it’s this outstanding first 1974 installment that started it all, and it remains the pinnacle. The closing scene alone, which culminates in a beautifully brutal and deadly last dance, will carve itself into your psyche.

The Wicker Man

Dir. Robin Hardy (1974)

If anyone ever asks you to go to an isolated island with no backup to investigate a mysterious disappearance, you should definitely do it. After all, if The Wicker Man’s story tells us anything, is that the questionable adventure would certainly make for a great movie. Following a sergeant who finds himself an outsider in a remote community that’s preparing for its May Day celebration, the film slowly ratchets up the growing dread. It’s both deeply unsettling and consistently visually vibrant—a foundational work of folk horror that puts all other films about faith to absolute shame.