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“Jaws” (1975)
No shark movie could exist without Steven Spielberg’s “Jaws.” The Martha’s Vineyard-filmed feature tracks the havoc that a massive, merciless great white shark wreaks on a beach town at the height of tourist season. When local Police Chief Martin Brody (Roy Scheider) asks to shut down the beach, the mayor (Murray Hamilton) refuses out of fear of ruining the town’s economy. With the help of a jaded shark hunter (Robert Shaw) and young oceanographer (Richard Dreyfuss), Brody attempts to take out the shark once and for all. Despite a few disappointing sequels, the original “Jaws” gave audiences the taste for a completely new type of movie and is still often regarded as the greatest shark movie of all time.
“Deep Blue Sea” (1999)
After several years of “Jaws” copycats, “Deep Blue Sea” introduced an era of new, wholly original shark movies. The film follows a group of scientists — led by Dr. Susan McCallister (Saffron Burrows) — in their attempt to cure Alzheimer’s disease via ethically-ambiguous experimentation on sharks’ brains. When a violent storm hits their oceanic research facility while the skeptical pharmaceutical president (Samuel L. Jackson) is visiting, it becomes clear that the genetically-altered sharks have a nefarious agenda. The crew members, including the savvy chef (LL Cool J) and mysterious shark wrangler (Thomas Jane), band together to fight their way to safety.
“Open Water” (2003)
“Open Water” remains one of the more realistic shark movies to date, thanks in large part to the use of real shark footage. The movie follows Daniel (Daniel Travis) and Susan (Blanchard Ryan), a couple who attempt to work on their struggling relationship while on a scuba-diving vacation. It’s only once the pair realize that their boat has accidentally left them behind during an excursion that things take a turn for the worse. The two struggle against the elements, jellyfish, and, finally, a pack of sharks. The story is made all the more chilling by the fact that it’s loosely inspired by the real scuba-diving disappearance of a couple in 1998.
“Mega Shark Versus Giant Octopus” (2009)
Not to be confused with 2010′s “Sharktopus,” “Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus” chronicles the high-stakes battle of two ancient beasts off the coast of California. Thanks in part to global warming and a military blunder, a prehistoric megalodon and octopus are released from their glacial hibernation. Nothing is safe from the pair’s deadly reach — including people, planes, and the Golden Gate Bridge — and much like “Godzilla vs. Kong,” the only thing able to destroy one creature is the other. Starring Lorenzo Lamas and Debbie Gibson, the movie is one of the more absurd entries on this list and illustrates a shift toward low-quality, straight-to-DVD (but still very much beloved) shark movies.
“The Reef” (2010)
When a man (Damian Walshe-Howling) enlists his friends to help him on a yacht delivery, he is expecting a breezy trip. When their boat hits a coral structure (the titular “Reef”), the group is forced to evacuate the sinking ship. Stuck in the middle of the ocean, they attempt to swim to safety but realize that they are being stalked by a shark. The great white provides most of the scares by slowly picking off group members one by one, but the movie also serves as a psychological thriller about desperation and persistence.
“Sharknado” (2013)
While “Sharknado” is one of the more ludicrous shark movies out there, it also has a remarkably devoted fanbase (enough to spur on five sequels.) The made-for-TV movie is exactly what it sounds like: a storm floods Los Angeles with shark-infested water and the sharks get swept up into an oncoming tornado. An estranged couple (Ian Ziering and Tara Reid) is forced to work together to keep their family alive as the sharknado tears apart the city. Equal parts absurd and unexpectedly earnest, the movie helps define the comedic side of the shark sub-genre.
“The Shallows” (2016)
Following a decade of mostly farcical shark flicks, “The Shallows” represents a return to the basics with a simple man (in this case, woman) vs. animal formula. After getting bitten by a great white shark while surfing on a secluded beach, grieving medical student Nancy (Blake Lively) finds refuge on a rock in the middle of a cove. Injured and racing against high tide, she notices that the shark is circling her and on the hunt. Thanks to a helpful wristwatch, a red buoy, and some medical know-how, Nancy starts to fight back (and finds the will to live along the way).
“47 Meters Down” (2017)
When Kate (Claire Holt) convinces her heartbroken older sister, Lisa (Mandy Moore), to go swimming with sharks while on vacation, they think that a metal safety cage will be their saving grace. The enclosure becomes their downfall when its cable snaps and it plummets to the ocean floor (“47 Meters Down” below the surface). Faced with a limited air supply in their oxygen tanks and increasingly curious sharks, Kate and Lisa must find a way to get to the surface. In addition to the sharks, the sisters (who lied about their scuba experience and are, in fact, novices) have to grapple with the hallucinogenic effects of nitrogen narcosis. The film becomes as much about sharks as it is about the ties that bind sisters together.
“The Meg” (2018)
After grossing over half a billion dollars at the worldwide box office (per Box Office Mojo), “The Meg” marks one of the most commercially successful summer shark blockbusters of all time. The movie marries the tropes of a big-budget action film with classic comedic elements, thanks mainly to a stellar cast that includes Jason Statham, Li Bingbing, and Rainn Wilson. The film follows a group of scientists who discover an ancient megalodon at the bottom of the Marianas Trench. When the meg escapes to surface level and begins to roam the ocean, killing everyone in its wake, the group takes it upon themselves to put a stop to the beast — or die trying.
Lillian Brown can be reached at brownglillian@gmail.com. Follow her on Twitter @lilliangbrown.
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