“I’ve got this saying, ‘If you don’t care, you don’t scare,’” says Dangerous Animals director Sean Byrne, whose new horror film aims to shift the fear away from sharks and toward the real monster in the water: men. Sharks outlived dinosaurs, but will they outlive us? This year marks the 50th anniversary of Steven Spielberg’s Jaws and the last time anyone felt safe in the ocean, despite shark fatalities averaging in the single digits worldwide. Yet here I am, frequently afraid of a shark emerging from the drain in an Austin public pool.

“There’s a natural terror that comes from us more than them,” Byrne tells me. “But it doesn’t stop it being terrifying.” That tension is at the heart of shark horror in cinema, and raises the question: Do horror directors have a responsibility when it comes to the myths they create or sustain? A group of marine scientists thought so, prompting them to pen an open letter to Columbia Pictures voicing their concern over the potential impact of the depiction of sharks in The Shallows, marketed as “Jaws for a new generation.”

After the initial wave of Jaws rip-offs, the subgenre went quiet for a bit until 1999’s Deep Blue Sea brought sharks back to the mainstream, kicking off a new era of CGI-fueled Sharksploitation. “I’m not saying this is better than Jaws, but I am saying Jaws didn’t have LL Cool J and his song ‘Deepest Bluest (Shark’s Fin),” says Todd. No matter the era, shark movies aren’t here to win Oscars (although Jaws did bring home three), they’re here to deliver a thrilling and often bloody hilarious movie-watching experience.

With hundreds of shark movies out there today, we’ve narrowed it down to eighteen blood-in-the-water essentials, plus two documentaries to remind us that sharks aren’t villains, they just have really great smiles.

Dangerous Animals (2025)

“Finally the shark movie we deserve,” writes Cob, summing up the fresh take Byrne brings to Dangerous Animals, his long-awaited return to horror after The Loved Ones and The Devil’s Candy. The director, inspired more by gritty ’80s and ’90s action cinema than typical shark B-movies, crafts a tense and immersive experience where a serial killer, played by an electrifying Jai Courtney, exploits sharks as his weapon, challenging the genre while delivering visceral thrills. “I wanted the sharks to have real scars the same way humans do,” Byrne says, and real sealife footage, captured in 4K, grounds the film in startling realism. Reflecting on his research, Byrne concurs, “I was definitely getting more out of nature documentaries,” wanting the film to capture the raw, often misunderstood nature of sharks without demonizing them. Camille distills one of my big takeaways perfectly: “I’m never getting on a man’s boat ever again.”

Deep Blue Sea (1999)

Every year on my birthday, I make my friends watch this absolute banger. “Deep Blue Sea takes the concept of Jaws and gives the sharks bigger brains,” according to Slig. And just when you thought it was safe to turn off the movie, LL Cool J starts rapping over the film credits with lyrics like “Killer for centuries, the Gotti of the deep.” One of the most surprising kills of all time? Check. Quotable lines? Check. “Is Renny Harlin the king of making popcorn junk that works? Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe this is the best Jaws sequel,” ponders Anna. It spawned some sequels of diminishing returns, but the original is eternal.

Open Water (2003)

Loosely based on a true story, the low-budget, documentary-style approach of Open Water makes every bob in the ocean nerve-wracking. As Juli puts it, “No big name stars, no bells and whistles, and yet it manages to frighten those who can imagine themselves in this terrifying situation!” It may look like it was “shot on Samsung LG Smart Refrigerator,” according to Clementine, but that rawness only adds to its realism. The sequels don’t hold the same power, but this one stands alone as a minimalist horror triumph.

The Shallows (2016)

Blake Lively vs. Shark in a one-woman survival story that makes the most of its stripped-down setup. Sure, there are a few cheesy moments and a splash of dodgy CGI, but as Acoucalancha writes, “if you can forgive that, then it’s one hell of a fun movie!” The tight structure and inventive tension of The Shallows helped usher in a mini-wave of trapped-with-a-shark thrillers. When researching for Dangerous Animals, Byrne “really enjoyed The Shallows, and we talked a lot about Blake Lively’s performance and how, in a way, Zephyr was almost like the punk rock dirtbag version of that character.”

47 Meters Down (2017)

Mandy Moore is stuck in a cage at the bottom of the ocean. That’s the premise, and somehow it delivers exactly what you want and more. Tony agrees, “as a popcorn movie, this definitely delivers the goods. It’s tense as hell and has some really unexpected scares plus some well done jump scares.” The sequel, featuring blind cave sharks and John Corbett (Sex and the City, My Big Fat Greek Wedding) is a staple rewatch in my house. Both offer that uniquely terrifying “no way out” flavor of shark horror, and the ending of the first one is unforgettable.

Bait (2012)

What is it about sharks and extreme weather that make such a good pair? In this Aussie thriller, a tsunami traps shoppers inside a supermarket… with a great white shark. “Exactly what a B-movie about sharks in a supermarket should be—creative deaths, hot people, cute dog,” says Mark. We get a mash-up of disaster flick tropes and survival horror beats that knows exactly what it is and has fun with it, plus some surprisingly solid practical effects including several full-scale animatronic sharks. It’s never dull, and if you’re into high-concept creature features, Bait stocks the shelves.

Under Paris (2024)

“I thought Under Paris would be a jokey movie, like Sharknado, but Twitter convinced me to give it a watch, and it’s really quite good. The last 25 minutes were amazing.” Yes, that is a direct quote from Stephen King. Under Paris dives into the unexpected genre mash-up of eco-horror and international thriller with a shark wreaking havoc in the Seine. It stands out in the genre not just for the fact that it’s in French but for the sheer audacity of its premise. As Magnus writes, “The French can make good bad films too,” and this is a prime example. You’re not here for realism, you’re here for shark carnage during the Paris triathlon. Merci beaucoup.

Sharknado (2013)

The Syfy channel’s crown jewel of Sharksploitation. A shark-filled tornado tears through Los Angeles, and thankfully Tara Reid is there. It’s absurd, self-aware and wildly influential in the bad-shark movie boom of the 2010s. As Kaleb writes, “Tag yourself I’m the guy whose legs are getting mauled by a shark when ANOTHER shark falls out of the sky and bodyslams his head.” Meanwhile, Chloe asks, “Who let them make so many of these?” Fair question, but if you’re diving into the genre’s wildest depths, this is a cultural touchstone you can’t ignore.

Sharktopus (2010)

Produced by B-movie legend Roger Corman, Sharktopus is a delightfully absurd creature feature that trades tension for tentacles. It’s part of the Syfy lineage, but stands out for its sheer commitment to being exactly what it promises. Florapetrova suggests, “Watching it with your besties is priceless.” And I actually prefer shark movies that give us a mythological version of the real thing, deflecting our fear onto something that doesn’t exist in the real world… yet! Christian summarizes, “The pipeline of ‘movies that were once trapped at the bottom of a Walmart DVD bin’ to ‘movies that currently stream on Tubi’ is probably my favorite thing in all of cinema.”

Shark Night 3D (2011)

A reality TV-style revenge plot hidden in a glossy teen slasher setup, Shark Night 3D is like Dangerous Animals’ meaner cousin. Sara Paxton (Aquamarine) and Dustin Milligan (Hot Frosty) headline a surprisingly stacked cast for a shark flick. “The way this movie takes fifteen characters and develops none of them is nothing short of marvelous,” writes Gabe. It’s trashy, silly, and capped off with a jaw-dropping end credits music video. What is this trend of shark movie music videos? More please. Brianna says it best: “If a movie starts with a group of college students… and they run into a couple of rednecks, it is a good movie.”

Cruel Jaws (1995)

The infamous Italian Jaws 5 that wasn’t. Cruel Jaws is a bizarre cut-and-paste job from other shark films, including The Last Shark, Jaws itself and even some Star Wars music for good measure. It’s a copyright nightmare, but thankfully it exists. NotAnnaFaris dubs it “The Showgirls of shark movies,” and that comparison tracks: pure camp, with a weird energy that can’t be faked. SubToretto adds, “It feels so uncanny that this could possibly be from the ’90s… because technically a large percentage of it isn’t.” Essential outsider art.

Shark Attack 3: Megalodon (2002)

This movie is so legendary, I broke my own rule of including sequels on this list. A cult hit thanks to one of the most jaw-droppingly wild lines in any shark movie, or any movie full stop honestly. Watch the uncensored version, trust me. It’s chaotic, poorly made, yet unforgettable. You’ve definitely seen one of the many clips of this shark swallowing a raft of people or an entire Jet Ski. Justin nails the appeal, calling the film, “Basically The Room of terrible shark movies.” It’s so baffling it becomes brilliant. Watch it with friends and scream-laugh your way through it.

Mako: The Jaws of Death (1976)

Worth mentioning, because like Dangerous Animals, it’s one of few shark films that shows comion for sharks. “To the extent that this works, it works because of Richard Jaeckel, who gives a completely committed and dimensional performance as the lonely shark-lover who just wants what’s best for his undersea predator friends,” says Joe. Uniquely Florida, “it is the most imaginative sharksploitation film I’ve seen to date,” adds Jonney. Sadly, the movie’s comionate lens wasn’t mirrored behind the scenes, but its uniqueness in the genre can’t be denied.

Jaws: The Revenge (1987)

I know I said no sequels, but how could I resist this infamous oddity that works in such stark contrast to its predecessor? The shark roars! It follows a family from Amity to the Bahamas. It ends in a bizarre freeze-frame. Michael Caine, who missed his Oscar win to shoot this, iconically said, “I have never seen it… but by all s it is terrible. However, I have seen the house that it built, and it is terrific!” According to Ian, “Everyone knows or has something to say about this movie… for me, the word fascinating comes to mind.”

Blue Water, White Death (1971)

Before Jaws, there was this incredibly titled documentary. A real-life expedition to capture great whites on film for the first time, this doc was a huge influence on both Peter Benchley’s novel and Spielberg’s picture. Some scenes are hard to watch, particularly whaling sequences, but it’s a striking look at how little we knew about sharks at the time. I suggest watching Playing with Sharks beforehand to learn about legendary diver Valerie Taylor, who filmed the real sharks for Jaws, and get some historical context for how divers interacted with sharks at the time. As KParz notes, “divers believed that they needed to act aggressively/violently when they entered the water or they’d be attacked.” It captures that raw uncertainty and shows how sometimes real life is scarier than the movies.

Sharksploitation (2023)

If you’re working your way through this list, the Sharksploitation doc is essential viewing. A deep dive into the wild, bloody history of the genre, packed with interviews from filmmakers featured throughout this selection (plus legends like Roger Corman and Joe Dante). But what sets Sharksploitation apart is its genuine love for the real-life stars: sharks. It doesn’t shy away from the damage these movies have done to public perception and makes a strong case for conservation efforts, highlighting Peter Benchley’s own regrets post-Jaws. “A giant love letter to both shark movies and sharks themselves,” writes RANCID-SAM, “with a call for all of us to take some part in the conservation and preservation of this movie star creature that we love so much and the aquatic world they inhabit.” Essential viewing and a thoughtful companion to any fins-on-film marathon.