Yahoo LifestyleThe 10 Best Shark Movies to Watch Now
- 1/11
The 10 Best Shark Movies to Watch Now
Dun. Dun duuuun.
Dun dun dun dun…Ever since the 1975 premiere of Steven Spielberg’s Jaws, there’s been something in the water in Hollywood. More specifically, a pointed fin just off the coast that will somehow manage to be the underlying conflict for an entire feature.
Sure, shark movies now have a bit of a camp feel to them, often loaded with outdated special effects and cheap gore. But, whether you’re seeking a thrill or some novelty nostalgia, the shark movie genre is still a wonderful canon to sink your teeth into. And there’s plenty to choose from outside of the Jaws franchise, including pre-Jaws shark flicks like Blue Water, White Death. (Though, it’s clear from the countless knock-offs that the blockbuster still reigns at the top of the food chain.)
Maybe you’re looking for some seasonal scares this summer, or maybe you need something to hold you over until next Shark Week. Either way, there’s plenty of fish in the sea that are sure to make your Jaws drop. Just maybe hold off on your movie night if you’re heading to the beach any time soon.
- 2/11
Jaws
Steven Spielberg’s iconic summer blockbuster Jaws is not just a great shark movie, but a great film. (Yes, there is a huge distinction between those two feats.) Spielberg’s ultra-suspenseful storytelling, accompanied by an unforgettable score by composer John Williams and performances by Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss, and Robert Shaw, makes Jaws a timeless tale of man versus man-eating beast. When a great white shark makes a murderous visit to a beach town, three men embark on an open-ocean hunt to kill the killer.
- 3/11
The Shallows
Blake Lively stars in this 2016 thriller as a young medical student whose recent loss of her mother causes her to seek solace at a secluded beach in Brazil. While surfing alone, she is injured by a shark attack - forcing her to flee to a nearby rock offshore where she begins to be encircled by the predator. What follows is an all-out fight to survive.
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- 4/11
Open Water
When a vacationing couple sets out on a scuba expedition, they emerge to find they’ve been mistakenly left behind by their tour boat. Add to the fact that there are sharks lurking just beneath them, and the two find themselves floating on the edge of life or death.
- 5/11
47 Meters Down
Ever seen people cage diving among sharks and thought, “Who the hell would want to do that?” Well, you might be onto something. Claire Holt and Mandy Moore star in this thriller as two sisters whose cage diving expedition goes awry when the cage is disconnected from the boat - leaving them with depleting oxygen in shark-infested waters.
- 6/11
Deep Blue Sea
Shark terror meets sci-fi in this 1999 film starring Saffron Burrows, Thomas Jane, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Rapaport, and LL Cool J. The film follows a group of scientists studying mako sharks at an underwater testing facility. However, the genetically engineered sharks soon go on a rampage, overtaking the facility in a series of disasters.
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- 7/11
The Meg
As its name might suggest (short for Megalodon), The Meg is a B movie by any means. But, who doesn’t want to watch Jason Statham rescue a crew at an underwater research facility from a 75-foot-long, prehistoric shark?
- 8/11
The Reef
In this Australian horror film, a group of friends’ vacation in Indonesia quickly takes a turn for the worse when their sailboat capsizes offshore. While attempting to swim their way to safety on a nearby island, they encounter a great white shark following their trail.
- 9/11
Blue Water, White Death
Peter Gimbel’s 1971 documentary Blue Water, White Death documents his crew’s hunt across the Indian Ocean to photograph a great white shark. With real, daring feats in shark-infested waters, and well-done filmmaking at its core, this is the film to watch if you’re looking to avoid cheap special effects and sink your teeth into something authentic.
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- 10/11
Jaws 2
While Jaws 2 pales in comparison to its original predecessor, it still is a fine addition to the shark canon as a whole. When rumors of a shark return to the shell-shocked Amity Island, Sheriff Brody’s precautions read as a “boy who cried shark” to local beachgoers. But it’s soon apparent that there is trouble on the horizon.
- 11/11
Shark Tale
Here’s a pup-friendly shark movie for good measure. Will Smith stars as a directionless fish who opportunistically claims that he is responsible for the recent killing of a shark. However, his plan for glory soon crumbles when the shark’s mob boss father seeks revenge. With voice acting performances from Robert De Niro, Renée Zellweger, Angelina Jolie, Jack Black, and Martin Scorsese, the film is as star-studded as it is light-hearted.
From 'Jaws' to 'The Meg,' these movies will help curb that desire to get out to the beach any time soon.
