Best Shark Movies

Jaws © 1975 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.

“Boys, oh boys… I think he’s come back for his noon feeding.” – Matt Hooper

On June 20, 1975 a thriller from a relatively unknown filmmaker was unleashed on unsuspecting theatre goers. That summer saw the birth of the blockbuster, the likes of which had never been seen before in cinemas.

Shark films are seemingly all the rage now. Last year was THE SHALLOWS, 1999 was the super fun DEEP BLUE SEA, this past weekend was the release of 47 METERS DOWN and in 2018 comes the intriguing MEG from Warner Bros. Pictures.

The science fiction action thriller MEG, directed by Jon Turteltaub, stars Jason Statham (“Spy,” “Furious 7,” “The Expendables” films) and Chinese actress Li Bingbing and is slated for release on March 2, 2018.

A deep-sea submersible—part of an international undersea observation program—has been attacked by a massive creature, previously thought to be extinct, and now lies disabled at the bottom of the deepest trench in the Pacific…with its crew trapped inside. With time running out, expert deep sea rescue diver Jonas Taylor (Statham) is recruited by a visionary Chinese oceanographer (Winston Chao), against the wishes of his daughter Suyin (Li Bingbing), to save the crew—and the ocean itself—from this unstoppable threat: a pre-historic 75-foot-long shark known as the Megalodon. What no one could have imagined is that, years before, Taylor had encountered this same terrifying creature. Now, teamed with Suyin, he must confront his fears and risk his own life to save everyone trapped below…bringing him face to face once more with the greatest and largest predator of all time.

While you’re celebrating the release of JAWS by watching it Tuesday, June 20^th, or looking for shark movie to watch before heading out to see 47 METERS DOWN, check out our list of SHARK films.

JAWS – “…what we are dealing with here is a perfect engine, an eating machine. It’s really a miracle of evolution. All this machine does is swim and eat and make little sharks, and that’s all.”  That statement by Matt Hooper in JAWS is pretty much the thriller in a nutshell. It’s the eating part that horrified movie goers and ocean swimmers alike in 1975. Ringing the dinner bell for Bruce the Great White Shark consisted of terrifying sequences of teeth, fins, swimmers and blood and no one was safe from being killed off. Frank Rich of The New York Times wrote, “some of the most frightening sequences in Jaws are those where we don’t even see the shark.” That is until you heard John Williams’ scary score announcing his arrival. JAWS set the standard for edge-of-your seat suspense quickly becoming a cultural phenomenon and forever changing the movie industry. JAWS won 3 Oscars including Best Score, Editing and Best Sound and nominated for Best Picture. Without a doubt, Spielberg’s masterpiece is what make JAWS We Are Movie Geeks #1 pick as the behemoth of all shark movies.

LAKE PLACID – Yep, not a shark movie, but it may as well have been. It’s pretty much JAWS set on a lake, but it was so much fun the summer of 1999. First off, who in their right mind goes swimming in a lake? That’s what pools are for! But if you decide to venture into your nearby lake, you’re on your own and risk running into all sort of nasty beasties, including a gigantic killer crocodile.

OPEN WATER – Presented in the cinemas at water level, holy moly, and fully aware that this will not end well, OPEN WATER was a surprise hit out of the film festival circuit. It gave the whole phrase FREAK OUT MOVIE a new meaning. Two divers, a husband and wife, return to the surface only to discover that their charter has left and they are literally in open water. The ending is still chilling.

THE SHALLOWS – In the 2016 thriller THE SHALLOWS, Nancy (Blake Lively) is surfing alone on a secluded beach when she is attacked by a great white shark and stranded just a short distance from shore. Though she is only 200 yards from her survival, getting there proves the ultimate contest of wills. “Surfing alone on a secluded beach” Okay, right there you’d have to ask yourself, should I be doing this? But then we wouldn’t have a movie – and one that was really, really terrific! Blake Lively was our hero last summer with her courage, smarts and tenacity in facing the shark.

DEEP BLUE SEA – Have you ever heard the phrase, “white knuckling it”? Exactly describes Renny Harlin’s awesome, frenzied 1999 shark movie and it still grabs us every time it shows up on cable. Good plan to alter sharks to make them smart and intelligent.  LL Cool J, and his snarky lines, express what the audience is thinking. “Ooh, I’m done! Brothers never make it out of situations like this! Not ever!” Playing the preacher and cook, he has the best scene in the film, even over Samuel L. Jackson’s demise, surviving the sharks by climbing into one of his stoves. Being trapped below the surface in a laboratory while sharks are hunting you down made for one scary ride.

47 METERS DOWN – “Cage goes in the water, you go in the water. Shark’s in the water. Our shark.” Couldn’t be helped when the first trailer was released showing the two sisters jumping into the cage to watch the sharks on a holiday excursion. JAWS obviously came to mind. 47 METERS DOWN film is RIDICULOUS scary! Besides the sharks, and plunging to the ocean floor… they are constantly showing how much air they have left, so you are in a full blown panic. Audiences screamed out loud like 3 times during the opening weekend. And the end is sooooooooo brutal!!!!!!! BRUTAL!!!! You will have all that shark terror in your head when leaving the theater. The film left us scared witless and it is without a doubt a great summer movie!!

A definite must-see in the theater.

And for those of you wondering where Sharknado is? You DO NOT put the Syfy TV movie in the same list as JAWS!! Your movie geek card will be revoked.

Contributed by Melissa Thompson, Cate Marquis and Michelle Hannett.