Shark Movies Ranked

Intro of Shark Movies Ranked

Ever since Peter Benchley released his best-selling novel Jaws in 1974. With story inspiration being pulled from the real life 1914 Jersey Shore shark attacks. The novel was instantly picked up for a movie adaptation. One that still remains high as my favourite film of all time. After the wild success of Jaws we started to see a spring of nature horror movies. Some were a bit more creative and chose to change the titular creature/animal. Orca, Grizzly, Alligator, and Piranha are all examples of this. Yet what was more unbearable was the slew of increasingly campy killer shark movies. So with that being said let’s look at Shark Movies Ranked!

Image Source: NPR

5- Shallows

Image Source: Roger Ebert

The Shallows is an amazing film and is perfectly cast. Blake Lively gives the best performance out of any films on this list. However it ranks so low for me due to the way they kill off the shark. It frustrates me because it goes against every instinct of the Great White shark. Having the shark attack from above and impale itself on spikes, when in nature they attack from below. It is creative but it just goes against their actual hunting techniques and as such loses impact as an ending. I’m not against films going against laws of nature if its already established in the story.

Sadly The Shallows is a very realistic take on the killer shark movie. Which just makes the ending seem that much more out of place for me. It has to be said that this is in no way a bad movie. It’s a fantastic movie with great locations, cinematography, and score. It just doesn’t have the best ending in my opinion.

4- Bait

Image Source: IMDB

Bait is an Australian production in where a supermarket is flooded with sea water and with it comes sharks. Great White sharks. The premise is a bit daft but at the same time brilliant for this genre of film. But that’s not all also trapped inside are a couple of criminals who were in the middle of robbing the store. However, where Bait delivers more than the Shallows is its creativity and entertaining. Bait has numerous scenes I can still remember vividly years after watching for example the most memorable scene for me was the one involving the meat hook and live prey. The criminals add more tension to the already stressful situation and their story arcs are enthralling to watch.

3- Meg

Image Source: Filmaffinity

Based on the bestselling novel series by Steve Alten the Meg exploded onto cinemas in 2018. Starring Jason Statham and using his star power to its advantage, the film excels at its action. Choosing to throw logic out the window at times for spectacle really help the film be as enjoyable as it is to watch. Multiple scenes from the film still stand out and will remain vivid in memory. The blend of tension, thriller, and action is truly the core of what makes The Meg a phenomenal film. It’s sequel Meg 2: The Trench is due out later this year and depending on how well the sequel is, it may top Deep Blue Sea to be Jaw’s true rival.

With several instalments in the book series there is plenty to pull from for inspiration. It is about time we got a true shark series of films other than the laughable Sharknado series.

2- Deep Blue Sea

Image Source: Mental Floss

The true spiritual successor to Jaws. Deep Blue Sea was the first killer shark film to truly prove another team of creatives could do a killer shark film justice. The unique Alzheimer’s cure research utilizing drugged Mako sharks was very intriguing. One the sequels follow up on and flesh out, although they switch from Makos to Bull sharks. The inclusion of LL Cool J’s character and his parrot remains the most iconic character in the genre outside of Jaws. The ending was also reshot as test audiences didn’t like the main female lead. They thought she shouldn’t escape scott-free when she held most of the blame for the resulting tragedy

The resulting reshoot fits into the movie perfectly and you couldn’t even tell it wasn’t planned. Deep Blue Sea stars a well-known cast with Samuel L Jackson and Michael Rappaport featuring in the film and both dying in the best shock scenes in the movie.

1 – Jaws

Image Source: CNN

International bestselling novel. Highest grossing film of all time upon release. Academy award winning soundtrack by John Williams- which exploded William’s career and he is now known as the best composer in the industry. With Williams having the second highest number of Oscars to his name, second only to Walt Disney. It is the reason so many hold a healthy respect of the water.

Simply put Jaws is the best nature horror film of all time. It is brilliantly shot and scored; the casting is perfect. And the creativity found in all aspects of production is awe inspiring. The film pioneered the P.O.V troupe we see in so many horror movies to this day. It truly deserves the highest of acclaim. One can understand the frustrations of Spielberg when he lost out of the best picture Academy Award for his work directing Jaws. The film is truly a masterpiece.  

Image Source: IMDB

Click here for more articles by me!

Look at my other writing here!

Pre-order my upcoming book here!