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For nearly 50 years, it hasn’t been safe to go back into the water. Thanks, “Jaws.”
The big screen has played host to a never-ending spate of troublesome man-eating sharks ever since Steven Spielberg’s killer-fish spectacle. Next up is another pretty large catch: Action hero Jason Statham has a rematch with gigantic prehistoric megalodons – think the “Jurassic Park” version of the usual dorsal-finned nightmare – in the sequel “Meg 2: The Trench” (in theaters August 4).
Audiences have a deep hunger for these underwater antagonists so in honor of Shark Week, we’re ranking the top 10 shark movies ever. (It’s probably worth noting that, like with basketball comedies, the quality has a quick drop-off after the first few.) And sorry, “Sharknado.” We’re excluding made-for-TV flicks from our list, but you, “Ghost Shark” and “Sharktopus” are still cool.
10. ‘Bait’ (2012)
It’s got chintzy effects and doesn’t know if it wants to be a disaster film or a shark movie, but at least it flips the script on the “Jaws” template. An out-of-nowhere tsunami floods a grocery store and leaves a pack of survivors trying to find their way out, as well as avoid the deadly great white that’s swimming through the waterlogged aisles.
9. ’47 Meters Down’ (2017)
Two sisters, played by Mandy Moore and Claire Holt, make the unfortunate decision to go cage-diving in Mexico to see sharks up close, and – shocker! – things do not go to plan. It’s a pretty simple plot, where the women have to escape their cage at the dark bottom of the ocean and not get eaten, made a lot better by the smart use of lighting to ratchet up the scares.
8. ‘Deep Blue Sea 3’ (2020)
The proudly B-movie “Deep Blue Sea” franchise has a penchant for seriously bonkers shark attacks. This third installment is no different: Tania Raymonde plays the head of a group of video-blogging environmentalists on a man-made island in the Mozambique Channel, and her marine biologist ex (Nathaniel Buzolic) shows up with a goon squad hunting a trio of genetically engineered, crazy-smart bull sharks. (Fun fact: You’ll root for the fish.)
7. ‘Jaws 2’ (1978)
Imagine the pressure of following “Jaws” without Steven Spielberg and two of your top actors. But unlike the two sequels that came later, this follow-up wasn’t absolute chum. The shark is still crazy destructive – even taking on a helicopter – but what’s neat here is the return of Roy Scheider as the police chief who’s voted out when the powers-that-be don’t believe another beast is in the water, but who saves the day anyway.
‘Jaws’: All of Steven Spielberg’s movies, definitively ranked
6. ‘The Meg’ (2018)
It does give you the hand-to-fin combat you want from Jason Statham battling a 75-foot-long prehistoric shark, but getting there is a bit arduous: A bunch of researchers plumb new depths off the coast of Shanghai and accidentally unleash the Meg. It’s all pretty corny and earnest until the ginormous shark starts wreaking havoc on ships and people in inner tubes.
5. ‘The Reef’ (2010)
A bunch of Australian friends (including a pair of lovers) sailing a yacht to Indonesia crash their boat on a coral reef and are stranded in the middle of the ocean. Their only hope is to get to a nearby island, a situation made harder – and much more tense – by a clever great white, noteworthy for being a real shark rather than a CGI one like most films use. Extra points for a headless giant turtle corpse.
4. ‘Open Water’ (2023)
This Sundance Film Festival breakout used real sea life to add all-too-realism to its worst-case vacation scenario. A married couple goes on a scuba expedition to help their relationship and winds up getting stranded, with jellyfish stinging and sharks circling. It’s an unnerving narrative that aims for authentic emotions and some very hard decisions when it comes to survival.
3. ‘The Shallows’ (2016)
The prettiest shark movie you’ll ever see, it’s essentially “Let’s go surfing with Blake Lively in paradise” until her character becomes the target of a hungry shark. A scene-stealing seagull is her only confidante as she tends to a really nasty leg bite – luckily, she’s pre-med! – and uses her smarts (and a flare gun) to foil the shark’s meal plans.
2. ‘Deep Blue Sea’ (1999)
Sure, the ridiculous factor is high when you consider that the sci-fi thriller centers on super-duper-smart sharks born from the studies of scientists working on an Alzheimer’s cure. But it totally owns that silliness in an enjoyable way, like a shark using a dude strapped to a gurney as a battering ram. Bonus: The film offers up an all-time great movie death, a joyously gnarly munch you don’t see coming until it’s too late.
1 ‘Jaws’ (1975)
The seafaring masterpiece sinks every other shark movie in its utter perfection. Hollywood’s first summer blockbuster is aces across the board, from sheer terror to the unforgettable John Williams score (which keeps the dread going even sans toothy predator). But what really elevates the film from creature feature to complex shark-ridden drama is the trio of main characters, including top cop Brody (Scheider), nerdy oceanographer Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) and Ahab-esque hunter Quint (Robert Shaw).
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