Summary

• Killer shark movies can succeed by embracing the ridiculousness of the genre, like Sharknado and The Meg.
• Some killer shark movies take a more realistic approach to create suspense, but can still be successful despite potential pitfalls.
• There are a variety of killer shark movies, each with their own unique elements and varying levels of success.

When Jaws broke records with its killer-shark-meets-tasty-swimmers premise, Hollywood quickly realized that there was big money to be made from shark movies. In the years since 1975, dozens of filmmakers have tried jumping on the bandwagon – either by ripping off Jaws' shark element with another much-maligned animal, or just transposing the film's central setup to a new setting. Predictably, some efforts have been more successful than others.

There are several ways a best killer shark movies prove, the rewards – for both filmmakers and audiences – can be great.

15 Bait 3D (2012)

Rotten Tomatoes 44%, IMDb 5.2

Some thrilling moments and great shark action are somewhat mitigated by a ridiculous plot in Kimble Rendall's Australian horror-disaster. The movie plays like a combination of Alexandre Aja's excellent 2019 creature feature Crawl and Dawn of the Dead, with a great white shark stalking a group of tsunami survivors inside a mall. Several scenes are reminiscent of other, better shark movies, yet Bait 3D still manages to create some suspense. As such, it holds a respectable 44% rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes – a decent return in a genre beset by critical disasters.

14 Meg 2: The Trench (2023)

Rotten Tomatoes 27%, IMDb 5.0

Following Jason Statham's surprising success with the original The Meg, this throwback creature feature turns everything up to 11. Not content with retreading the previous film's giant extinct shark plot, Meg 2 introduces new elements to the franchise's growing lore, along with an impressive roster of never-before-seen creatures. Like any movie about a rampant prehistoric fish, Meg 2 is not overly concerned with trivialities like realism and scientific accuracy. Instead, it prioritizes schlocky thrills and kaiju-like action – and is all the better for it.

13 Sharktopus (2010)

Rotten Tomatoes 50%, IMDb 3.2

Many films can take a sensible-sounding premise and turn it into something terrible. Only a rare few can transform a patently stupid idea into something vaguely enjoyable. Sharktopus certainly does the latter. As its portmanteau title implies, the film's central villain is a bizarre hybrid between an octopus and a shark, capable of hunting its victims above and below the water. Part of Roger Corman's stable of laughable creature features, Sharktopus mixes knowing humor with hybrid animal action, ensuring that the end result is never anything less than entertaining.

12 47 Meters Down: Uncaged (2019)

Rotten Tomatoes 45%, IMDb 5.0

While silly shark movies can entertain, it's rare that they genuinely scare an audience. By contrast, serious killer shark movies may pare back the fishy carnage, but can create real moments of suspense. 47 Meters Down: Uncaged is a valiant attempt by director Johannes Roberts to do the latter – with some success. A follow-up to the financially lucrative 47 Meters Down, the sequel's twist – as the title implies – is that this time there's no cage. While this makes the protagonists more exposed, the movie's setting of a submerged Mayan cave network stretches credulity. Nonetheless, 47 Meters Down: Uncaged still delivers some exhilarating moments.

11 Sharknado 2: The Second One (2014)

Rotten Tomatoes 61%, IMDb 4.0

The Godfather of stupid shark movies, the Sharknado franchise's premise has become one of the most notorious in movie history. Following the original's breakout success was never going to be straightforward – yet Sharknado 2 manages to keep the meat-eorological mayhem feeling fresh. With a surprisingly strong ing cast including Tara Reid and Richard Kind, the movie embraces the silliness of its plot without taking things to the absurd extremes seen in later Sharknado installments. Its low-budget and daft premise may limit its potential, but Sharknado 2 is certainly a superior entry in the killer shark movies canon.

10 The Reef: Stalked (2022)

Rotten Tomatoes 68%, IMDb 4.1

A successor to Andrew Traucki's 2010 feature The Reef, The Reef: Stalked is a standalone sequel that delivers plenty of the bite that made the original a critical hit. Centering on a group of kayaking friends, the film makes great use of real great white shark footage and unseen threat to create a terrifyingly tense atmosphere. While its low budget results in a lack of spectacular set pieces, The Reef: Stalked makes up for it with oppressive suspense and a steady stream of jump scares. The movie's solid critical reception is a testament to its surprising quality.

9 Jaws 2 (1978)

Rotten Tomatoes 62%, IMDb 5.8

On the one hand, making any sequel to a movie as iconic and intrinsically standalone as Jaws feels like sacrilege. That said, despite the film's brazen attempt at a cash-grab, Jaws 2 is actually better than it has any right to be – and is certainly the best of the Jaws sequels. While Richard Dreyfuss declined to reprise his role, the movie is anchored by Roy Schieder's returning presence as Chief Brody, as well as other familiar faces like Lorraine Gary and Murray Hamilton. The movie also boasts its own impressive collection of memorable scenes to rival any killer shark movie, with the film's helicopter scene a particular highlight.

8 47 Meters Down (2017)

Rotten Tomatoes 53%, IMDb 5.6

Despite keeping the death count to a comparative minimum, 47 Meters Down successfully combines claustrophobic thrills with shark-based action. Like its follow-up, the film takes place in Mexico, following two sisters whose dream cage-diving trip goes disastrously wrong when their protective enclosure becomes a terrifying prison. Made for a comparatively microscopic $5.3 million, the movie made nearly 12 times its budget at the box office, highlighting its impact with audiences. While some felt that the ending twist failed to deliver, 47 Meters Down remains an enjoyable watch for genre enthusiasts.

7 Kon-Tiki (2012)

Rotten Tomatoes 81%, IMDb 7.1

A genuinely accomplished Academy Award contender, the only thing that prevents Kon-Tiki from featuring further up this list is the movie's comparative lack of killer sharks. Telling the true story of the Norweigan Kon-Tiki expedition, the film features a group of scientists struggling to sail across the Pacific Ocean from South America to Polynesia. On the way, the group is beset by natural and man-made obstacles, including a cabal of parrot-eating sharks. While the sharks themselves are not the real stars of the movie, their scenes are particularly tense moments that distill the danger of the whole voyage.

6 The Meg (2018)

Rotten Tomatoes 47%, IMDb 5.7

Although star Jason Statham is no stranger to preposterous movie premises, The Meg pushes the actor's ability to stick his tongue in his cheek right to the limit. And yet, despite its wild central idea, The Meg still manages to be more than a mindless B-movie. Following research into the unexplored recesses of the Mariana Trench, The Stath and his crew discover an untouched ecosystem preserving a wealth of weird and wonderful creatures – including giant megalodon sharks. As expected, the sharks then make it to the surface, unleashing wildly enjoyable carnage on unsuspecting beachgoers in the process.