You’re gonna need a bigger screen. But that’s only if you want to take in the full awesome glory of earth’s bitiest avenger: the shark! It’s the only apex predator we humans have cleared time from our busy schedule to pay humble tribute to (we’ve certainly never heard of Sperm Whale Week), Rotten Tomatoes likewise took the time to put together our list of the best shark movies (and the worst) ever — all ranked by Tomatometer.
Our love/hate cinematic relationship with sharks began with directing legend Samuel Fuller and his aptly titled Shark! in 1969, a movie which effectively killed his career for a decade, until 1980’s The Big Red One. Here was a lesson most people would take wisdom from (sharks, even the ones you make up, are not to be trifled with), but it takes a certain cavalier breed to make it as a director, forging ahead where others spectacularly failed.
Enter Steven Spielberg. His 1975 masterpiece Jaws, infamous in almost destroying the young auteur mentally and professionally, would become the first-ever blockbuster. It buoyed the summer season out of the doldrums and turned it into a big-budget movie destination, while instilling a real fear of deep water for a whole generation. Recently, we’ve added forty new reviews and updated its Tomatometer score!
It’s been open season for shark movies in Hollywood ever since, and in the ensuing decades we’ve gotten camp classics (Sharknado), modern hits (TheShallows), the lovable (Deep Blue Sea), and the very much not-so (Ghost Shark).
And we’ve teamed up with Fandango at Home for a shark movie sale page!
Now that we’re all chums caught up on some fishy history, continue on to see every shark movie ever that chomped up a Tomatometer! —Alex Vo
Critics Consensus: Compelling, well-crafted storytelling and a judicious sense of terror ensure Steven Spielberg's Jaws has remained a benchmark in the art of delivering modern blockbuster thrills.
Synopsis: When a young woman is killed by a shark while skinny-dipping near the New England tourist town of Amity Island, [More]
Critics Consensus: A fascinating tribute to a pioneer as well as an engrossing act of environmental advocacy, Playing with Sharks makes up in enjoyment what it lacks in depth.
Synopsis: Photographer Valerie Taylor becomes a trailblazing advocate for the ocean's most maligned and misunderstood creatures. [More]
Critics Consensus: Stuffed to the gills with memorable shocks and a thrillingly unhinged heel turn by Jai Courtney, Dangerous Animals will be irresistible chum for horror aficionados.
Synopsis: When Zephyr, a rebellious surfer, is abducted by a shark-obsessed serial killer and held captive on his boat, she must [More]
Critics Consensus: A well-crafted retelling of an epic true story, Kon Tiki is a throwback to old-school adventure filmmaking that's exciting and entertaining in spite of its by-the-book plotting.
Synopsis: Norwegian adventurer Thor Heyerdahl (Pål Sverre Hagen) suspects that the South Sea Islands were originally colonized by South Americans. In [More]
Critics Consensus: Lean and solidly crafted, The Shallows transcends tired shark-attack tropes with nasty thrills and a powerful performance from Blake Lively.
Synopsis: Still reeling from the loss of her mother, medical student Nancy Adams (Blake Lively) travels to a secluded beach for [More]
Critics Consensus: In addition to its breathtaking underwater photography, Sharkwater has a convincing, impassioned argument of how the plight of sharks affects everyone.
Synopsis: Arguing that sharks are misunderstood as dangerous creatures, biologist Rob Stewart travels to the Galapagos Islands, Costa Rica and other [More]
Critics Consensus: Beautiful yet gut-wrenching, Sharkwater Extinction offers an eye-opening condemnation of an illegal trade -- and a poignant farewell to a talented filmmaker.
Synopsis: Filmmaker Rob Stewart travels across oceans to expose the illegal and violent underworld of shark finning. [More]
Synopsis: Oceanographer Jean-Michel Cousteau documents face-to-face encounters with a wide variety of the ocean's ultimate predators, including white, hammerhead and whale [More]
Critics Consensus: A low budget thriller with some intense moments.
Synopsis: Daniel (Daniel Travis) and Susan (Blanchard Ryan) embark on a tropical vacation with their scuba-diving certifications in tow. During a [More]
Critics Consensus: Marrying environmental themes with bloody thrills, this Gallic entry into the shark attack canon ultimately lands on the right side of ridiculous fun.
Synopsis: To save Paris from a bloodbath, a grieving scientist is forced to face her tragic past when a giant shark [More]
Critics Consensus: The schlock factor for Sharknado 2: The Second One is not as entertaining as its predecessor's, though fans of the brand will likely enjoy it.
Synopsis: A freak weather system turns its deadly fury on New York City, unleashing a Sharknado on the population and its [More]
Critics Consensus:Deep Blue Sea is no Jaws, but action fans seeking some toothy action can certainly do -- and almost certainly have done -- far worse for B-movie thrills.
Synopsis: On an island research facility, Dr. Susan McAlester (Saffron Burrows) is harvesting the brain tissue of DNA-altered sharks as a [More]
Critics Consensus:Jaws 2 never approaches the lingering thrills of its classic predecessor, but it's reasonably entertaining for a sequel that has no reason to exist.
Synopsis: Years after the shark attacks that left Amity Island reeling, Sheriff Martin Brody (Roy Scheider) finds new trouble lurking in [More]
Critics Consensus:47 Meters Down doesn't take its terrifying premise quite as far as it should, but its toothy antagonists still offer a few thrills for less demanding genre enthusiasts.
Synopsis: Young sisters Kate and Lisa and travel to Mexico for a vacation filled with sun, fun and adventure. Lisa needs [More]
Critics Consensus:The Meg sets audiences up for a good old-fashioned B-movie creature feature, but lacks the genre thrills -- or the cheesy bite -- to make it worth diving in.
Synopsis: Previously thought to be extinct, a massive creature attacks a deep-sea submersible, leaving it disabled and trapping the crew at [More]
Critics Consensus:Bait isn't entirely lacking in the shark action department, but a silly story and thinly sketched characters may leave audiences bored between bloody attacks.
Synopsis: A freak tsunami traps a group of people in a submerged grocery store. As they try to escape, they are [More]
Critics Consensus:47 Meters Down: Uncaged may not be as ruthlessly efficient as its finned villains, but fans of shark peril thrillers should find it just chummy enough.
Synopsis: Four teenage divers discover that the sunken ruins of a Mayan city are also a hunting ground for deadly great [More]
Critics Consensus:Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! bites off more than it can chew, leaving viewers with an overlong mess that isn't even bad enough to be good.
Synopsis: When a mass of sharknadoes threatens Florida, chainsaw-wielding hero Fin must again risk his life to save his children on [More]
Critics Consensus: Taking a promising premise and driving it straight into the sea, No Way Up doesn't have enough fun with its nerve-shredding concept.
Synopsis: Ava (Sophie McIntosh), the daughter of the Governor of California, is hoping for a peaceful getaway with friends in the [More]
Critics Consensus: Derivative and full of pop culture in-jokes.
Synopsis: Underachiever Oscar (Will Smith) is a pint-sized fish with grand aspirations. When mob-connected great white shark Frankie (Michael Imperioli) is [More]
Critics Consensus: A small shark in a big pond of man-eating legends, The Black Demon bites off more than it can chew, leaving little carnage for the audience to feast on.
Synopsis: Josh Lucas (Ford v Ferrari, Yellowstone) stars in this edge-of-your-seat action thriller from the director of Rambo: Last Blood. Oilman [More]
Critics Consensus: It isn't without its fun moments, but Meg 2: The Trench suffers from a disjointed story that drifts for too long before finally delivering a few campy thrills.
Synopsis: Get ready for the ultimate adrenaline rush this summer in "Meg 2: The Trench," a literally larger-than-life thrill ride that [More]
Critics Consensus:Sharknado: The 4th Awakens loses the ridiculous charm of its predecessors, leaving only clumsy social commentary and monotonous schtick that's lost its bite.
Synopsis: Five years after the wave of sharknados that wracked the east coast, the heroes are living a quiet life in [More]
Critics Consensus: A cheese-soaked ocean thriller with no evident reason to exist, Jaws 3 bellows forth with a plaintive yet ultimately unheeded cry to put this franchise out of viewers' misery.
Synopsis: After a young great white shark finds its way into a sea-themed park managed by Calvin Bouchard (Louis Gossett Jr.), [More]
Halloween is nigh upon us, and ’tis the season for ghoulish celebrations. With that in mind, we’ve compiled a handy list of well-reviewed movies and TV shows you can stream on Netflix right now, in case you want to get a head start on the spooky festivities. Whether you’re looking for a classic slasher flick, a pyschological thriller, a horror comedy, or even something you can watch with the kids, we’ve got you covered. See below for all of the selections.
Ryan Murphy’s horror anthology series boasts spooky environs, provocative themes, and top-notch acting from Jessica Lange, Dylan McDermott, Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, Zachary Quinto, and Frances Conroy. Seasons 1-6 are available to stream.
Writer-director Jennifer Kent’s Golden Tomato Award-winning horror film tells the deeply unnerving story a widow and her six-year-old who are bedeviled by a storybook monster.
Vera Farmiga, Freddie Highmore, Max Thieriot, and Olivia Cooke star in this reimagining of Norman Bates’ teenage years — those carefree days before he took over the family business and had to deal with constant nagging from Mother. Seasons 1-4 are available.
A film archivist discovers that the home he shares with his family was the site of a brutal murder and soon finds himself terrorized by evil visions and a dark presence in this Irish import.
This Netflix animated series based on the classic video game franchise centers on the last in a long line of monster hunters, who attempts to keep his country safe from a vengeful vampire.
(Photo by Warner Brothers courtesy Everett Collection)
Tim Burton’s first foray into stop-motion animation follows a young groom-to-be named Victor (voiced by Johnny Depp) who unwittingly marries an undead woman (Helena Bonham-Carter) while practicing his wedding vows.
Mark Duplass and director Patrick Brice star in Brice’s psychological thriller about an amateur videographer who agrees to film a man who lives in the woods for a day, only to discover the man may not be all that he seems.
The latest installment of the long-running horror franchise finds the demonic doll terrorizing a woman in an asylum, while his old nemesis attempts to save her.
After witnessing what she believes is a murder on an internet video chat site, a young grad student decides to investigate it herself and becomes the next victim.
Ethan Embry and Shiri Appleby star as a couple who move with their daughter into a new home, where the husband — and a deranged former resident who returns to terrorize them — is haunted by mysterious voices.
Edgar Allan Poe’s dark words come to life in this animated anthology including stories such as “The Pit and the Pendulum” and “The Tell-Tale Heart,” narrated by the likes of Christopher Lee and Guillermo Del Toro.
Carla Gugino and Bruce Greenwood star in Mike Flanagan’s Netflix original adaptation of the Stephen King novel about a woman who is left chained to a bed when a sex game with her husband goes tragically wrong.
Jack Black stars in this fantasy adventure as author R.L. Stine, whose various Goosebumps creations come to life and terrorize his town. He must team up with his daughter and next door neighbor to stop the madness.
(Photo by Magnolia Pictures courtesy Everett Collection)
South Korea’s highest grossing film ever at the time of its release, The Host is director Bong Joon-ho’s breakout film, a sci-fi monster flick that combines scares, laughs, and satire in service of a popcorn flick as entertaining as it is intellectually satisfying.
Kate Siegel plays a young deaf author living alone who is terrorized by a masked killer (John Gallagher Jr.)… who then turns the tables on her attacker.
Maika Monroe stars as a suburban Michigan teen who becomes infected with a malevolent spirit after a sexual encounter, and it won’t stop pursuing her until she gives it to someone else — or dies.
In this CW series loosely based on the DC comic, Rose McIver stars as Liv, a zombie who helps police solve murders by eating dead victims’ brains and absorbing their memories. Seasons 1-3 are available.
Eva Green and Timothy Dalton lead an ensemble cast in Showtime’s gothic supernatural drama, which draws characters from classic literature like Victor Frankenstein, Dorian Gray, and Dracula. All three seasons are available.
This unusual horror/dark comedy/coming-of-age film centers on a lifelong vegetarian who discovers a taste for raw meat during her first year of veterinary school.
This French series, which aired in the US on SundanceTV and was subsequently remade in English, follows a small mountain community where the deceased begin reappearing, accompanied by unexplained supernatural phenomena. Both seasons are available.
Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant star in this Netflix original horror-comedy about a suburban couple dealing with the wife’s sudden appetite for human flesh.
Tara Reid, Ian Ziering, and John Heard star in this eerily plausible sci-fi adventure about a devastating storm that facilitates a shark attack on Los Angeles.
This wildly popular Netflix original series follows a group of precocious teens in a small Indiana town in 1983 as they attempt to make sense of the supernatural phenomena happening around them. Season 1 is available now, and season 2 is set to drop on October 27.
(Photo by Warner Bros. courtesy Everett Collection)
The demon-hunting Winchester brothers (played by Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles) continue their quest to fight evil wherever they find it in this long-running CW horror series. Seasons 1-12 are available to stream.
This psychological thriller centers on a man who is convinced the world is on the verge of being overtaken by demons and attempts to hide his fear from a friend. Is he going mad, or is it real?
(Photo by Magnet Releasing courtesy Everett Collection)
This Norwegian found footage horror comedy follows a group of college students in pursuit of a suspected bear poacher who instead stumble upon an unexpected discovery.
This acclaimed horror hybrid from debuting writer-director Babak Anvari is set in war-torn Tehran and centers on a mother and daughter who may or may not be suffering from the presence of a Djinn.
This horror film centers on the supernatural chaos that erupts after a policeman discovers a dying man and rushes him to treatment at a nearby hospital.
Thoughtful and gory in equal measure, AMC’s wildly popular action drama follows the lives of a handful of survivors in a post-apocalyptic world overrun by zombies. Seasons 1-7 are available.
Writer/director Ted Geoghegan makes a strong, stylish feature debut with this horror story about a grieving couple who move to a secluded home after the tragic death of their son; little do they know that their new home has a bloody past.
Wes Craven’s New Nightmare is a self-conscious meta deconstruction of horror films that also happens to be one of the strongest entries in the Freddy Krueger saga.
Look out! The fifth film in Syfy’s shark-infested franchise is coming: Sharknado: Global Swarming reunites Fin Shepard (Ian Ziering) and April Wexler (Tara Reid) in a globe-trotting, chainsaw-swinging shark-tornado adventure.
Can’t get enough ridiculous animal attacks? Check out this gallery of silly and savage cinematic offerings — many, like Sharknado, have lots of sequels if you need more mutant spiders or nightmare hybrid beasties.
Dinocroc (2004)
By the early 2000s, movie magic had shown the world just about every super-sized horror imaginable, so legendary B-movie producer Roger Corman figured that a creature that was both dinosaur and crocodile would be way scarier than either individually. He was onto something and produced a series of monster hybrids after.
Dinoshark (2011)
By 2010, Syfy saw the value in Roger Corman’s hybrid creatures and started airing these films regularly. Part Jaws, part Jurassic Park, Dinoshark is 0% Spielberg, but pure cheesy chaos.
Sharktopus (2010, 50%)
Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, sharks aren’t the only predators you have to worry about. A shark with eight tentacles has eight times the ways to pull victims underwater. The sharktopus went on to battle the Pteracuda and Whalewolf in sequels.
Jersey Shore Shark Attack (2012)
The Jersey Shore kids may be even scarier than rabid beasts. Snooki and The Situation can probably claim more victims than any wild animal, so Syfy produced this spoof of Jersey beach bunnies battling sharks.
Primeval (2007, 19%)
Based on a true story, the film depicts a news crew (Dominic Purcell, Brooke Langton, Orlando Jones) traveling to Africa in search of a legendary 25-foot croc. If the film is to be believed, they found him.
Slugs (1987, 38%)
If you think slugs are slow and easy to run away from, you would be wrong. This killer-slug movie shows that when slugs organize in full force, they can commit some gruesome attacks on innocent farmers and fornicating teens.
Alligator (1980, 67%)
True story: One of Bryan Cranston’s first jobs was as an assistant to the special effects department of this giant-alligator movie. Cranston says star Robert Forster was amiable and professional. Also the film suggests that flushing a baby alligator down the toilet makes it grow to deadly size and eat sewer workers. There was a sequel and a knockoff, Crocodile.
Big Ass Spider! (2013, 76%)
Three guesses what this movie is about. When the giant alien spider escapes, it’s up to Greg Grunberg and a team of scientists to stop them. Director Mike Mendez later got the gig directing Syfy’s Lavalantula.Lavalantula (2015)
If tornadoes full of sharks are intense, surely volcanoes full of spiders are too. This one stars former Police Academy hero Steve Guttenberg fending off lava spiders, which technically exist in the same universe as Sharknado. So far there has only been one sequel, 2 Lava 2 Lantula!Birdemic: Shock and Terror (2008, 19%)
So bad it’s good, Hitchcock has nothing to worry about from this avian competition. The 2010-era cheap visual effects make bird attacks look even more fake than the 1963 Hitchcock classic, so it’s, of course, become a cult classic and spawned a Birdemic 2.
Arachnophobia (1990, 91%)
Arachnophobia is the fear of spiders, and it’s not a big stretch to prey on people’s fear of them. The movie of the same name starred Jeff Daniels as a small-town doctor and John Goodman as a wacky exterminator trying to stop a deadly horde infesting the neighborhood.
The Wicker Man (2006, 15%)
A sheriff (Nicolas Cage) investigates a missing girl on an island run by women. The film is famous, in part, for its ending, in which the locals lock Cage’s face in a cage full of bees. Not the bees! Not the beeeeeeeees!
The Food of the Gods (1976, 24%)
Based on the H.G. Wells novel, when farmers feed their chickens a mysterious substance, they grow to enormous size. Soon rats, wasps, and worms begin eating it and take over the island. The 1970s effects may seem cheesy today — but giant wasps are terrifying. The movie got a sequel in 1989.
Man’s Best Friend (1991, 20%)
After a string of “cute dog” movies like Turner & Hooch, K-9, and Beethoven, this horror movie asked: What if the family pet was actually a genetically modified killing machine? Freed from a lab by a news crew, this dog had tree-climbing claws, chameleon camouflage, and one hell of an appetite.
Lake Placid (1991, 40%)
Not the story of the 1980 Lake Placid Olympic hockey victor (that was called Miracle), this lake actually isn’t placid at all. There’s a killer crocodile in the water, and Betty White is feeding it. There were four sequels, and in the final one, the croc fought the anaconda!
Deep Blue Sea (1999, 57%)
Researching a cure for Alzheimer’s, a scientist (Saffron Burrows) gives sharks super intelligence. Unfortunately for them — but fortunate for audiences who love a good swarm — the sharks get smart enough to destroy the underwater lab and come after the scientists. Not even Samuel L. Jackson is badass enough to dodge a super-smart shark.
Anaconda (1997, 38%)
A Nat Geo crew led by J-Lo comes across a giant man-eating snake in the jungle. Best part: Ahab-esque hunter Jon Voight gets eaten by the snake, then vomited back up and winks at the camera! There was one theatrical sequel and three more for TV including Lake Placid Vs. Anaconda.
Snakes on a Plane (2006, 69%)
Samuel L. Jackson has had it with these motherf—ing snakes on this motherf—ing plane! While the film could not possibly live up to the hype the title generated when it was announced, it is still to this day the only movie where you can see Jackson fight snakes aboard an airplane.
Sharknado (2013, 82%)
The original Sharknado became a phenomenon the moment it aired on Syfy, with comedians tweeting along live and requesting cameos in the sequels. In a world where audiences thought they had seen it all, they had not, in fact, seen sharks in a tornado. Four sequels and counting followed.
Piranha (1978, 72%)
After the success of Jaws, producers scrambled to find more underwater creatures to copy, ahem, pay homage to its success. The most popular came from Roger Corman. Instead of sharks in the ocean, it was man-eating piranhas in a lake. James Cameron directed the sequel, and a 3D remake/reboot also spawned a sequel.
Cujo (1983, 60%)
Stephen King conceives of the scariest nightmare fantasies, but one of his scariest was soberingly real. The rabid dog Cujo traps a mother and her son in their car for days. The slobbering, barking St. Bernard would even make the biggest dog lover cower under their seat.
Pet Sematary (1989, 46%)
It’s understandable why kids would bury their beloved pets in an Indian burial ground, hoping to see them again. Unfortunately, they return as killer demon spawn. What’s worse, grief-stricken parents later try burying people there too.
The Birds (1963, 96%)
If you’re afraid of birds, Alfred Hitchcock’s classic is the real deal. If you weren’t afraid of birds before, this might change that. Images of birds swarming a small town, sitting in wait for helpless people, are still haunting today.
Jaws (1975, 97%)
The original man-eater movie also defined the modern blockbuster. Ever since, filmmakers have tried to achieve even a fraction of the successJaws enjoyed when Steven Spielberg unleashed it on the beaches of Amity. None of the three sequels were as scary, but the original remains a cinematic classic.
Repent, sinners: Earth Day is nigh! From toxic pollution to bottled water, nature has had just about enough of mankind’s thirst for convenience, as seen in this gallery of 24 tales of eco-terror!
Deep Blue Sea (1999, 57%)
Warning: Experimenting on sharks may be hazardous to Sam Jackson’s health.
The Core (2003, 41%)
A secret human experiment to create and control earthquakes instead shuts down the planet’s core, triggering global disasters and a high-concept Hollywood trip to the center of the Earth.
Roar (1981, 72%)
Animals without proper training maim the cast on-camera in this one-of-a-kind spectacle of human resolve and irresponsibility.
Troll 2 (1990, 6%)
Earth Day is about going green: Don’t eat porpoises, reduce your carbon footprint, and turn your friends and family into plant mush to keep the local goblin population up.
The Pack (1977)
Think abandoning your pets at a vacation spot will lead to cute adventures like Benji or Incredible Journey? Think again: When you oppress Fido, he rises up in a fiery anger!
Long Weekend (1979, 80%)
Two lovers on an isolated beach get a chilly reception from the locals. Per the tagline: ‘Their crime was against nature. Nature found them guilty.’
The Day After Tomorrow (2004, 45%)
Who’s denying climate change now?!
28 Days Later (2003, 87%)
Mess with monkeys, monkeys mess with man: The experimental primates unleash a ‘rage’ virus that overtakes the Earth.
The Birds (1963, 96%) The birds make their opinon on the screwball romance known: Just as Tippi Hedren and Rod Taylor meet for a cheesy rendezvous, a seagull takes a chunk of Hedren’s scalp to drastically alter the movie’s course.
Day of the Animals (1977)
Trans Ams and wanton aerosol spraying in the the ’70s thin Earth’s ozone layer, causing animals to go berserk from UV radiation.
Furry Vengeance (2010, 8%)
Poor Brendan Fraser plays a housing developer who runs up against a coalition of animal protesters, including this encounter with a skunk in his sedan.
Godzilla (1954, 93%)
If you’re going to risk waking moviedom’s greatest lizard with a nuclear test blast, remember that Godzilla never hits snooze.
Mimic (1997, 61%)
A breed of insects engineered by humans to wipe out cockroaches lives past it sell-by date, learning to prey on humans while adapting to our shape and movement.
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1985, 87%)
A thousand years after a holocaust that wipes out civilization, Earth is still busy protecting itself with toxin-purifying plants and maurading larvae that protect fauna from the remaining humans.
Phase IV (1974, 56%)
Ants rise up to trigger the next step in evolution whether humans like it or not.
Piranha (1978, 72%)
Flesh-hungry fish, mutated and refined by the U.S. military for Vietnam War combat, are unleashed on a summer resort!
Prophecy (1979, 23%)
Mercury from a logging operation is mutating the wildlife population, leading to the best sleeping bag kill in cinema history.
The Ruins (2008, 48%)
Welcome to the jungle! The fauna surrounding a Maya temple beckon, trap, and claim any unlucky tourists that discover the location.
Birdemic: Shock and Terror (2008, 20%)
Eagles and vultures attack on a shoestring budget in this pseudo-romantic thriller.
Sharknado (2013, 82%)
Sharks inside a cyclone? Never piss off your deities.
The Bay (2012, 77%)
Water parasites take over people one by one in this found footage thriller by Barry Levinson.
The Happening (2008, 18%)
Plants, fed up with Mark Wahlberg’s acting, try to take him out on-screen with wind power and neurotoxins to no avail.
The Last Winter (2007, 76%)
Drill, baby, drill! …But, uh, take it easy when you hit the spooky gas.
Jurassic Park (1993, 93%)
Reduce the human population on a remote island full of dinosaurs? Life finds a way…
“The sea was angry that day, my friends – like an old man trying to send back soup in a deli.” (George 5:14)
Two releases coming out, The Shallowsand Swiss Army Man, feature hapless folks stranded in the ocean, inspiring this week’s gallery: 24 more movies to convince you to stay the hell out of the water.
The grandaddy of big blue boos and progenitor of the modern Hollywood filmmaking machine as we know it.
Open Water
Year: 2004
Tomatometer: 72%
The first movie in decades to get people to rethink swimming in the ocean, especially since this left-behind story was based on true events.
The Reef
Year: 2010
Tomatometer: 78%
Doing the Australian tourism board no favors, here’s another movie set off the continent’s waters featuring human chums and hangry sharks.
Deep Blue Sea
Year: 1999
Tomatometer: 56%
Not since Jaws: The Revenge have sharks made dining on humans such a personal vendetta.
Piranha 3D
Year: 2010
Tomatometer: 73%
Spielberg called the original Piranha the best of ripoffs that came in Jaws‘ wake. Apparently, lightning chomps twice as Piranha 3D is one of the few horror remakes to get higher critical marks than the original.
All Is Lost
Year: 2013
Tomatometer: 94%
A one-man sailing trip goes awry and Robert Reford has to rely on his nautical wits to survive (at least there weren’t many lines to memorize).
The Perfect Storm
Year: 2000
Tomatometer: 47%
Dialogue is likewise mostly eschewed during the final section of Perfect Storm, where George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg wage a valiant but hopeless battle against monstrous waves.
Titanic
Year: 1997
Tomatometer: 88%
The boat sank.
Deep Rising
Year: 1998
Tomatometer: 31%
Mercenaries plan to take over an ocean liner only to learn that monsters have beaten them to the punch.
Triangle
Year: 2009
Tomatometer: 82%
Melissa George and friends jump onto a seemingly deserted liner after their boat capsizes, only for everyone to start getting picked off one by one.
The Poseidon Adventure
Year: 1972
Tomatometer: 79%
One of the towering efforts by Hollywood during the disaster film craze in the early 1970s.
Poseidon
Year: 2006
Tomatometer: 33%
Wolfgang Petersen, who also directed The Perfect Storm, returned to the sea for this remake.
The Finest Hours
Year: 2016
Tomatometer: 62%
Based on the real-life Coast Guard rescue in the 1950s off the coast of Massachusetts.
Lifeboat
Year: 1944
Tomatometer: 95%
Set at the height of World War II, Alfred Hitchcock’s chamber piece sees Axis and Allies members trapped on a dinghy fighting for survival.
Life of Pi
Year: 2012
Tomatometer: 87%
Being trapped on a boat with a tiger (in 3D, nonetheless) sounds awful but director Ang Lee makes it look ravishing.
Abandon Ship!
Year: 1957
A bleak drama about 27 maritime survivors on a lifeboat that fits only nine, and the drastic steps Tyrone Power takes in lightening the load.
The Disappeared
Year: 2012
A microbudget, claustrophobic Candaian film about six people trying to return to land by rowboat in the North Atlantic ocean.
Waterworld
Year: 1995
Tomatometer: 42%
Whether you’re in the desert or the middle of the ocean, roving gangs of marauders always seem to be a problem in the post-apocalyptic future.
White Squall
Year: 1996
Tomatometer: 62%
A few years before his Gladiator comeback, Ridley Scott directed this true story of an ocean windstorm that sunk the Albatross in 1961, killing a majority of its teenage sailors.
The Deep
Year: 2013
Tomatometer: 96%
An Icelandic film about the sole survivor of a commercial fishing trip disaster and the guilt he endures when he returns home and is celebrated a hero.
Moby Dick
Year: 1956
Tomatometer: 84%
In a Q&A with Martin Scorsese, Spielberg openly states he copied shots from John Huston’s adaptation of the Herman Melville classic for Jaws.
In the Heart of the Sea
Year: 2015
Tomatometer: 42%
Ron Howard dramatized (as though there needed to be more drama) the fateful seafaring trip that inspired Melville (played by Ben Whishaw) to write Moby-Dick.
Cast Away
Year: 2000
Tomatometer: 90%
The heroic tale of a volleyball, mute from birth, and his escape from a bedraggled human captor on a remote island.
Sharknado
Year: 2013
Tomatometer: 82%
So you heeded this gallery and now you’re fortified on dry land with extra shark repellent Bat-spray by Wayne Industries. Think you’re safe? WRONG, it’s Hollywood: the sharks find a way.
SyFy released a teaser for Sharknado 2: The Second One, starring Tara Reid and Ian Ziering. Watch what happens when a tornado of sharks takes a bite out of the Big Apple.
Also, don’t worry if you never saw the first Sharknado. This handy featurette will catch you up on everything you need to know.
Sharknado 2: The Second One airs on Wednesday, July 30 at 9:00 p.m. on SyFy.
For more TV news, visit the Rotten Tomatoes TV Zone.
On Jul. 30, even the toughest New Yorkers will have their bravery tested by the storm of Sharknado 2: The Second One, as the SyFy sequel brings Ian Ziering and Tara Reid (and a bunch of flying sharks) to the Big Apple.
SyFy will premiere Sharknado during its very own “Sharknado Week,” which will include such new sharktastic masterpieces as Roger Corman’s Sharktopus vs. Pteracuda (Aug. 2), Mega Shark vs. Mecha Shark (Jul. 26), and the new documentary Sharkmania: The Top 15 Biggest Baddest Bloodiest Bites (Jul. 27).
Sharknado 2: The Second One offers up cameos from celebrities Kelly Osbourne, Billy Ray Cyrus, Judd Hirsch, Al Roker, Mark McGrath, and Perez Hilton. See the teaser here:
Will you be watching? How will it measure up to the original Sharknado? Stay afloat by following the Tomatometer as the premiere approaches here.
For more TV news, visit the Rotten Tomatoes TV Zone.
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