Apex Predators (2021)
Killer Sharks
A really, really bad variant on the killer shark film. Painfully bad in every single regard. Dustin Ferguson is quickly establishing himself as the modern Edward D. Wood, Jr
Killer Sharks
The killer shark film has been with us since the massive hit of Steven Spielberg’s Jaws (1975). This was followed by three sequels and over the next two decades by a host of B-budget copies.
Since the mid-2000s, the B-budget shark film has made a movie towards the Gonzo Killer Shark film, which is predicated on ridiculous title mashups or combining sharks with the most absurd of things. This culminated with the bad movie hit of Sharknado (2013), which led to a string of sequels and a host of imitators.
The 2010s has also seen a growing move away from gonzo shark films to what might be termed a genre of Survival in Shark-Infested Waters films, played with a good deal more seriousness and drama.
Avalanche Sharks (2013)
Sharks Attack a Mountainside Ski Resort
In the same vein as Sharknado, another absurdly entertaining gonzo shark attack film concerning sharks that swim through the snow to attack skiers at a mountainside resort
Bait (2012)
Killer Shark in a Supermarket
A strong contender for the most ridiculous killer shark ever made – something that should have occurred to the producers about the point of the film’s premise of a shark hunting people in a supermarket
Beast of War (2025)
Survival in Shark Infested Waters
From the director of the Wyrmwood films, an Australian-made film about a group of soldiers during World War II who become stranded in a sea of sharks following a shipwreck
The Black Demon (2023)
Megalodon Shark
Another killer shark survival piece with a family trapped aboard an abandoned oil rig under attack by a megalodon shark that may be the embodiment of an Aztec god
Cocaine Shark (2023)
Gonzo Killer Shark Film
Prolific Z-budget director Mark Polonia jumps aboard the bandwagon of Cocaine Bear and offers a film about a shark-human hybrid that is created by experimental cocaine
Dam Sharks! (2016)
Killer Sharks
Another gonzo killer shark film, this concerns sharks who have invaded a river and built a dam to trap human prey. Everything comes with an amusingly sarcastic sense of humour
Dangerous Animals (2025)
Serial Killer Who Feeds His Victims to Sharks
At variance to the assorted other films about survival in shark-infested waters, this features Jai Courtney in a completely crazed performance as a serial killer who feeds his victims to sharks
Deep Blue Sea (1999)
Genetically-Engineered Killer Sharks
A killer shark film by way of Jurassic Park. The perpetually terrible Renny Harlin creates something almost watchable that vies between moments of tension and the entertainingly absurd
Deep Blue Sea 2 (2018)
Genetically-Engineered Killer Sharks
For some reason, nineteen years years later, someone has decided to produce a sequel to Renny Harlin’s unintentionally funny killer shark film only to give it a pitiful budget that causes it to sink well into bad movie stakes
Deep Blue Sea 3 (2020)
Genetically-Engineered Killer Sharks
After the genuinely terrible Deep Blue Sea 2, all it took to improve the Deep Blue Sea series was a better director. This no more than a B movie but is certainly halfway watchable
Deep Water (2026)
Stranded in a Sea of Sharks
The perpetually terrible Renny Harlin makes a halfway watchable film about the survivors of a plane crash at sea trying to stay alive as the sinking plane is surrounded by sharks
Dinoshark (2010)
Revived Prehistoric Killer Shark
One of the earliest entries in the gonzo killer shark fad, predating Sharknado even. This comes produced by Roger Corman and concerns a prehistoric shark that is revived
Empire of the Sharks (2017)
Drowned Future/Killer Sharks
Another killer shark film from The Asylum, the people behind the Sharknado. This is a sequel to their earlier Planet of the Sharks and takes placed in a Waterworld-styled drowned future
Fear Below (2025)
Killer Shark
Quite a decent little Australian film in the survival in shark-infested waters stakes about a diving team forced by mobsters to conduct a dive in a river inhabited by a killer shark to retrieve a haul of gold bullion
5 Headed Shark Attack (2017)
Giant Shark Amok
The Asylum, the company behind the Sharknado phenomenon, made 2 Headed Shark Attack. Figuring the only way to top that was to keep adding more heads we had 3 and now 5 Headed Shark Attack
47 Meters Down (2017)
Trapped on the Ocean Floor in a Shark Cage
This has an incredibly claustrophobic premise – two girls trapped on the ocean floor in a cage surrounded by sharks as their air supplies run out – that leaves the hairs rising on the back of your neck
47 Meters Down: Uncaged (2019)
Trapped Underwater Surrounded by Sharks
47 Meters Down, with two sisters trapped underwater in a shark cage with a failing supply of air, didn’t require a sequel. Here we get two different sisters trapped underwater with a limited air supply and surrounded by sharks
Great White (2021)
Stranded at Sea, Hunted by a Shark
An Australian-made survival drama with a group of people who become stranded at sea aboard a life raft while trying to fight off a killer shark that is lurking
Great White Waters (2025)
Shark-Infested Waters
Anthony Ferrante made the Sharknado films. He returns here to make a serious survival thriller about a woman who is forced by drug dealers to dive and retrieve a stash in shark infested waters
Hotspring Sharkattack (2024)
Gonzo Killer Shark Film
A Japanese entry in the Gonzo Killer Shark film fad, an entertainingly demented effort with sharks invading a hot springs and emerging out of hot tubs. This has been greeted as a new cult movie
House Shark (2017)
Gonzo Killer Shark Film
The gonzo killer shark film has gained its own genre in recent years, popularised by Sharknado. This concerns a shark that emerges out of toilets and prowls around suburban living rooms
Ice Sharks (2016)
Killer Sharks Attack Polar Base
Another killer shark film from The Asylum, the people behind the Sharknado films. This plays itself seriously and turns out a reasonable story about the crew of a polar base under attacks by prehistoric sharks
Into the Deep (2025)
Survival in Shark-Infested Waters
One of spate of near-identical films that all came out in the same year where Scout Taylor Compton’s boat is taken over by drug smugglers who force her to dive into shark-infested waters to retrieve drugs
Jaws (1975)
Killer Shark
The killer shark film that became the No 1 box-office hit of all time and put Steven Spielberg’s name on the map. A powerhouse of seat-edge tension, filled with great performances and the young Spielberg with an incredible grasp of his craft
Jaws 2 (1978)
Killer Shark
The best of the mostly worthless Jaws sequels. With a bigger budget, the shark attacks are more spectacular but there is nothing akin to the sustained suspense of the first film’s extended climax
Jaws 3-D (1983)
Killer Shark
The second sequel to the hit killer shark film. This is shot with gimmick of the early 80s 3D revival fad but this has the effect of reducing Steven Spielberg’s masterful suspense to a series of novelty pop-up shocks
Jaws: The Revenge (1987)
Killer Shark
The widely ridiculed fourth Jaws film. This is at least better than the third film, having one of two okay shark attack scenes but the melodramatics are drawn out and tedious
Jersey Shore Shark Attack (2012)
Shark Attack Film Parody
Rather funny parody of tv’s Jersey Shore by way of a shark attack film. A film that one watches with zero expectations but proves hilarious by planting tongue entirely in cheek
Jurassic Shark (2012)
Prehistoric Killer Shark
A killer shark film concerning a prehistoric megalodon prowling the waters of a lake. This once had the distinction of being the lowest rated film on the IMDB
Justice League Dark: Apokolips War (2020)
Animation/Comic-Book Superheroes
The DC Comics animated version of an Avengers film where they put every superhero under their roof on screen at once, including Justice League Dark, the regular Justice League, Suicide Squad and Teen Titans
The Last Breath (2024)
Survival in Shark Infested Waters
A film about survival in shark-infested waters where a party diving on a wreck become trapped inside by sharks. Featuring the last performance of Julian Sands
The Last Shark (1981)
Killer Shark
One of several Italian exploitation copycats of Jaws. This has the reputation as the film that was such a blatant ripoff that Universal sued to stop its release
The Last Sharknado: It’s About Time (2018)
Storm of Sharks/Deliberately Bad Film
The sixth of the Sharknado films, this has the usual crew fighting sharknados throughout history. With this comes the recognition there is nowhere more ridiculous and over-the-top for the series to go
The Lego Batman Movie (2017)
Animation/Lego Universe Superheroes
Following the success of The Lego Movie, where he was a scene-stealing supporting character, Batman gets a whole Lego film to himself. Less a Batman film than it is a parody of Batman
Malibu Shark Attack (2009)
Killer Shark Film
Every B killer shark movie of recent years has tried to become as absurd as possible in (a la Sharknado), but this is one that plays itself seriously and generates okay tension in places
Meg 2: The Trench (2023)
Giant Prehistoric Killer Sharks
The sequel to the Jason Statham starring killer shark film, bigger and more over the top than before. The surprise is seeing cult director Ben Wheatley turning to making a big, dumb film
The Meg (2018)
Giant Prehistoric Killer Shark
Big budget about a giant prehistoric killer shark film. This is like a Sharknado film with its sense of its own risibility perfectly under cap, played seriously and mounted as a series of spectacular shark attack sequences
Mega Shark vs. Crocosaurus (2010)
Giant Monsters
The first sequel to The Asylum’s Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus and marginally a better film. This is less sparing with the cheap effects, while in every other regard it plants tongue-in-cheek and tries to make a virtue out of the sheer ridiculousness of the action
Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus (2009)
Giant Monsters
The Asylum’s first venture into the gonzo shark movie that would spin off a series of sequels and culminate in the Sharknado phenomenon. Despite one of the great attention grabbing titles of all time, this is an unmemorable affair
Mega Shark vs Kolossus (2015)
Giant Monsters
The fourth of The Asylum’s Mega Shark films and the best of the series where they get the balance of tongue-in-cheek absurdity just right and the low-budget effects prove surprisingly good
Mega Shark vs Mecha Shark (2014)
Giant Shark vs Giant Robot Shark
Third in The Asylum’s series of Mega Shark films where they borrow the Godzilla series’ idea of Mecha-Godzilla and pit the Mega Shark against a robot copy of itself. Here the Mega Shark series is starting to approach the entertaining silliness of their Sharknado films but still flounder amid tatty effects
Megalodon (2018)
Giant Prehistoric Shark
The Asylum’s low-budget mockbuster copy of The Meg, which is an irony in that The Meg was really an Asylum killer shark film with an A-budget. Two sequels followed.
Megalodon Rising (2021)
Giant Prehistoric Shark
The Asylum make a sequel to their earlier giant prehistoric shark film Megalodon
Megalodon: The Frenzy (2023)
Giant Prehistoric Sharks
The third of The Asylum’s trilogy of films about giant prehistoric sharks
Mississippi River Sharks (2017)
Gonzo Killer Shark Film
An appealingly tongue-in-cheek killer shark film with sharks attacking along the Mississippi
Monsternado (2023)
Tornado of Monsters
This tries to go one up on Sharknado and offers a tornado made up of assorted animals and prehistoric life. A completely ridiculous film from prolific British producer Scott Jeffrey
Mummy Shark (2024)
Mummy Shark Resurrected
In a seeming competition for the most ridiculous killer shark of all time, Z budget director Mark Polonia gives us a film about a mummy shark revived from an Egyptian pyramid
90210 Shark Attack (2014)
Shark God Curse in Beverly Hills
This has to be the single worst killer shark film ever made and quite possibly the worst film of the 2010s. A shark film set in a Beverly Hills mansion where the nearest body of water is a swimming pool and where the appearance of the shark will reduce you to tears of laughter
Noah’s Shark (2021)
Gonzo Killer Shark Film
An entry in the gonzo killer shark film fad from Mark Polonia, this has some undeniable amusement to its title mash-up as a team go in search of Noah’s Ark, which somehow has killer sharks involved
Open Water (2003)
Stranded in a Sea of Sharks/True Story
A true story about a couple on a diving expedition who are accidentally stranded in a sea of sharks. A minimalist film, shot almost completely at sea, that works up incredibly raw tension
Ouija Shark 2 (2022)
Gonzo Killer Shark Film
A sequel to the Gonzo Killer Shark film Ouija Shark, this goes even crazier
Ouija Shark (2020)
Ghostly Killer Shark
Another in the spate of deliberately ridiculous killer shark films concerning a ghost shark that emerges from an ouija board
Ozark Sharks (2016)
Killer Shark Film
A surprisingly amiable entry in the gonzo killer shark genre from director Misty Talley who seems to be making this her own genre niche
Piranha Sharks (2016)
Gonzo Killer Shark Film
Part of the gonzo shark film’s ongoing quest for the most ridiculous title mash-up, this involves a horde of genetically engineered shark-piranha hybrids loose in New York City
Planet of the Sharks (2016)
Drowned Future/Killer Sharks
Another gonzo killer shark from from The Asylum who made the Sharknado films. Played somewhat more seriously than other entries, this has been conceived as Waterworld with killer sharks
Post Apocalyptic Commando Shark (2018)
Gonzo Killer Shark Film
Gonzo killer shark film that gets full marks for an entertainingly ridiculous title but is real bad movie material on all accounts
Psycho Shark (2009)
Gonzo Killer Shark Film
aka Jaws in Japan. A Japanese entry in the Gonzo Killer Shark Film fad
Raiders of the Lost Shark (2015)
Flying Killer Shark
This is the one of worst films to come out in the gonzo killer shark fad – it is surely the killer shark genre’s equivalent of The Room. The effects hit a level of terribleness not seen since Birdemic, the rest is full of ridiculous continuity gaffes, bad acting and bad dialogue
Red Water (2003)
Killer Shark
B killer shark films where environmentalists, oil rig workers and drug dealers converge on a Louisiana river where a shark lurks
The Reef (2010)
Swim Through Shark-Infested Waters
Gripping Australian survival horror film about a shipwrecked party who have to make a twelve mile swim through shark-infested waters
The Reef: Stalked (2022)
Survival in Shark-Infested Waters
Andrew Traucki, the director of the standout killer crocodile film Black Water, makes a sequel to his earlier grippingly intense work about people trapped in shark-infested waters
The Requin (2022)
Stranded in a Sea of Sharks
Survival horror film where Alicia Silverstone and husband are stranded in shark-infested waters when a freak storm washes their beachside cabin out to sea
Roboshark (2015)
Robot Shark Amok
Another in the fad for deliberately ridiculous shark movies following in the wake of Sharknado. With immensely entertaining regard, this offers up sharks invading Starbucks, swimming through malls, eating Bill Gates and even going on Twitter
Sand Sharks (2012)
Gonzo Killer Shark Film
This was made just before Sharknado turned the killer shark film into something deliberately ridiculous and is an entertainingly tongue-in-cheek B movie that has a perfect sense of its own limitations
The Shallows (2016)
Killer Shark/Survival Horror
A killer shark that is less Jaws and more a survival film in the vein of 127 Hours. A well worthwhile effort that uses every cinematic trick in its arsenal to provide a nail-bitingly intense adrenaline workout
Shark Attack 3: Megalodon (2002)
Giant Prehistoric Shark
John Barrowman fights a giant prehistoric shark in a film that gained a certain reputation as a Bad Movie
Shark Attack (1999)
Killer Shark Film
Killer shark from the 1990s heyday. This works passably as the B movie it is intended as, while the last third turns into the schlockily absurd with the insertion of two different corrupt conspiracy elements and action movie chases
Shark Bait (2022)
Stranded in Shark Infested Waters
Another horror film about survival in shark-infested waters where a group of partying teens on Spring Break are left clinging to a damaged jet ski as sharks circle and pick them off
Shark Girl (2024)
Shark-Human Hybrid
A Gonzo Killer Shark film about a social media influencer bitten by a radioactive shark who becomes a shark-human hybrid
Shark in Venice (2008)
Killer Shark Film
This is where the Sharknado and the modern gonzo shark movie phenomenon began. A ridiculous and cheap film that forgets the necessary tongue-in-cheek attitude and comes out as cheap on all fronts
Shark Killer (2015)
Killer Shark
This is one killer shark film of the 2010s that does not come in a deliberately ridiculous vein and concerns the hunt for a shark that has swallowed a valuable diamond
Shark Lake (2015)
Killer Shark Film
In the era of Sharknado and the competition to create the most ridiculous killer shark film possible, it is a brave B movie that chooses to go the serious killer shark film route. A fairly average effort where the so-so shark effects tend to be sidelined by the mundane custody battle on the shore
Shark Night 3D (2011)
Killer Shark Film
Ignore the bad reviews, this is a film that is determined not to take itself seriously and keeps piling on the absurdities until it enters into the realm of the entertainingly preposterous
Shark Side of the Moon (2022)
Gonzo Killer Shark Film
Another gonzo killer shark film from The Asylum, makers of Sharknado films, this features the entertaining absurdity of evolved humanoid Soviet sharks living on the Moon
Shark Tale (2004)
Animation/Talking Fish
DreamWorks animated talking fish film that was dismissed in the shadow of Pixar’s earlier Finding Nemo but is perfectly likeable in its own right
Shark Week (2012)
Killer Sharks
Killer shark film from The Asylum in a plot where a druglord forces people to fight various sharks – sort of Survivor but with sharks instead of elimination rounds
Sharkansas Women’s Prison Massacre (2016)
Gonzo Killer Shark Film
Another entrant in the fad for gonzo killer shark film. This gets some award for combining the killer shark film, the women’s prison film and the cabin in the woods horror standard
Sharkenstein (2016)
Gonzo Killer Shark Film
Z-budget director Mark Polonia makes a cheap and ridiculous variant on the gonzo killer shark film about a Nazi mad scientist creating a Franken-shark that comes with Hitler’s brain placed into it
Sharknado (2013)
Storm of Sharks/Deliberately Bad Film
This arrived as the same instant full-born bad movie cult sensation. Although you cannot help but feel that the people who ridiculed the film are missing out on the joke – in not seeing that it has been made as something intentionally absurd
Sharknado 2: The Second One (2014)
Storm of Sharks/Deliberately Bad Film
Sequel to the bad movie phenomenon Sharknado Accompanied by a host of celebrity cameos, there is less the cheerful absurdity of the original than a film that is trying to recapture a spontaneously generated fad
Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! (2015)
Storm of Sharks/Deliberately Bad Film
Sharknado was an instant bad movie phenomenon; the first sequel felt a forced attempt to copy that. The good news is that with the third entry, the series gets the balance of tongue in cheek absurdity just right
Sharknado 5: Global Swarming (2017)
Storms of Sharks/Deliberately Bad Film
By this point, the Sharknado series has gone from an amusingly tongue-in-cheek original to a series that is widely signalling that it is not taking anything that happens remotely seriously
Sharknado: The 4th Awakens (2016)
Storm of Sharks/Deliberately Bad Film
The bad movie hit of Sharknado was a surprise to everyone and spawned sequels. By this point, creativity appears to have dried up – essentially, the Sharknado series has jumped the shark
Sharks of the Corn (2021)
Gonzo Killer Shark Film
Perhaps not the worst Gonzo Killer Shark film ever made but it would sit among the worst half-dozen involving a shark-worshipping cult conducting sacrifices to summon a shark god in the cornfields
Sharksploitation (2023)
Killer Shark Film Documentary
A documentary about the shark film phenomenon, covering all the way from Jaws to the deliberately ridiculous killer shark film with illuminating insight
Sharktopus (2010)
Monster Shark-Octopus Hybrid
Amid the fad for deliberately absurd killer shark films viz Sharknado, this surely takes the prize for ridiculousness of conception and delivery – a hybrid creature with the head of a shark and the tentacles of an octopus. I defy you not to burst into laughter at some of the scenes (*)
Sharktopus vs Pteracuda (2014)
Giant Hybrid Monsters
Entry in the gonzo killer shark film (viz Sharknado et al), sequel to the earlier Sharktopus Though produced by veteran B movie producer Roger Corman, these Sharktopus films are some of the shittiest in the gonzo killer shark fad, featuring way below sub par effects and missing the sense of humour
Sharktopus vs Whalewolf (2015)
Giant Hybrid Monsters
Third of the Sharktopus films from Roger Corman, an entry in the series that is making no longer making any effort to take itself seriously
Sharkula (2022)
Vampire Shark
Z-budget filmmaker Mark Polonia makes another of his entries into the gonzo killer shark film. This is a companion piece to his Sharkenstein – yes, a work about a vampire shark!
6-Headed Shark Attack (2018)
Multi-Headed Killer Shark
The Asylum’s Multi-Headed Shark Attack series hasn’t quite hit the sense of delirious absurdism that their Sharknado films did – the only gimmick the series has is to keep adding heads to the shark. On the other hand, a scene where where the shark emerges onto land walking on two of its heads will have you rolling on the floor in laughter
Sky Sharks (2020)
Nazi Zombies on Flying Sharks
This has been conceived as the ultimate modern exploitation film featuring Nazi zombie piloting flying sharks. Think Iron Sky by way of Sharknado. The results are highly entertaining
Snow Shark: Ancient Snow Beast (2011)
Snowbound Killer Sharks
Amidst the spate of modern gonzo killer shark films, this is one of the worst – terrible acting, pitiful effects – but the saddest thing is that it isn’t there are worse entries than this
Something in the Water (2024)
Survival in Shark-Infested Waters
The survival in shark infested waters film has emerged as its own genre niche in the last few years. This is an all-girl variant with a bridal party stranded and trying to make it to shore
Space Sharks (2024)
Gonzo Killer Shark Film
Another in the gonzo killer shark film fad viz Sharknado, a bottom of the barrel effort that concerns lab sharks returned from a space mission mutated
The Suicide Squad (2021)
Team-Up of DC Comics Super-Villains
James Gunn takes over the Suicide Squad franchise and welcomely rescues it from the dud first screen outing
3 Headed Shark Attack (2015)
Giant Shark Amok
With the Mega Shark and especially the Sharknado films, The Asylum played the killer shark film as ridiculously as possible with delirious results. In this sequel to 2-Headed Shark Attack, they get the blend of the tongue-in-cheek absurdity to a point of near-perfection
Tintorera (1977)
Killer Shark Film
One of the better killer shark copycats made in the immediate aftermath of Jaws, this approaches the familiar in unexpected ways
Toxic Shark (2017)
Toxic Waste Mutated Killer Shark
Another in plethora of gonzo killer shark films viz Sharknado concerning a mutated shark that spews a plume of toxic waste. Not the bottom of the barrel, an adequately made B movie that takes itself relatively seriously
2025 Armageddon (2022)
Alien Invasion/The Asylum Crossover
A crossover between all the menaces in The Asylum’s films, which are brought to life as part of an alien invasion plan