Creature features are a staple of horror, and few have been as consistently present within the sub-genre as the timeless killer shark movie.
What started as a novelization by Peter Benchley ended up creating a phenomenon in 1975 when Stephen Spielberg decided to adapt Jaws for the big screen. Shark movies are simple because they rely on a primal fear from audiences that taps into something so natural and seemingly harmless as a fun summer day on the water with family and friends.
Over time, the sub-genre has taken on many different forms that evolved just like the featured predator itself. Other killer animal movies have been crafted in Jaws’ wake, but few have managed to sustain momentum like a killer shark movie can. The ebb and flow of the sub-genre’s trajectory has spread across decades, bringing natural frights and the utterly ridiculous aspects of a creature feature in tandem.
Jaws And The Success Of The Summer Blockbuster
Spielberg had a massive hit on his hands, which genuinely made people terrified to go in the water. The choice to pull away from the brutality added to a more palpable fear of the unknown, and its choice to make anyone a victim - showing the truly discerning palate of a inhuman monster - amplified that. Jaws spawned three sequels, none of which kept up the original’s momentum, but what they didn’t accomplish, other films tried to emulate.
In 1999, director Renny Harlin brought Deep Blue Sea to audiences with a plot revolving around shark brains being experimented on by scientists to develop a cure for Alzheimer’s. It was an interesting story that ended up resulting in highly intelligent predators who stalked a crew of scientists. Deep Blue Sea didn’t shy away from violence, but tried to use the blockbuster style that Jaws is credited with creating and picked a July release. Some thought it was too over the top while remaining serious, so reviews were mixed.
Shark Movies Switched To Realism To Craft Natural Scares
After Deep Blue Sea’s lukewarm reception, filmmakers changed tactics to focus on the simplicity that makes a killer shark movie scary: realism. Sharks have killed people, so part of the success of events like Shark Week involves humans’ fascination with these deadly, magnificent creatures. Open Water (2003) and The Reef (2010) explored the prospect of humans being lost at sea, trapped in open water while sharks wait for the prime opportunity to strike. The central focus wasn’t on a highly intelligent shark or even a man-eating shark; these films focused instead on helplessness and the opportunistic shark, which leaned on facts from real-life shark attacks, as both are based on true events.
Sharknado And Other Iterations Made The Genre Ridiculous
Eventually, “mockbuster” film studio, The Asylum, decided to take a slice of the killer shark movie action. They created Sharknado in 2013 and explored the ridiculous notion of a shark-infested tornado attacking helpless victims. It’s not a good film by critical standards, but got an insane cult following and spawned five more movies in the series, all building on the previous’ momentum by making more outlandish plot devices with entirely unnatural results. Sharknado also came alongside other ridiculous killer shark movies like 2-Headed Shark Attack (2012), which went all the way to 6-Headed Shark Attack (2018). Other films in this sub-genre include Ghost Shark (2013), Ice Sharks (2016), and Dam Sharks (2016). The Sharknado franchise ended in 2018.
The Shallows And The Meg Returned To The Genre’s Roots
Eventually, filmmakers decided to try the killer shark movie scary again, which resulted in a retcon that returned to the sub-genre’s roots: natural terror. Jaume Collet-Serra brought The Shallows to audiences in June 2016, banking on the success of shark movies as summer blockbusters. Collet-Serra’s tale of surfer girl vs. shark held a natural angle, was well-received, and earned over $119 million. Jon Turtletaub’s The Meg took a PG-13 version of the killer shark movie and created an action-thriller over brutal horror. Overall, the genre seems to be shifting back to the original direction where sharks can exhibit their most primal urges without unrealistic additions.
Next: The Meg: Why Being Rated PG-13 Hurt The Shark Blockbuster
