Top 20 Ridiculous Shark Movies
#20: “Deep Blue Sea” (1999)
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In this sci-fi horror flick, scientists pursuing a cure for Alzheimer’s Disease have decided the best test animals for studying the human brain are… sharks. And as we all know, the only way to study sharks is in an undersea laboratory. However, some unwise decisions by said scientists to mess with sharks’ minds inadvertently turn them into super-intelligent human-eaters; so when a storm damages the lab, folks like Thomas Jane, Saffron Burrows, and LL Cool J must fight these mutated super-sharks for their lives. Oh, and Samuel L. Jackson, whose toughness is, sadly, not enough to save him from a surprise chomping. While this movie is implausible, it’s also fun, with great action scenes, which redeems it in the eyes of fans.
#19: “Santa Jaws” (2018)
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As far as Christmas-themed horror comedy films featuring sharks go, we can safely say this is one of the best. Young Cody, a wannabe comic book artist, is annoyed at the prospect of spending Christmas with his family; he eases his frustration by drawing a comic called “Santa Jaws” that features an evil shark with a Santa hat. Unfortunately, it turns out he used a magic pen, so his creation comes to life and starts killing his friends and family. Don’t you hate it when that happens? Anyway, if you’re looking for a movie to watch around the holidays, with plenty of crossbows, candy canes, and creative deaths, this one’s for you.
#18: "Hammerhead: Shark Frenzy" [aka "SharkMan"] (2005)
Jeffrey Combs was no stranger to playing mad scientists prior to signing on to "Hammerhead" in 2005. After all, Combs was already a cult sensation, thanks to his performance in the horror classic "Reanimator." "Hammerhead" benefits greatly from its casting of Combs as the lead villain, whose obsession with curing his son's cancer leads to him turning the boy into a vicious shark/human hybrid. Meanwhile, the crew of "Hammerhead" take their cues from "Jaws" and show the titular creature only sparingly, using POV shots and brief glimpses to hide the shoddy CGI work. Still, "Hammerhead" is more competently made than some of the other films on this list, though, so that's gotta count for something.
#17: “Super Shark” (2011)
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Buckle up, because we’ve got yet another example of "shoddy CGI" here! 2011's "SuperShark," seemingly couldn’t be bothered to attempt anything approaching quality, and it appears to be proud of that fact. Sure, some of its lead actors seem to be at least trying to keep a straight face with the ridiculous material on hand. However, the simple fact is "Super Shark" rips off its plot from "Jaws," adds little-to-nothing to the genre and exists in its own vacuum of mindless entertainment for an easily appeased audience.
#16: “Megalodon” (2004)
There are actually two ridiculous shark movies entitled “Megalodon.” We’re talking about the older one, which was theatrically released in Japan in 2002 and finally released on video in the US in 2004. Even for the early 2000s, the film otherwise known as “Sharkzilla” contains some embarrassing CGI. Of course, then there’s the fact that if the people from this company weren’t so eager to get oil at the bottom of the ocean, then the prehistoric fish would never have attacked at all. But they do, it does, and the shark is so outraged that it pursues them even after they get back on land. The moral of the story is, never trespass in a shark’s domain.
#15: “Dinoshark” (2010)
Due to climate change and melting sea ice, a mysterious creature has arisen from the depths of the Arctic Ocean. Is it a dinosaur? A crocodile? A shark? Seriously, what the heck is it? The movie characters are asking and you will be, too, because this thing - pliosaur? - looks ridiculous. It’s got all the standard features of a B-movie monster shark: it’s fast, it can evade bullets, and it’s hungry for surfers and bikini-wearers. Who can stop this menace? Hopefully our heroes, which include Eric Balfour as a captain, Iva Hasperger as a marine biologist, and Roger Corman as a scientist. Although this may sound like a fun, cheesy flick, the consensus seems to be that without much plot or action, it’s really not worth the watch.
#14: “Shark Attack 3: Megalodon” (2002)
Top 10 Ridiculous Shark Movies
Uh oh, we’ve got another megalodon. The first two “Shark Attack” movies feature mutated modern-day sharks, but in this one, things got prehistoric. After a giant tooth is discovered, a scientific researcher realizes that megalodons still exist; moreover, even though they’ve never bothered anyone before, humanity is in grave danger now. Sure enough, it’s because some workers laying an undersea cable got attacked by the huge shark that the tooth is found in the first place, and as the movie continues, so too do the megalodon killings. But who can get mad at this adorably ridiculous CGI shark with its huge round eyes? Also, some of these folks are clearly asking to be eaten. If you enjoy hilariously bad movies, “Shark Attack 3” is probably worth your time.
#13: “Bait” (2012)
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One major problem with this movie is that it starts like a soap opera. Someone watching it without knowing what they were getting into would probably have no idea that sharks were involved at all! We first have to observe our hero Josh have a traumatic experience as a lifeguard, switch to working at a grocery store, where he encounters his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend and has to deal with a robbery and someone getting shot. It’s almost a relief when a tsunami hits, flooding the grocery store and letting in several sharks; our hero, his friends, his enemies, and a dog have to fight to escape. Thankfully, though the sharks do attack several people, the dog makes it. Okay, a few humans live, too, but they’re far less memorable.
#12: “Shark Night” (2011)
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Even though it’s only rated PG-13, this film comes disturbingly close to romanticizing violence. Instead of the big, over-the-top chomps you see in most shark thrillers, this one features people–mostly women–struggling and suffering for uncomfortably long scenes. Listen, just because some unhinged people stocked a body of water with sharks so that they can film people being attacked, doesn’t mean we want to see it! This movie really only has two things going for it: first, it features a variety of different shark species, which you don’t see too often; second, there’s a dog, and this one also survives.
#11: “Malibu Shark Attack” [aka “Mega Shark of Malibu”] (2009)
When a tsunami is about to hit a beach in Malibu, the head lifeguard and her friends are suddenly faced with… whatever these things are supposed to be. They turn out to be living fossil goblin sharks.” Goblin sharks are a real species, and while they are strange-looking, they’re also unlikely to bother people–they only live in very deep oceans. They also don’t look that much like the creatures in the film. However, these shark monsters are probably the best effects this movie has to offer; when it comes to realism, everything else looks even worse, from the tsunami, to the blood, to this guy pretending to maintain his balance and prevent himself from drowning. On the whole, this film probably isn’t so bad it’s good… it’s ridiculous.
#10: “The Meg” (2018)
Top 10 Shark Movies
Another megalodon? These are becoming a real problem! Especially in this movie, which features a ridiculously big, but fairly impressive, CGI shark. Working alongside the huge fish, we’ve got actors Jason Statham and Li Bingbing in bigger roles, a character calling himself “The Wall,” and… why is there a little kid in this undersea lab?? Anyway, thanks mainly to a memorable cast and a big budget, “The Meg” is pretty entertaining; it has the action and cool special effects that audience members are probably looking for. Just bear in mind that it’s almost two hours long, with a number of accidents, betrayals, and plot twists that seem a little out of place in a shark monster movie.
#9: “Jaws: The Revenge” (1987)
The iconic original “Jaws” film didn’t need a sequel–let alone three sequels. But sadly, successful films often inspire terrible subsequent installments. “Jaws 3-D,” for example, was a lackluster attempt to impress the audience with 3D effects, and not much else. “Jaws: The Revenge,” however, is downright bananas. A great white shark, apparently seeking revenge, is determined to hunt down and kill the surviving members of the Brody family. …Yes, really. It chases them from New England’s fictional Amity Island to the Bahamas, and in the revised ending of the film released on DVD, someone the shark attacks gets spit out because the shark somehow knew he wasn’t a relative! Oh, and the shark definitely roars. Yet even with its crazy plot, the movie is less entertaining and more of a wet flop all around.
#8: “Avalanche Sharks” (2014)
Do you like your bad shark movies to buck the aquatic trend for something a bit more original? If so, then the next film on our list is for you. "Avalanche Sharks" froze the ocean over for its take on a fish feeding frenzy, as terribly animated sharks "swim" through the snow in search of their prey. The overall effect is somewhat similar to 2012's "Sand Sharks," in that they're moderately well shot during the dialogue scene, but the actual creature effects are so abysmal, that they make the end results absolutely impossible to take seriously.
#7: “Mako: The Jaws of Death” (1976)
Hey, whaddaya know? We have actual sharks featured in our next film! No CGI nonsense here! "Mako: The Jaws of Death" is also one of the few legitimately enjoyable films on this list, as it actually arrives with an inventive premise. Richard Jaeckel's Sonny seems to possess a telepathic connection with sharks, and the film uses this idea to portray them as sympathetic victims of humanity. This is solid drive-in fare all the way, with tense underwater photography and Jaeckel's straight-forward performance to hold the film together. If you're looking for a 70s shark flick that tries to do something other than ape "Jaws," then this "Mako" is for you.
#6: “Two-Headed Shark Attack” (2012)
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The Asylum are well known to schlock movie fans as purveyors of shamelessly low budget, tie-in cash grab films known as "mockbusters." Now, "2-Headed Shark Attack" may not have been riding the coattails of any specific film when it hit rental and VOD on 2012, but it definitely has all of The Asylum's trademark ticked boxes. Middling to downright bad acting? Check. Gratuitous T&A? Double check. Shark effects that look like the unfinished work of a first year graphic design student? You betcha! Then again, it IS called "2-Headed Shark Attack," so what were we really expecting?
#5: “Jersey Shore Shark Attack” (2012)
Hey, have you ever wondered what an awful shark movie and an awful T.V. series would do if they somehow inhabited the same universe? No? Well, neither have we, but we're gonna talk about it anyway. "Jersey Shore Shark Attack" is perhaps the film with the least pride in what it does, cranking out a premise that rides on the wave of a popular reality craze and combines it with the laziest shark movie tropes imaginable. The acting is amateur hour (for the most part, Jack Scalia still delivers) and the effects are some of the worst ever put to screen, leaving this as one ridiculous shark movie best left for chum.
#4: “Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus” (2009)
The Asylum returns yet again on our list, this time with the first in their series that pits a "Mega Shark" against various mutated creatures in a fight to the finish. This first fight was titled "Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus" and delivers pretty much what you'd expect from the straight forward title. It's nowhere near as ridiculous as future installments would get, and hey, it stars pop singer Debbie Gibson and Lorenzo Lamas of "Renegade" fame, so that's something, right? Honestly, fans of campy shark flicks could do worse than this one, buuuuut, yeah, we'd still recommend you watch any of the "Jaws" movies instead.
#3: “Ghost Shark” (2013)
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Alright, we'll give this one an "A" for effort. "Ghost Shark" at least tries to do something new with an established genre here, which was no mean feat when it hit T.V. screens in 2013. The ghost effects, to their credit, could've been a lot worse, and it looks like most of the folks involved with this one - from cast to crew - are trying their best to have fun with a silly premise. Does the idea of a dead shark haunting the living make any sense? No, but who cares! "Ghost Shark" was made to be enjoyed with friends, drinks and one giant grain of salt.
#2: “Sharktopus” (2010)
Roger Corman is an industry icon, a filmmaker and producer who gave many Hollywood superstars their first shots in the business. He's also a man who knew how to make money, thanks to a career producing some of the exploitation world's most enjoyable films. "Sharktopus" was produced by Corman for the SyFy Network, and was just one in what had been decades of the Corman Factory's conveyor belt of killer beast flicks. So, is the film as fun as the man's ‘70s and ‘80s output? Well...no, but there's a knowing nod and a wink to the proceedings here that make the idea of a shark and octopus hybrid just that much more enjoyable to watch.
#1: “Sharknado” (2013)
C'mon, you knew this had to be at number one, right? Sure, there had already been tons of low budget shark disasters prior to the release of "Sharknado" in 2013, but rarely had one entered the public consciousness in quite the same way. The mainstream media, for one reason or another, picked up on the ludicrous premise of shark-infested water spouts flooding the city of Los Angeles, and earned the film a slow burn of success. The "Sharknado" series even managed to earn itself five sequels, which is probably more than anyone at SyFy or The Asylum expected when they greenlit the film for development. Good on ya, movie makers!
