Mako: The Jaws of Death (1976) “Sheer Terror!”
Jaws spawned an evitable slew of inferior imitators (see also Tintorera and The Last Shark), of which this was one of the first… and the weirdest. The story involves a young man who obtains a mystical medallion from a shaman and develops a telepathic connection with mako sharks.Isolating himself from the world, he uses his ability to get revenge on anybody who attempts to harm
his fish friends.
Deep Blue Sea (1999) “Your Worst Fear is About To Surface”
With Jaws rip offs and a slew of poor-quality sequels resulting in a loss of interest in shark movies, it would be a while before something fresh could come along and shake the genre up once more. Combining science fiction horror and action elements with a dose of wicked humour, Deep Blue Sea was a fun and original new shark tale that worked. At an underwater facility, a team of researchers are doing research on mako sharks in an effort to find a cure for Alzheimer’s disease. They do this by increasing the brain size of the sharks with the unwanted side effect that the deadly sharks are now showing signs of increased intelligence. Starring Samuel Jackson and rapper LL Cool J and directed by action veteranRennyHarlin, this shark success story proved a solid hit.
Open Water (2003) “Don’t Get Left Behind”
Based on the true life story of a scuba diving couple left behind after an excursion to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, the low-fi aesthetics of this intense drama give it a palpable sense of realism. With the almost unbearable psychological terror of seeing a couple stranded at sea in shark-infested waters with no means of rescue, Open Water created a trend for realistic depictions of stranded survivors that continues to this day. One of the best modern shark movies.
Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus (2009) “Winner… Eats… All!”
What started as a cheap exploitation monster movie has now spawned an industry revolving around increasingly preposterous ideas. When a glacier is broken open off the coast of Alaska two long-since extinct prehistoric titans are released… The Mega Shark and Giant Octopus! The undersea titans then proceed to wreak havoc as military and scientists desperately try to stop them.
The ‘Mega Shark Vs.’ series currently stands at 3 sequels and counting…
Sharknado (2014) “Enough Said!”
3-Headed Shark? Ghost Shark? Snow Sharks? All real titles in the recent line of B-movie shark tales, but perhaps the silliest, and most successful, has to be Sharknado. Running aground in 2014, this movie featured a freak cyclone that hits LA flooding the city with monster sharks. Starring notorious party girl Tara Reid, the film caused a twitter storm on its Syfy channel premiere
racking up viewers and proving an unlikely success.
Lionsgate Home Entertainment UK presents Cage Dive on DVD & Digital on 9th October 2017
Karen Woodham is the founder and owner of the Blazing Minds. She is also a Cinema reviewer and works with RealD 3D reviewing the latest 3D releases and IMAX, she has also had several articles published in various publications including the first edition of SFW Magazine. In 2015 she became an Award Winning Blogger and also has her website listed as one of the UK’s Top 10 Film Blogs.
