Sharksploitation

Sharksploitation is a subgenre of exploitation film that involves sharks or shark attacks. The genre emerged in the wake of the 1975 film Jaws and its sequels, but fell in popularity soon after. The 1999 film Deep Blue Sea brought it back to public prominence. Other examples of sharksploitation films include Mega Shark Versus Giant Octopus (2009), Dinoshark, Sharktopus (both 2010), Snow Shark (2012), Ghost Shark (2013), Avalanche Sharks (2014), and the Sharknado film series (2013–2018).

In 2023, a feature-length documentary film about the subgenre, titled Sharksploitation, was produced and released by Shudder.

Notable sharksploitation films

Year Films Series Genre
1950 Killer Shark NA Adventure
1960 Shark! N/A Action
1975 Jaws Jaws Thriller
1975 Sharks' Treasure N/A Adventure
1976 Mako: The Jaws of Death N/A Thriller
1976 Shark Kill N/A Adventure
1977 Tintorera, also known as Tintorera: Killer Shark. N/A Horror
1978 Jaws 2 Jaws Thriller
1978 Cyclone (Spanish: El Ciclón), also known as Terror Storm N/A Survival/Horror
1979 The Shark Hunter N/A Adventure
1981 The Last Shark, also known as Great White N/A Horror
1981 Beyond the Reef N/A Adventure
1983 Jaws 3-D Jaws Thriller
1987 Jaws: The Revenge Jaws Thriller
1989 Night of the Sharks N/A Action
1989 Deep Blood, also known as Sharks or Sangue negli abissi (Italian, lit. "Blood in the Abyss") N/A Adventure/Horror
1995 Cruel Jaws N/A Thriller
1999 Deep Blue Sea Deep Blue Sea Sci-fi/Horror
1999 Shark Attack Shark Attack Thriller
2000 Shark Attack 2 Shark Attack Thriller
2002 Shark Attack 3: Megalodon Shark Attack Thriller
2003 Open Water Open Water Survival/Thriller
2003 Red Water N/A Action/Horror
2003 Shark Zone N/A Horror
2004 12 Days of Terror N/A Horror/Thriller
2004 Blue Demon N/A Sci-fi/Horror
2005 Hammerhead: Shark Frenzy, also known as Sharkman or Hammerhead N/A Sci-fi/Action/Horror
2005 Raging Sharks N/A Sci-fi/Action/Horror
2005 Spring Break Shark Attack N/A Action/Adventure/Drama
2008 Shark Swarm, also known as Great White N/A Thriller
2008 Shark in Venice, also known as Sharks in Venice in the U.S. N/A Natural horror/Action
2009 Jaws in Japan, also known as Psycho Shark N/A (unrelated to the Jaws franchise) Horror
2009 Malibu Shark Attack, also known as Mega Shark of Malibu It is a part of the SyFy Channel's Maneater series (which is unrelated to the Shark Attack or Mega Shark franchises), along with Shark Swarm, Shark Killer, and 25 other natural horror creature features. Natural horror
2009 Mega Shark Versus Giant Octopus Mega Shark Versus Creature feature
2010 Dinoshark N/A Horror/Comedy
2010 Mega Shark Versus Crocosaurus Mega Shark Versus Creature feature
2010 The Reef The Reef Thriller
2010 Sharktopus Sharktopus Horror/Sci-fi/Creature feature/Comedy
2011 Sand Sharks N/A Horror/Comedy
2011 Shark Night N/A Thriller
2011 Super Shark N/A Sci-fi/Action
2011 Swamp Shark N/A Thriller
2012 2-Headed Shark Attack Multi-Headed Shark Attack Survival horror
2012 Bait 3D N/A Horror/Disaster
2012 Dark Tide N/A Action/Horror/Thriller
2012 Jersey Shore Shark Attack N/A Horror/Comedy
2012 Jurassic Shark, also known as Attack of the Jurassic Shark Jurassic Shark Horror/Comedy
2012 Snow Shark: Ancient Snow Beast Snow Shark Horror/Comedy
2012 Ghost Shark Ghost Shark Horror/Comedy
2013 Sharknado Sharknado Sci-fi/Disaster
2014 Avalanche Sharks N/A Horror/Comedy
2014 Mega Shark Versus Mecha Shark Mega Shark Versus Horror/Comedy
2014 Sharknado 2: The Second One Sharknado Sci-fi/Disaster/Comedy
2014 Sharktopus vs. Pteracuda Sharktopus Horror/Sci-fi/Creature feature/Comedy
2014 Piranha Sharks N/A Comedy/Horror
2015 Sharktopus vs. Whalewolf Sharktopus Horror/Sci-fi/Creature feature/Comedy
2015 Shark Exorcist Shark Exorcist Action/Horror
2015 3-Headed Shark Attack Multi-Headed Shark Attack Action/Horror
2015 Ghost Shark 2: Urban Jaws Ghost Shark Supernatural/Horror/Comedy
2015 Mega Shark Versus Kolossus Mega Shark Versus Sci-fi/Comedy
2015 Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! Sharknado Action/Horror/Comedy
2015 Roboshark, also known as Robo Shark vs. Navy Seals N/A Action/Adventure/Comedy
2015 Shark Lake (film) N/A Action/Horror
2016 Atomic Shark N/A Action/Horror
2016 Ozark Sharks, also known as Summer Shark Attack N/A Horror/Thriller/Comedy
2016 The Shallows N/A Survival/Horror
2016 Sharkansas Women's Prison Massacre N/A Sci-fi/Horror
2016 Sharkenstein N/A Sci-fi/Action/Comedy
2016 Sharknado: The 4th Awakens Sharknado Sci-fi/Disaster/Comedy
2017 5-Headed Shark Attack Multi-Headed Shark Attack Sci-fi/Horror
2017 47 Meters Down 47 Meters Down Survival/Horror
2017 House Shark N/A Horror/Comedy
2017 Open Water 3: Cage Dive Open Water Found footage/Survival/Horror
2017 Sharknado 5: Global Swarming Sharknado Sci-fi/Disaster/Comedy
2018 The Last Sharknado: It's About Time Sharknado Sci-fi/Disaster/Comedy
2018 Deep Blue Sea 2 Deep Blue Sea Sci-fi/Horror
2018 The Meg The Meg Sci-fi/Action
2019 47 Meters Down: Uncaged 47 Meters Down Survival/Horror
2019 Capsized: Blood in the Water N/A Survival/Horror
2020 Deep Blue Sea 3 Deep Blue Sea Sci-fi/Horror
2020 Sky Sharks N/A Sci-fi/Comedy/Horror
2020 Ouija Shark Ouija Shark Comedy/Horror/Action
2021 Great White N/A Survival/Horror
2021 Sharks of the Corn N/A Horror
2021 Swim (film) N/A Horror/Action
2022 Ouija Shark 2 Ouija Shark Action/Horror/Comedy
2022 The Reef: Stalked The Reef Horror
2022 The Requin N/A Horror/Thriller
2022 Maneater (Shark film) N/A Action/Horror
2022 Shark Bait N/A Action/Horror
2023 Sharktopus Remade in China Sharktopus Horror/Sci-fi/Creature feature/Comedy
2023 Meg 2: The Trench The Meg Sci-Fi/Action
2023 Cocaine Shark, also known as Kanizame Shakurabu N/A Crime/Drama/Horror
2023 Big Shark N/A Horror/Comedy
2024 Under Paris N/A Action/Horror
2024 The Black Demon N/A Sci-Fi/Thriller
2024 No Way Up N/A Survival/Thriller
2024 Shark Exorcist 2: Unholy Waters Shark Exorcist Action/Horror
2024 Shark Island (film) N/A Action/Horror
2024 Something in the Water N/A Survival/Thriller
2025 Fear Below N/A Action/Thriller
2025 Into the Deep N/A Action/Thriller
2025 Dangerous Animals N/A Action/Thriller
2026 Deep Water N/A Survival/Horror
2026 The Devil's Mouth N/A Survival/Thriller
2026 Above & Below N/A Action/Horror/Thriller
  1. 1 2 Open Water 2: Adrift has been excluded from this list. Although it is nominally part of the Open Water franchise, it is thematically unrelated to either Open Water or Open Water 3: Cage Dive.
  2. ↑ Cocaine Shark features character and geographical connections to both the Jurassic Shark franchise and the film Sharkenstein, but it is thematically unrelated to either film.[clarification needed]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Onion, Rebecca (June 16, 2005). "Sharksploitation! Jaws and the sad decline of the shark movie". Slate. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  2. ↑ Squires, John (June 22, 2023). "'Sharksploitation' – Shudder Original Shark Horror Documentary Premieres This Summer". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  3. ↑ Choi, Charles Q. (June 20, 2010). "How 'Jaws' Forever Changed Our View of Great White Sharks". LiveScience. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  4. ↑ Howard, Jules (August 19, 2018). "The last 'Sharknado' won't be the end of sharksploitation films. But sharks do need saving". NBC News. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  5. ↑ de la Fuente, Anna Marie (August 2, 2021). "Doc 'Sharksploitation' Delves into the Sub-Genre Spawned by Steven Spielberg's 'Jaws' (Exclusive)". Variety. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  6. ↑ Squires, John (June 22, 2023). "'Sharksploitation' – Shudder Original Shark Horror Documentary Premieres This Summer". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  7. ↑ Mack, Andrew (July 18, 2023). "Sharksploitation Trailer: Shark Horror Doc Debuts on Shudder This Friday". Screen Anarchy. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  8. ↑ Vagg, Stephen (22 October 2025). "Bite on this! Why we're obsessed with bloody shark flicks". InDaily Qld. Retrieved 22 October 2025.