Editorials
8 Shark Attack Horror Movies You Need to Watch This Summer
Ever since Steven Spielberg’s Jaws made huge waves in 1975, summer has belonged to sharks. For decades there’s been sequels, copycats, and some very weird iterations of the aquatic predator. Ghost sharks, zombie sharks, two-headed sharks, shark hybrids, and even a series with goofy shark-infested tornados; there’s a shark film for just about every situation and every budget.
Hollywood keeps making them because our fear and fascination with sharks runs deep. Discovery Channel runs an annual summer programming series, dubbed Shark Week, that began in the late ‘80s out of a desire to drive conservation efforts and educate on common misconceptions. We eat that up, too. For better or worse, shark movies still win on pure entertainment value alone. That’s something I’m not sure any other subgenre of horror can boast.
Jason Statham is set to face off against a 70-foot prehistoric shark on August 10 in The Meg, in what looks to be thrilling summer Blockbuster adventure. Let’s face it, all we need is some intense shark action and the sight of unwitting summer vacationers becoming shark snacks to deliver on expectations, and The Meg looks like it’ll be a crowd pleaser.
While we get amped up for prehistoric shark carnage, here are 8 more shark attack films to revisit before The Meg arrives in theaters…
Open Water
Compared to most shark films, this one is a bit more sedate. It spends much of its runtime getting to know couple Susan and Daniel as they head out to their scuba vacation. Out at sea, their scuba tour boat leaves them, unwittingly counting another pair twice while the couple is still underwater. Susan and Daniel undergo the various stages of shock and grief at being left behind, even fighting with each other, while slowly the sharks begin to circle for dinner. Open Water opts for more realistic shark behavior and uses real sharks, which means the shark attacks are a lot less flashy than just about every other shark movie. If you’re afraid of the open water, though, this one is quite effective. Bleak and based on a true story, Open Water is one of the more unique shark movies out there.
Shark Night 3D
What happens when the director of Snakes on a Plane takes on sharks in a lake? This. This is what happens. Sadly, it was director David R. Ellis’ final film before he passed away. Is Shark Night 3D a good movie? Not at all. It could’ve used more shark carnage, and it made the biggest shark movie sin of all; the true villains of the film weren’t the sharks, but humans. It also had the misfortune of being released a year after Alexandre Aja’s Piranha 3D, an aquatic horror comedy in similar tone but with actual gore. There’s no gore here at all, but there is a variety of animatronic sharks and ridiculous shark attack scenes. Even with the script problems, Ellis injected his sense of fun here. This is the perfect pizza and beer with friends type of movie.
47 Meters Down
As if hungry sharks aren’t enough to contend with, sisters Lisa (Mandy Moore) and Kate (Claire Holt) must contend with oxygen deprivation too. On a spontaneous dive trip post-break-up, the sisters are trapped below when the cable to their dive cage snaps. It’s sharks that prevent an easy rescue, thwarting their chances for survival as narcosis becomes a serious problem. 47 Meters Down boasts one of the most terrifying shark scares in recent memory and isn’t afraid to go dark. This one is worth watching in preparation of The Meg, but also for its forthcoming sequel.
Jaws 2
Chances are you’ve already watched Jaws this summer; it’s a perfect 4th of July horror film after all. Otherwise, add that to the list. But this sequel is a worthwhile follow up to the granddaddy of all shark horror films. Roy Scheider returns as Chief Martin Brody, and once again the Mayor doesn’t believe him when he realizes a great white shark is terrorizing Amity Island. This time, Brody’s battle with the shark is much more personal; it’s his family that winds up in peril. A little less suspenseful than the first, this sequel ups the ante in terms of shark attacks. Not even a helicopter is safe from the shark this time.
Bait
The very premise of this one sounds so much sillier than it turned out to be; a tsunami traps a group of people inside a coastal supermarket along with great white sharks. Let that sink in. Sharks. In a supermarket. Yet it works. This Singaporean-Australian co-production has familiar horror faces, namely Sharni Vinson (You’re Next) and Xavier Samuel (The Loved Ones) as the leads. Save for a few poor CG scenes and a suspension of disbelief, there’s a lot of cool animatronic shark sequences and moments of breathless suspense. In short, Bait is a lot of fun and better than it’s been given credit for.
The Reef
If you liked the concept of Open Water but perhaps found it a bit too slow, The Reef should be more your speed. This Australian horror film follows a group of people who decide to make a lengthy swim to a nearby island when their boat capsizes in a coral reef. The swim is daunting enough, as the island is 12 miles away, but the waters are also infested with sharks. Like Open Water, this one is also based on a true story and uses actual shark footage over special effects. Unlike Open Water, this one has a higher body count and even more nail-biting suspense.
The Shallows
One of horror’s most underrated directors is Jaume Collet-Serra (House of Wax, Orphan). His talent for building suspense works well for a feature length thriller that has only three main characters: Nancy Adams (Blake Lively), a monstrous great white shark, and injured bird Steven Seagull. While surfing at an isolated, hidden beach in Mexico, a shark attack leaves Nancy stranded, injured, and alone while the shark lurks nearby. Collet-Serra takes a less is more approach, keeping Nancy’s survival at the forefront of the story. The shark is menacing and cunning, and the finale is over the top entertaining. The Shallows takes a small scale story and turns it into an epic summer horror film with B-movie flair. It works.
Deep Blue Sea
Often dubbed as the best shark movie since Jaws, director Renny Harlin’s big-budget action horror is a total blast. Instead of tried-and-true great white sharks, the genetically enhanced sharks at the center of this one are massive mako sharks. Set in an underwater research facility out in the deep blue, these mako sharks are tired of being research subjects and want out. So, naturally, they team up to break out, destroying anyone in their path. A special effects spectacle with unexpected deaths and high body count, Deep Blue Sea is definitive summer blockbuster entertainment. If The Meg manages to be even half as entertaining as this one, we should be in for a treat.
Editorials
‘Immaculate’ – A Companion Watch Guide to the Religious Horror Movie and Its Cinematic Influences
The religious horror movie Immaculate, starring Sydney Sweeney and directed by Michael Mohan, wears its horror influences on its sleeves. NEON’s new horror movie is now available on Digital and PVOD, making it easier to catch up with the buzzy title. If you’ve already seen Immaculate, this companion watch guide highlights horror movies to pair with it.
Sweeney stars in Immaculate as Cecilia, a woman of devout faith who is offered a fulfilling new role at an illustrious Italian convent. Cecilia’s warm welcome to the picture-perfect Italian countryside gets derailed soon enough when she discovers she’s become pregnant and realizes the convent harbors disturbing secrets.
From Will Bates’ gothic score to the filming locations and even shot compositions, Immaculate owes a lot to its cinematic influences. Mohan pulls from more than just religious horror, though. While Immaculate pays tribute to the classics, the horror movie surprises for the way it leans so heavily into Italian horror and New French Extremity. Let’s dig into many of the film’s most prominent horror influences with a companion watch guide.
Warning: Immaculate spoilers ahead.
Rosemary’s Baby
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The mother of all pregnancy horror movies introduces Rosemary Woodhouse (Mia Farrow), an eager-to-please housewife who’s supportive of her husband, Guy, and thrilled he landed them a spot in the coveted Bramford apartment building. Guy proposes a romantic evening, which gives way to a hallucinogenic nightmare scenario that leaves Rosemary confused and pregnant. Rosemary’s suspicions and paranoia mount as she’s gaslit by everyone around her, all attempting to distract her from her deeply abnormal pregnancy. While Cecilia follows a similar emotional journey to Rosemary, from the confusion over her baby’s conception to being gaslit by those who claim to have her best interests in mind, Immaculate inverts the iconic final frame of Rosemary’s Baby to great effect.
The Exorcist
William Friedkin’s horror classic shook audiences to their core upon release in the ’70s, largely for its shocking imagery. A grim battle over faith is waged between demon Pazuzu and priests Damien Karras (Jason Miller) and Lankester Merrin (Max von Sydow). The battleground happens to be a 12-year-old, Regan MacNeil (Linda Blair), whose possessed form commits blasphemy often, including violently masturbating with a crucifix. Yet Friedkin captures the horrifying events with stunning cinematography; the emotional complexity and shot composition lend elegance to a film that counterbalances the horror. That balance between transgressive imagery and artful form permeates Immaculate as well.
Suspiria
Jessica Harper stars as Suzy Bannion, an American newcomer at a prestigious dance academy in Germany who uncovers a supernatural conspiracy amid a series of grisly murders. It’s a dance academy so disciplined in its art form that its students and faculty live their full time, spending nearly every waking hour there, including built-in meals and scheduled bedtimes. Like Suzy Bannion, Cecilia is a novitiate committed to learning her chosen trade, so much so that she travels to a foreign country to continue her training. Also, like Suzy, Cecilia quickly realizes the pristine façade of her new setting belies sinister secrets that mean her harm.
What Have You Done to Solange?
This 1972 Italian horror film follows a college professor who gets embroiled in a bizarre series of murders when his mistress, a student, witnesses one taking place. The professor starts his own investigation to discover what happened to the young woman, Solange. Sex, murder, and religion course through this Giallo’s veins, which features I Spit on Your Grave’s Camille Keaton as Solange. Immaculate director Michael Mohan revealed to The Wrap that he emulated director Massimo Dallamano’s techniques, particularly in a key scene that sees Cecilia alone in a crowded room of male superiors, all interrogating her on her immaculate status.
The Red Queen Kills Seven Times
In this Giallo, two sisters inherit their family’s castle that’s also cursed. When a dark-haired, red-robed woman begins killing people around them, the sisters begin to wonder if the castle’s mysterious curse has resurfaced. Director Emilio Miraglia infuses his Giallo with vibrant style, with the titular Red Queen instantly eye-catching in design. While the killer’s design and use of red no doubt played an influential role in some of Immaculate’s nightmare imagery, its biggest inspiration in Mohan’s film is its score. Immaculate pays tribute to The Red Queen Kills Seven Times through specific music cues.
The Vanishing
Rex’s life is irrevocably changed when the love of his life is abducted from a rest stop. Three years later, he begins receiving letters from his girlfriend’s abductor. Director George Sluizer infuses his simple premise with bone-chilling dread and psychological terror as the kidnapper toys with Red. It builds to a harrowing finale you won’t forget; and neither did Mohan, who cited The Vanishing as an influence on Immaculate. Likely for its surprise closing moments, but mostly for the way Sluizer filmed from inside a coffin.
The Other Hell
This nunsploitation film begins where Immaculate ends: in the catacombs of a convent that leads to an underground laboratory. The Other Hell sees a priest investigating the seemingly paranormal activity surrounding the convent as possessed nuns get violent toward others. But is this a case of the Devil or simply nuns run amok? Immaculate opts to ground its horrors in reality, where The Other Hell leans into the supernatural, but the surprise lab setting beneath the holy grounds evokes the same sense of blasphemous shock.
Inside
During Immaculate‘s freakout climax, Cecilia sets the underground lab on fire with Father Sal Tedeschi (Álvaro Morte) locked inside. He manages to escape, though badly burned, and chases Cecilia through the catacombs. When Father Tedeschi catches Cecilia, he attempts to cut her baby out of her womb, and the stark imagery instantly calls Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury’s seminal French horror movie to mind. Like Tedeschi, Inside’s La Femme (Béatrice Dalle) will stop at nothing to get the baby, badly burned and all.
Burial Ground
At first glance, this Italian zombie movie bears little resemblance to Immaculate. The plot sees an eclectic group forced to band together against a wave of undead, offering no shortage of zombie gore and wild character quirks. What connects them is the setting; both employed the Villa Parisi as a filming location. The Villa Parisi happens to be a prominent filming spot for Italian horror; also pair the new horror movie with Mario Bava’s A Bay of Blood or Blood for Dracula for additional boundary-pushing horror titles shot at the Villa Parisi.
The Devils
The Devils was always intended to be incendiary. Horror, at its most depraved and sadistic, tends to make casual viewers uncomfortable. Ken Russell’s 1971 epic takes it to a whole new squeamish level with its nightmarish visuals steeped in some historical accuracy. There are the horror classics, like The Exorcist, and there are definitive transgressive horror cult classics. The Devils falls squarely in the latter, and Russell’s fearlessness in exploring taboos and wielding unholy imagery inspired Mohan’s approach to the escalating horror in Immaculate.
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