Editorials
That’s Definitely Not ‘Jaws’: 6 Spooky Mockbusters Worth Watching
There’s a popular idiom often attributed to Picasso about how good artists copy and great artists steal. Naturally, this isn’t referring to plagiarism, but rather the idea that it’s better for an artist to reproduce something directly from the source instead of simply regurgitating it as-is. The way I see it, this sentiment also applies to creative rip-offs, as I’ll take an unlicensed cash-grab over endless sequels any day of the week.
After all, this is how we got beloved franchises like Friday the 13th (the original film was an attempt at capitalizing on the success of Halloween) and even Star Wars (A New Hope was meant to be a cheap Flash Gordon knock-off). And in honor of all the rip-offs that continue to feed the ouroboros that is popular culture, we’ve decided to come up with a list celebrating six spooky Mockbusters that are actually worth your time.
For the purposes of this list, we’ll be defining Mockbuster as any production that intentionally exploits the popularity of an existing intellectual property without actually being affiliated with that particular movie or franchise.
With that out of the way, don’t forget to comment below with your own favorite cinematic knock-offs if you think we missed a particularly fun one.
Now, onto the list…
6. Gamera, The Giant Monster (1965)
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: an atomic explosion awakens a gigantic reptile (played by an overworked actor in a rubber suit), with the creature proceeding to wreak havoc in urban Japan. No, this isn’t Godzilla, this is Noriaki Yuasa’s derivative classic Gamera, The Giant Monster. The Pepsi to Godzilla’s Coke, Gamera may not exactly benefit from the original formula, but it’s still an important part of kaiju history despite the studio only commissioning the project as a quick cash-grab.
Sure, this schlocky creature feature feels somewhat unremarkable when compared to the real thing, but Gamera really earns its place on this list by launching an entire franchise that would one day hold its own against Toho’s iconic dinosaur. And as someone who grew up building tiny LEGO cities for my pet turtle to destroy as it searched for dried shrimp snacks, I wouldn’t have it any other way!
5. Abraham Lincoln vs Zombies (2012)
Based on a humorous novel written by Seth Grahame-Smith (who is often credited with popularizing the literary genre mash-up), the forgotten 2012 flop Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter isn’t as bad as people make it out to be. However, we’re not talking about that film, we’re talking about its low-budget Asylum-produced mockbuster: Abraham Lincoln vs Zombies.
While Vampire Hunter was criticized for its overuse of CGI and a nearly un-recognizable portrayal of the 16th American president, Richard Schenkman’s Asylum feature boasts a hilarious yet compelling performance by Bill Oberst Jr. in proper period makeup as well as a truckload of hand-crafted practical zombie effects!
Just be sure to keep this one away from historical accuracy enthusiasts…
4. Orca (1977)
Piranha might be the most popular example of the Jaws rip-offs that attempted to ride the wave of Spielberg’s iconic monster movie, but Michael Anderson’s Orca will always remain one of my personal favorite scary movie meant to confuse grandmas at the video store. Yes, the film’s frights are as unoriginal as the Jaws-like marketing makes them out to be, but Orca benefits from some surprisingly competent direction and plenty of underwater violence.
Not only that, but this underrated creature feature also gives our raging antagonist a tragic motivation for its rampage, with highly intelligent Killer Whales being better suited for revenge stories than sharks. They’re also much easier to train, which is why Orca boasts so many spine-chilling attack scenes performed by real animals.
And with the recent trend of real-life Orcas ganging up to sink yachts, only time will tell if this infamous Dino DeLaurentis production was actually meant to be a prophetic warning.
3. Zombi II (1979)
Most mockbusters inhabit a legal gray area, with their slightly different titles and premises giving them some amount of protection against lawsuits. Lucio Fulci’s Zombi II is an infamous exception. When film producer Fabrizio De Angelis realized that Italian law allowed for any film to be marketed as an official sequel regardless of whether or not the project is affiliated with the license holders, De Angelis took advantage of this loophole to create an unlicensed follow-up to George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead.
While the film doesn’t boast the same polish and sociological implications as an official entry in Romero’s Dead series, Zombi II stands out by being a wildly creative zombie romp with its own sense of style. You also get to see a zombie fight a shark! What’s not to love?
2. Carnosaur (1993)
Roger Corman is no stranger to rushed cash-grabs, so it makes sense that the legendary producer would be responsible for the other dinosaur movie of 1993. While Carnosaur is technically based on John Brosnan’s 1984 novel, Corman only greenlit the project because he knew he could capitalize on 90s paleo-fever by getting a dinosaur movie released ahead of the then-upcoming Jurassic Park.
Thankfully, writer/director Adam Simon (who you may know from Salem and The Haunting in Connecticut) refused to phone this one in, making the best of a low budget by focusing on humorous dialogue and nostalgic practical effects (as well as a bonkers story about a virus that makes women give birth to dinosaurs).
Carnosaur ended up being so successful that it spawned an entire mockbuster franchise, though fans should proceed with caution, as future entries vary wildly in quality.
1. Paranormal Entity (2009)
Another Asylum picture, you’d be forgiven for having overlooked this obvious Paranormal Activity knock-off back when it was first released. However, horror fans who dared to check this one out were shocked to discover that writer/director Shane Van Dyke opted to add his own spin to a familiar story instead of simply rehashing the “source material.”
P.E. may not be quite as polished as its more mainstream cousin, but it’s still better than the vast majority of DIY haunted house flicks available on streaming. In fact, Oren Peli (director of the original Paranormal Activity) was so impressed with this ambitious little homage that he later collaborated with Shane on other projects.
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Daniel Kraus took the literary world by storm back in 2023 with the release of his hit novel Whalefall. A terrifying yet intimate survival thriller with mythological undertones, the book was almost immediately bombarded with offers from movie studios wanting to adapt its claustrophobic imagery to the big screen.
Fast forward to June of 2026, and we finally got our first glimpse at Brian Duffield’s long-awaited adaptation of Whalefall, starring Austin Abrams as our unfortunate lead who gets swallowed alive by a sperm whale. While this two-and-a-half-minute teaser only covers the beginning of the story, it’s already been making waves online (and in-person at select 4DX promotional screenings) as one of the most stressful cinematic experiences of the year.
In fact, my own wife had to cover her eyes and exclaim, “You’re definitely not dragging me to watch this one” when we saw the whale’s jaws begin to close in on Abrams, with this incident alone already leaving me convinced that this will likely be one of the biggest genre hits of the year. With that in mind, I’d like to invite you to take a closer look at the teaser in order to break down interesting details and get a better idea of what’s in store for genre fans when the movie finally comes out this October.
Of course, as usual, don’t forget to comment below if you noticed something we didn’t!
Now, without further ado, here are five things we learned from the Whalefall trailer!
5. Austin Abrams Performed Many of His Own Stunts
Much like in his previous film, No One Will Save You, Duffield insisted that this visceral experience should be grounded by our main character’s believable reactions, regardless of the plot’s effects-heavy setup. That’s why the camera always makes sure to linger on Abrams through his diving mask, so we know that it’s really him going through this ordeal alongside the audience.
While plenty of CGI was used in order to bring this larger-than-life story to the big screen without killing our leading man, Abrams apparently insisted on performing many of his underwater stunts himself (several of which are visible in the trailer) – much to the chagrin of a worried Duffield and the flick’s stunt coordinator, Shauna Duggins.
4. The Film Seamlessly Transitions Between the California Coast and Underwater Sets
Duffield obviously wasn’t about to drag his crew out to the middle of the ocean and shoot inside a real sperm whale, but it’s reassuring to see the filmmaker blend on-location footage with the underwater tank segments and the literal belly of the whale set.
There may be plenty of CGI stitching these elements together, but the trailer shows us that only the truly impossible shots are completely digital, meaning that the filmmakers didn’t take the easy way out when it came to adapting this unique story.
3. The Whale is Only Part of the Story
Book adaptations tend to leave out inner monologues and the occasional flashback in order to streamline the narrative (which is one reason why it’s so difficult to translate Stephen King novels to the big screen), but a claustrophobic parable like Kraus’ Whalefall would get a bit dull after a while if the whole thing was entirely set within the creature’s stomach.
That’s why it’s such a relief that the trailer hints at how Duffield will also be adapting many of the book’s introspective moments chronicling our protagonist’s harsh upbringing under his troubled father. Not only do these inclusions give the audience some much-appreciated breathing room, but they also give Josh Brolin a chance to shine as a truly complicated character.
2. The Movie is Keeping the Book’s Scientific Accuracy…
While Kraus’ novel was inspired by a viral video of kayakers nearly being swallowed by a humpback whale, the writer ended up consulting with marine biologists about exactly what kind of situation might lead to a whale actually eating a human being alive.
The answer was surprisingly specific, as cetaceans are almost universally known to be friendly towards humans. However, even a gentle giant can make mistakes, and as we see in the trailer, Abrams’ unpleasant fate is more of an accident than anything else – with the massive sperm whale only trapping the poor diver in the first (and thankfully acid-free) chamber of its stomach due to a mix-up involving a giant squid.
Fortunately for the film’s special effects artists, they can now reference the first-ever footage of a real-life sperm whale chowing down on one such squid, as this freaky recording was released late last year.
1. …With a Catch!
Duffield may be doing his best to recreate the grounded (or is it submerged?) thrills of Kraus’ novel, but there are limits to what can be depicted onscreen while still guaranteeing an entertaining movie. That’s why it’s no surprise that Whalefall will take advantage of certain cinematic parlor tricks as the director tests the limits of both physics and biology so we can actually watch his movie.
For starters, the innards of the whale itself have been greatly exaggerated so there’s enough space to make out the action, and in the spirit of movies like Neil Marshall’s The Descent, there also seems to be plenty of non-diegetic lighting meant to show us what’s going on even if Abram’s character wouldn’t necessarily be able to see anything.
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