8 Best Shark Movies of All Time — Is ‘Jaws’ Number One?

Like Snakes on a Plane, Sharknado resides squarely in so bad-it’s-good, does-what-it-says-on-the-tin territory. The acting, of course, is below B-movie-level. The cinematography is bargain-basement, and the CGI looks intentionally bad. And it all adds up to mindless fun that revels in its shlock.

Similarly, The Meg is a total popcorn flick, as with any other Jason Statham movie. As a back-from-extinction megalodon emerges in the deep and picks off researchers one by one, our action hero has to face that toothy maw solo. But fans onscreen gore might be disappointed: This mega-shark tends to eat its victims whole.

Deep Blue Sea, too, is not a good movie, but any film that has a shark leap from a moon pool to chomp a scenery-chewing Samuel L. Jackson mid-monologue deserves a spot on this list. And whichever CGI artist is responsible for his character’s final “Eh, what can you do?” shrug has our commendations.

In this pulse-pounding horror film, the sharks aren’t predators as much as they are weapons. The real threat here is Jai Courtney’s deranged boat captain-turned-serial killer, who chums the waters and then leads unsuspecting tourists to their deaths, feeding them to the sharks as he records their bloody demises on a VHS camcorder. (Retro!)

Sharks? In the Seine? Sacrebleu! This movie brings the shark-movie genre to Paris, where a number of attacks promise to disrupt the city’s moment in the spotlight as Olympics host. Under Paris has political and environmental undercurrents, but we know you’re here for the très bon action sequences.

After dealing with back-stabbing Upper East Siders, Blake Lively faced off against sharks in this survival thriller. It’s largely a one-woman show — think Gravity in water — with Lively playing Nancy, a stranded surfer fighting for her life. (Are we really supposed to believe Lively’s young character is named Nancy, though?)

Based on the real-life story of scuba divers abandoned by their dive boat — which, horrifyingly, has become a recurring issue — this thriller proves you don’t need a big budget to make a shark movie with bite. And the sharks in this film were real, too, so bonus points. (See also: the similar Aussie film The Reef, which almost made this list.)

Yes, of course we have Jaws at number one. You’ve got the iconic John Williams score, the suspenseful camerawork, the glitch-plagued animatronic sharks (that were still scarier than many of their CGI counterparts), and the endlessly quotable dialogue. Want to defeat this monster of a summer blockbuster? You’re gonna need a bigger boat.