The 35th edition of Discovery Channel’s Shark Week is officially underway, marking the return of the annual fan-favorite weeklong shark celebration. Shark Week began in 1988 as a fun means of educating audiences on the aquatic predator, counteracting the negative representations of sharks in popular culture that began with the seminal aquatic horror feature Jaws (now available to stream on Peacock).
Jaws didn’t just make people afraid to go into the water; its massive blockbuster success inspired an enduring wave of “sharksploitation” horror that’s become a summer mainstay. Naturally, in celebration of Shark Week, this week’s streaming picks bring the aquatic terror. Shudder’s new documentary Sharksploitation breaks down this subgenre further, packed with insights from filmmakers and scientists alike, for further viewing to complete your Shark Week watchlists.
Whether you’re in the mood for killer shark horror dripping with cheese or genuinely unsettling Jaws riffs, here’s where you can watch these Shark Week-inspired titles this week.
For more Stay Home, Watch Horror picks, click here.
Bait 3D – freevee, Roku Channel, Tubi
In this Australian-Singaporean disaster horror film, it’s a tsunami that leaves a group of people stranded in a flooded grocery store. Mid-robbery, no less. The devastation to the building, flooding, and volatile tension between characters would be enough to send stress levels into overdrive. But the tsunami also trapped a few hungry great white sharks in the store. While the plot setup sounds outlandish and implausible, Bait is way more fun than it sounds, and it’s led by Sharni Vinson (You’re Next) and Xavier Samuel (The Loved Ones). Bonus points for a script co-written by Russell Mulcahy (Razorback, Highlander).
Cruel Jaws – Arrow, freevee, Plex, Pluto TV, SCREAMBOX, Tubi, Vudu
This shot-in-Florida killer shark film from director Bruno Mattei (Scalps, Shocking Dark) epitomizes low-budget Sharksploitation. So much so that it cobbles together footage from the entire Jaws franchise and other Sharksploitation features to tell its tiger shark versus unassuming town tale. When most Jaws knockoffs are content to adhere to the same story beats, Cruel Jaws takes it a step further with a similar narrative that repurposes Jaws more overtly. That entertaining audacity and excessive body count make this rough killer shark feature worth watching at least once.
Orca – Paramount+, Showtime
It is Shark Week, and killer whales technically belong to the oceanic dolphin family, not sharks, but Orca remains one of the more unnerving copycats inspired by Jaws. Also known as Orca: The Killer Whale, director Michael Anderson (Logan’s Run) flips the script by ensuring audiences root for the killer whale seeking revenge. What begins as a search for a Great White instead becomes an unsettling showdown between a cruel captain and the powerful orca determined to get revenge for the heartbreaking, unflinching inciting event that resulted in the death of the killer whale’s mate and calf. There’s no question here that the orca is the hero of this heartbreaking tale, made even more emotional by Ennio Morricone’s score.
The Meg – Max
With the sequel Meg 2: The Trench releasing next week, Shark Week makes for the best time to revisit the action horror feature loosely based on Steve Alten’s novel. Director Jon Turteltaub’s massive action spectacle pits Jason Statham against a 75-foot-long prehistoric shark called the Megalodon. While this over-the-top summer action movie aimed for B-movie creature feature thrills, it went light on shark carnage. The mostly bloodless affair did offer some outlandish fun, especially with Statham’s hand-to-hand combat with the eponymous sea beast. The PG-13 action-adventure makes for a suitable gateway sharksploitation entry.
The Shallows – The Roku Channel
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, bleeding, 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 transforms a small-scale tale into a suspenseful summer horror film with B-movie flair. Catch up while you can; this pick is only available to stream free on Roku Channel for seven more days.
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