A look back at the shark movies of 2025

The 50th anniversary of Jaws dominated much of 2025, and for good reason. Steven Spielberg’s 1975 classic remains one of the most influential films ever made, still razor-sharp after five decades. Its legacy, however, also includes spawning the endlessly mocked sharksploitation genre—an ocean of cheap imitators chasing thrills they rarely deliver.

That didn’t stop at least 10 new shark movies from swimming into U.S. release this year, some even landing brief theatrical runs. Given the genre’s history, skepticism was warranted. Most post-Jaws shark films promise carnage and deliver bargain-bin effects, thin characters, and toothless suspense.

Every once in a while, though, something breaks through. Films like The Shallows and 47 Meters Down proved that even disreputable waters can yield real tension and solid filmmaking. In 2025, three Australian imports did exactly that. Sean Byrne’s Dangerous Animals, Matthew Holmes’ Fear Below, and Kiah Roache-Turner’s Beast of War stand out as smart, disciplined shark movies that understand why Jaws still works.

Their success is even clearer when contrasted with the year’s bottom-feeders. Mockbuster outfit The Asylum released Great White Waters and Shark Terror, both emblematic of the genre’s worst instincts. The former, directed by Sharknado veteran Anthony C. Ferrante, and Christian Sesma’s Into the Deep share nearly identical plots involving criminals forcing divers into shark-infested waters to retrieve lost drug stashes. Into the Deep at least features Richard Dreyfuss as a marine biologist grandfather who wisely stays on dry land. Neither film offers convincing performances or effects, and the sharks feel more like floating inconveniences than predators.

Shark Terror fares no better, with Michael Paré barking orders from a radio while two hapless young people are stranded on a shrinking sandbar. Their best defense amounts to shouting, “Damn sharks, why can’t you just leave us alone?!”

By contrast, Fear Below and Beast of War earn their suspense by grounding it in character. Both are period pieces set around World War II, and their historical detail matters. The filmmakers take time to establish who these people are and how their era shapes their choices—so when the sharks arrive, the danger feels earned.

In Fear Below, Hermione Corfield delivers a precise, compelling performance as the only woman working for a struggling postwar Australian diving outfit. Hired by mobsters to recover stolen gold from a submerged car, the team dives using outdated helmets and hoses that are as threatening as the bull shark stalking them. Holmes wrings tension from every creaking piece of equipment.

Beast of War follows Indigenous soldier Leo (Mark Coles Smith), whose childhood diving experience becomes crucial after his ship is destroyed and his unit is left adrift at sea. Inspired by both real events and Robert Shaw’s USS Indianapolis monologue, Roache-Turner stages harrowing sequences as a great white circles the survivors amid thick fog. The paranoia and desperation are nearly as frightening as the attacks themselves.

That balance—between human drama and animal threat—is what many shark movies miss. Jaws is remembered as much for the chemistry between Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss, and Shaw as for its kills. Too many imitators simply kill time between attacks.

Even the year’s campier efforts highlight that divide. Britain’s Bikini Shark, about toxic waste-mutated sharks that slither onto land to attack women in bikinis, squanders its absurd premise. Japan’s Hot Spring Shark Attack fully embraces its own lunacy, earning cult status and packed U.S. screenings thanks to its self-aware humor and infectious enthusiasm.

Still, the strongest shark films treat the animals seriously—and Dangerous Animals does so in the most disturbing way. Jai Courtney plays Tucker, a serial killer who understands sharks all too well, deliberately provoking them to attack the women he kidnaps and films. Byrne keeps the shark action restrained, following Spielberg’s lesson that less is more. The real monster is Tucker, and Courtney’s sleazy charisma dominates every scene, from his ironic singalongs to his chilling lectures about shark behavior.

Hassie Harrison is effective as the woman who finally pushes back, but this is Courtney’s show—and one of the year’s most memorable performances in the genre.

Fifty years after Jaws, these films prove the shark movie isn’t extinct. When filmmakers respect both their characters and their creatures, the results can still draw blood—and honor Spielberg’s legacy.