Shark film Maneater trailer surfaces

Maneater is a new shark thriller from director Justin Lee (The Most Dangerous Game), and the good news for Jaws fans is just like the Steven Spielberg classic they use a practical shark. Well that’s the promise, although there is not much evidence of that in the just released trailer.

As is the norm, there seems to be lots of CGI in use as well, but the film’s producer Daemon Hillin has promised thrills galore. Talking to Deadline, Hillin said: “We shot the film on location as practically as possible and wanted to provide an authentic, thrilling experience in the shark genre.”

Maneater follows a group of friends on vacation in what seems to be an island paradise – although we all now it’s only an island paradise if you look at it from the water – whose every move is followed by an unrelenting great white shark after an accident leaves them stranded, alone against the elements and the teeth of the shark.

In a year where we have already seen The Requin and Shark Bait these shark films need to do more than tread shark-infested water.

For many it's not just about the story, it's whether the shark attacks are any good and crucially, what's that shark like. Does it look good?

Will Maneater be the apex shark film of 2022? Until it is released in the US on August 26, that remains to be seen, especially with the dorsal fins of The Reef: Stalked and Blood in the Water yet to circle their audience prey. Here is a look at the trailer…

And there really is no point in asking if it will be better than Jaws, as head of content at The Daily Jaws, Dean Newman, explained. And no one comes to them expecting them to be.

He said: “These films are trying to be better than Jaws, but they exist because of our continued fascination with the film and sharks in general. Viewers come into these new shark films knowing it isn't going to hold a candle to Jaws, but they still want that creature feature fix.

Much like audiences can't get enough horror films, no one goes in thinking each film they watch will be the next The Exorcist, Scream, The Conjuring or Halloween.

People just want their shark creature feature fix. It's a mix of being thrilled, scared, being offered something slightly new in a familiar format or even sometimes groaning at the shark effects.

The good news is it looks like that sharksploitation films are here to stay, as 2023 sees the release of The Meg 2, which has been filming just outside of London.

None will be in touching distance of Jaws, few will be talked about in the same sentence (hello Deep Blue Sea, The Shallows and The Reef) but we'll still watch them and enjoy them, even if we might forget them by the time the next shark thriller swims by.

Words by Dean Newman

If you would like to write for The Daily Jaws, please visit our ‘work with us’ page

For all the latest Jaws, shark and shark movie news, follow The Daily Jaws on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.