Sharksploitation is a subgenre of exploitation film that involves sharks or shark attacks. The genre emerged in the wake of the 1975 film Jaws and its sequels, but fell in popularity soon after. The 1999 film Deep Blue Sea brought it back to public prominence. Other examples of sharksploitation films include Mega Shark Versus Giant Octopus (2009), Dinoshark, Sharktopus (both 2010), Snow Shark (2012), Ghost Shark (2013), Avalanche Sharks (2014), and the Sharknado film series (2013–2018).
In 2023, a feature-length documentary film about the subgenre, titled Sharksploitation, was produced and released by Shudder.
Notable sharksploitation films
Year Films Series Genre 1950 Killer Shark NA Adventure 1960 Shark! N/A Action 1975 Jaws Jaws Thriller 1975 Sharks' Treasure N/A Adventure 1976 Mako: The Jaws of Death N/A Thriller 1976 Shark Kill N/A Adventure 1977 Tintorera, also known as Tintorera: Killer Shark. N/A Horror 1978 Jaws 2 Jaws Thriller 1978 Cyclone (Spanish: ), also known as Terror Storm N/A Survival/Horror 1979 The Shark Hunter N/A Adventure 1981 The Last Shark, also known as Great White N/A Horror 1981 Beyond the Reef N/A Adventure 1983 Jaws 3-D Jaws Thriller 1987 Jaws: The Revenge Jaws Thriller 1989 Night of the Sharks N/A Action 1989 Deep Blood, also known as Sharks or Sangue negli abissi (Italian, lit. "Blood in the Abyss") N/A Adventure/Horror 1995 Cruel Jaws N/A Thriller 1999 Deep Blue Sea Deep Blue Sea Sci-fi/Horror 1999 Shark Attack Shark Attack Thriller 2000 Shark Attack 2 Shark Attack Thriller 2002 Shark Attack 3: Megalodon Shark Attack Thriller 2003 Open Water Open Water Survival/Thriller 2003 Red Water N/A Action/Horror 2003 Shark Zone N/A Horror 2004 12 Days of Terror N/A Horror/Thriller 2004 Blue Demon N/A Sci-fi/Horror 2005 Hammerhead: Shark Frenzy, also known as Sharkman or Hammerhead N/A Sci-fi/Action/Horror 2005 Raging Sharks N/A Sci-fi/Action/Horror 2005 Spring Break Shark Attack N/A Action/Adventure/Drama 2008 Shark Swarm, also known as Great White N/A Thriller 2008 Shark in Venice, also known as Sharks in Venice in the U.S. N/A Natural horror/Action 2009 Jaws in Japan, also known as Psycho Shark N/A (unrelated to the Jaws franchise) Horror 2009 Malibu Shark Attack, also known as Mega Shark of Malibu It is a part of the SyFy Channel's Maneater series (which is unrelated to the Shark Attack or Mega Shark franchises), along with Shark Swarm, Shark Killer, and 25 other natural horror creature features. Natural horror 2009 Mega Shark Versus Giant Octopus Mega Shark Versus Creature feature 2010 Dinoshark N/A Horror/Comedy 2010 Mega Shark Versus Crocosaurus Mega Shark Versus Creature feature 2010 The Reef The Reef Thriller 2010 Sharktopus Sharktopus Horror/Sci-fi/Creature feature/Comedy 2011 Sand Sharks N/A Horror/Comedy 2011 Shark Night N/A Thriller 2011 Super Shark N/A Sci-fi/Action 2011 Swamp Shark N/A Thriller 2012 2-Headed Shark Attack Multi-Headed Shark Attack Survival horror 2012 Bait 3D N/A Horror/Disaster 2012 Dark Tide N/A Action/Horror/Thriller 2012 Jersey Shore Shark Attack N/A Horror/Comedy 2012 Jurassic Shark, also known as Attack of the Jurassic Shark Jurassic Shark Horror/Comedy 2012 Snow Shark: Ancient Snow Beast Snow Shark Horror/Comedy 2012 Ghost Shark Ghost Shark Horror/Comedy 2013 Sharknado Sharknado Sci-fi/Disaster 2014 Avalanche Sharks N/A Horror/Comedy 2014 Mega Shark Versus Mecha Shark Mega Shark Versus Horror/Comedy 2014 Sharknado 2: The Second One Sharknado Sci-fi/Disaster/Comedy 2014 Sharktopus vs. Pteracuda Sharktopus Horror/Sci-fi/Creature feature/Comedy 2014 Piranha Sharks N/A Comedy/Horror 2015 Sharktopus vs. Whalewolf Sharktopus Horror/Sci-fi/Creature feature/Comedy 2015 Shark Exorcist Shark Exorcist Action/Horror 2015 3-Headed Shark Attack Multi-Headed Shark Attack Action/Horror 2015 Ghost Shark 2: Urban Jaws Ghost Shark Supernatural/Horror/Comedy 2015 Mega Shark Versus Kolossus Mega Shark Versus Sci-fi/Comedy 2015 Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! Sharknado Action/Horror/Comedy 2015 Roboshark, also known as Robo Shark vs. Navy Seals N/A Action/Adventure/Comedy 2015 Shark Lake (film) N/A Action/Horror 2016 Atomic Shark N/A Action/Horror 2016 Ozark Sharks, also known as Summer Shark Attack N/A Horror/Thriller/Comedy 2016 The Shallows N/A Survival/Horror 2016 Sharkansas Women's Prison Massacre N/A Sci-fi/Horror 2016 Sharkenstein N/A Sci-fi/Action/Comedy 2016 Sharknado: The 4th Awakens Sharknado Sci-fi/Disaster/Comedy 2017 5-Headed Shark Attack Multi-Headed Shark Attack Sci-fi/Horror 2017 47 Meters Down 47 Meters Down Survival/Horror 2017 House Shark N/A Horror/Comedy 2017 Open Water 3: Cage Dive Open Water Found footage/Survival/Horror 2017 Sharknado 5: Global Swarming Sharknado Sci-fi/Disaster/Comedy 2018 The Last Sharknado: It's About Time Sharknado Sci-fi/Disaster/Comedy 2018 Deep Blue Sea 2 Deep Blue Sea Sci-fi/Horror 2018 The Meg The Meg Sci-fi/Action 2019 47 Meters Down: Uncaged 47 Meters Down Survival/Horror 2019 Capsized: Blood in the Water N/A Survival/Horror 2020 Deep Blue Sea 3 Deep Blue Sea Sci-fi/Horror 2020 Sky Sharks N/A Sci-fi/Comedy/Horror 2020 Ouija Shark Ouija Shark Comedy/Horror/Action 2021 Great White N/A Survival/Horror 2021 Sharks of the Corn N/A Horror 2021 Swim (film) N/A Horror/Action 2022 Ouija Shark 2 Ouija Shark Action/Horror/Comedy 2022 The Reef: Stalked The Reef Horror 2022 The Requin N/A Horror/Thriller 2022 Maneater (Shark film) N/A Action/Horror 2022 Shark Bait N/A Action/Horror 2023 Sharktopus Remade in China Sharktopus Horror/Sci-fi/Creature feature/Comedy 2023 Meg 2: The Trench The Meg Sci-Fi/Action 2023 Cocaine Shark, also known as Kanizame Shakurabu N/A Crime/Drama/Horror 2023 Big Shark N/A Horror/Comedy 2024 Under Paris N/A Action/Horror 2024 The Black Demon N/A Sci-Fi/Thriller 2024 No Way Up N/A Survival/Thriller 2024 Shark Exorcist 2: Unholy Waters Shark Exorcist Action/Horror 2024 Shark Island (film) N/A Action/Horror 2024 Something in the Water N/A Survival/Thriller 2025 Fear Below N/A Action/Thriller 2025 Into the Deep N/A Action/Thriller 2025 Dangerous Animals N/A Action/Thriller 2026 Deep Water N/A Survival/Horror 2026 The Devil's Mouth N/A Survival/Thriller 2026 Above & Below N/A Action/Horror/Thriller
See also Exploitation film Great white shark
References
External links
Sharksploitation exhibit -- Living Sharks Museum Film School Rejects - "Sharksploitation: Feel the Grove According to 'Jaws' Smithsonian Magazine - "How Realistic Is The Shark Science in 'The Shallows'?" ABC News - "Why Has 'Sharknado' Become Such a Culture Phenomenon?"