Chum! (2024)

Chum! (2024)

After the mass extinction of Great White Sharks, a mad scientist creates a new breed of shark that soon proves to be worse than extinction. Chum is a dollar store shark movie directed by Josh Graves featuring a cast of unknown actors who are likely friends of the director. Despite the great-looking poster, the movie does not take place anywhere near water and features a shark puppet that attacks victims, proving quite menacing despite being smaller than a kitten. The victims are turned into bloodthirsty zombies, but one has to wonder if this was meant to be a Walking Dead riff instead of a Shark Week reject. The special effects include sharp teeth, shark toys, and a couple of hand puppets. Easily one of the worst movies ever made, and with so many low-budget efforts, this one pushes the boundary of entertainment. Rarely do we see a movie with such a perfect title as this effort deserves to be thrown out with the other dollar store rejects. 

Shark Girl (2024)

Shark Girl (2024)

A mysterious shark bites a determined young influencer, developing bloodthirsty habits as she attacks those who threaten her chance at fame. Shark Girl is a 2024 horror movie directed by Justin Shilton and Rob Zazzali. In so many ways, this movie seems more like a vampire movie than a shark movie as the main character seeks out victims to satisfy her newfound hunger. While the movie does feature sharks and a conspiracy involving toxic chemicals on the beach, the film loses its direction as the vampire-like main character leaves a series of chopped-up victims and zombie-like revenants.  

Mission of the Shark (1991)

Mission of the Shark (1991)

The true story of the USS Indianapolis and the horrific series of events that followed after the ship was sunk by a Japanese submarine, leaving hundreds of men stranded in a shark-infested ocean. Mission of the Shark was a 1991 television movie starring Stacy Keach as Captain Charles McVay. The events of the film are based on the accurate accounts of survivors and focus on the actions taken by Capt. McVay and his court-martial after the war. Directed by Robert Iscove and featuring Richard Thomas, David Caruso, and Bob Gunton in supporting roles. The film portrays the series of events as they played out, involving the delivery of the atomic bomb, followed by the ship's destruction by a Japanese submarine. As a TV movie, the shark attacks are often depicted without excessive gore, and the fear in the men is effectively conveyed as they work together to survive. An excellent account of the actual events, Mission of the Shark is a great movie for fans of World War 2 films, and as a shark movie, it is undoubtedly a great follow-up to Jaws.   

 

47 Meters Down: Uncaged

47 Meters Down: Uncaged

Teen girls sneak into an archeological dig and scuba dive into a sunken city being explored by the father of two of the ladies. They soon discover that a hidden danger exists when they encounter some cave sharks looking for their next meal. 47 Meters Down: Uncaged is a sequel to the 2017 surprise hit 47 Meters Down. While the first movie involved divers trapped in a shark cage, this sequel moves the action to a Mexican town and some sunken ruins. Johannes Roberts returns to the helm of this follow-up movie that features Corinne Foxx, Sophie Nelisse, and Sistine Rose Stallone. 47 Meters Down: Uncaged features a young and talented cast, including the children of Jaime Foxx and Sylvester Stallone. The change in setting helps the movie differentiate itself from the first while still maintaining the common element of a group of divers trapped by sharks. The shark effects are top-notch, with a Great White that looks even scarier than usual. While the plot is pretty routine for a shark survival movie, the film suffers from an ending that is almost too implausible to believe. This sequence of events is the one major drawback from an otherwise decent follow-up movie in this franchise.   

Great White (2021)

Great White (2021)

A couple who run a float plane charter fly passengers out to pay respects to a deceased loved one and find themselves in peril when a shark attacks and sinks their float plane. Stranded on a rubber lifeboat, the survivors must find land and survive as the fresh water level drops and a shark looms nearby. Great White is a 2024 shark movie directed by Martin Wilson and starring Katrina Bowden. Great White is a typical shark movie that involves people stranded and facing peril as dangerous sharks threaten them. While the film is set primarily on a lifeboat, the island backdrop does give the movie a sense of authenticity. The shark effects are above average, but the film suffers from some of the more unrealistic portrayals of the shark. Despite this, Great White is a decent popcorn film with a good cast and satisfying conclusion. 

Something in the Water (2024)

Something in the Water (2024)

After surviving a violent attack, a young woman recovers and decides to attend the destination wedding of a close friend on a Caribbean island. A pre-wedding girls' day out turns into a fight for survival when a shark attack strands them miles from shore and with no means to call for help. Something in the Water is a 2024 British survival thriller directed by Hayley Easton Street and starring Hiftu Quasem, Natalie Mitson, and Nicole Rietsu Setsuko. With a primarily female cast, Something in the Water begins as a festive girl movie and then evolves into a cautionary tale about a fight for survival. Unlike most other shark movies, Something in the Water focuses more on the women's struggle to stay together and seek help, with the threat of the shark being one of many other challenges. Unlike many other shark survival movies, Something in the Water isn't as bloody as you would expect and focuses more on the threat of isolation and the will to survive. A much better movie than the other shark movies on my watch list, Something in the Water is a slow-burn survival movie that may not appeal to some, but makes for a great thriller.  

Into the Deep (2025)

 

Into the Deep (2025)

Divers looking for sunken treasure encounter pirates after witnessing the murder of drug smugglers. The pirates take control of their boat and force them to dive into shark-infested waters to retrieve drugs, not realizing a great treasure lies below them. Into the Deep is a 2025 thriller directed by Christian Sesma and starring Scout Taylor-Compton, Stuart Townsend, and Richard Dreyfuss. Into the Deep is one of several movies with a plot involving people trapped on a boat with deadly sharks swimming around. This time around, there is a stash of drugs and a hidden treasure that makes the movie more like Peter Benchley's The Deep, but with sharks. The shark effects are impressive for the film, and the underwater scenes feature people swimming in water. While the plot is derivative, the story is engaging, and Ms. Taylor-Compton is excellent in her role. The stunt casting of Richard Dreyfuss does tie the movie more toward Jaws, but at least there are some background reasons explained. A better movie than most of the other films on my marathon, Into the Deep, is one I wouldn't mind watching again or owning.