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Sharksploitation is a subgenre of exploitation film that involves sharks or shark attacks. [1] [2] The genre emerged in the wake of the 1975 film Jaws and its sequels, but fell in popularity soon after. [3] 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). [4]
In 2023, a feature-length documentary film about the subgenre, titled Sharksploitation , was produced and released by Shudder. [5] [6] [7]
Year | Films | Series | Genre |
---|---|---|---|
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: El Ciclón), also known as Terror Storm | N/A | Survival/Horror |
1981 | The Last Shark , also known as Great White | N/A | Horror |
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 [a] | 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, SharkKiller, 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 | N/A | Thriller |
2010 | Sharktopus | Sharktopus | Sci-fi/Creature feature |
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 |
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 |
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 [a] | 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 | N/A | 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 |
2022 | The Reef: Stalked | The Reef | Horror |
2022 | The Requin | N/A | Horror/Thriller |
2023 | Meg 2: The Trench | The Meg | Sci-Fi/Action |
2023 | Cocaine Shark , also known as Kanizame Shakurabu [b] | N/A | Crime/Drama/Horror |
2023 | Big Shark | N/A | Horror/Comedy |
2024 | The Black Demon | N/A | Sci-Fi/Thriller |
2024 | No Way Up | N/A | Survival/Thriller |
2024 | Something In The Water | N/A | Survival/Thriller |
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