When sharks attack: 'Deep Water' and 10 other films
May 1 (UPI) --Deep Water, a new survival thriller starring Aaron Eckhart, opens in theaters Friday.
Directed by Renny Harlin (Deep Blue Sea), the film follows a group of airline passengers who must survive shark-infested waters after their plane is forced to make an emergency landing.
Deep Water also stars Ben Kingsley and Angus Sampson. The movie is one of many about killer sharks -- here's a list of 10 others for viewers seeking deep-sea scares.
'Thrash'
The 2026 survival thriller starring Phoebe Dynevor (Bridgerton) was released on Netflix earlier this month.
Written and directed by Tommy Wirkola (Dead Snow), Whitney Peak and Djimon Hounsou also star in the film, which takes place in a South Carolina town where a Category 5 hurricane floods the streets and brings in ravenous sharks.
Thrash is available to stream on Netflix.
'Dangerous Animals'
The 2025 survival horror film hails from director Sean Byrne (The Loved Ones).
Jai Courtney stars as Tucker, a boat captain who proves as dangerous as the finned creatures tourists encounter at his shark cage attraction.
Other cast members include Hassie Harrison (Yellowstone) and Josh Heuston (Dune: Prophecy). Dangerous Animals is available to stream on Hulu, Disney+ and AMC+.
'Under Paris'
The 2024 French thriller is directed by Xavier Gens (Hitman) and stars Bérénice Bejo, Nassim Lyes and Léa Léviant.
Bejo stars as Sophia, a marine researcher pursuing a killer shark named Lilith, who winds up in the River Seine. Sophia must try to intercept Lilith as a major triathlon is held in Paris.
Under Paris is available to stream on Netflix.
'The Meg'
The 2018 sci-fi horror movie is inspired by the Steve Alten novel Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror.
Directed by Jon Turteltaub (National Treasure), Jason Statham stars as Jonas Taylor, a rescue diver who tries to save a research crew from a Megalodon, aka a Meg, a prehistoric species of shark thought to be long extinct.
Li Bingbing, Rainn Wilson, Ruby Rose, Winston Chao and Cliff Curtis also star in The Meg, which is available to rent on streaming platforms. The film was followed by the 2023 sequel Meg 2: The Trench.
'47 Meters Down'
The 2017 survival horror film is directed by Johannes Roberts and stars Claire Holt (The Vampire Diaries) and Mandy Moore (This is Us).
Holt and Moore play Kate and Lisa, sisters who become trapped and surrounded by sharks after the cable to their diving cage breaks and the enclosure sinks to the ocean floor.
Matthew Modine also stars as Captain Taylor, the boat's captain. 47 Meters Down is available to stream on Prime Video, Tubi and the Roku Channel.
'The Shallows'
The 2016 survival thriller from Jaume Collet-Serra (Carry-On) stars Gossip Girl and It Ends with Us actress Blake Lively.
The film follows Nancy (Lively), a medical student who travels to a secluded beach in Mexico following the death of her mother. While surfing, Nancy must contend with a great white shark.
The Shallows is available to rent on streaming platforms.
'Sharknado'
The 2013 sci-fi comedy was the first in a series of TV movies released on Syfy.
Ian Ziering (Beverly Hills, 90210) and Tara Reid (American Pie) star as Finley and April, exes who reunite amid a freak hurricane that causes tornados to spew sharks from the floodwaters.
Sharknado is available to stream on Tubi and the Roku Channel. The film was followed by the sequels Sharknado 2: The Second One, Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!, Sharknado: The 4th Awakens, Sharknado 5: Global Swarming and The Last Sharknado: It's About Time.
'Dark Tide'
The 2012 action thriller stars Halle Berry as the traumatized shark expert Kate.
The movie follows Kate (Berry) and her ex-boyfriend Jeff (Olivier Martinez) as they lead a billionaire (Ralph Brown) and his son (Luke Tyler) on a dangerous trip to swim with great white sharks.
Dark Tide is available to stream on Prime Video, Tubi and the Roku Channel.
'Deep Blue Sea'
The 1999 sci-fi horror film is directed by Renny Harlin (Die Hard 2), who also helmed the inspiration for this list, Deep Water.
Thomas Jane, Saffron Burrows, LL Cool J, Jacqueline McKenzie, Michael Rapaport, Stellan Skarsgard and Samuel L. Jackson star as a group of people trying to escape an underwater research facility filled with genetically enhanced sharks.
Deep Blue Sea is available to rent on streaming platforms. It was followed by the sequels Deep Blue Sea 2 and Deep Blue Sea 3.
'Jaws'
The 1975 thriller based on the Peter Benchley novel and directed by Steven Spielberg was a blockbuster upon its release and a landmark film in Hollywood filmmaking.
Once the highest-grossing film of all time, Jaws stars Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss and Robert Shaw as a trio of men who hunt a great white shark terrorizing a New England beach town.
Jaws is available to stream on Netflix and was re-released in theaters in August 2025 in honor of its 50th anniversary. The documentary Jaws @ 50 was released on National Geographic the same year.
Jaws inspired three sequels, Jaws 2, Jaws 3-D and Jaws: The Revenge.
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This story was originally published May 1, 2026 at 6:00 AM.