Jaws is an undisputed masterpiece of suspense and horror. In his second theatrical film, Steven Spielberg crafted what is still the most thrilling shark movie by a hundred nautical miles and established the modern blockbuster. Jaws also began a franchise that became increasingly lame with each new entry and, in its wake, left a line of shameless rip-offs. Some of these rip-offs were cinematic chum, while others managed to find some level of entertainment and even launch the careers of other successful filmmakers.
To be clear, these are not the films that were inspired by or have paid homage to Spielberg’s classic, such as Jordan Peele’s Nope or Bong Joon-Ho’s The Host. Instead, this list will address the unabashed copycats and derivatives that tried to leverage as much as they could off of Jaws in order to cash in. Many were produced quick and dirty in response to the film’s box office success, while others came decades later, but all these films wouldn’t exist without Jaws, and they know it.
10
‘Orca’ (1977)
Directed by Michael Anderson
The best thing about the immediate rip-offs made to explicitly cash in on Jaws is how completely earnest they are. These movies have none of the self-awareness that would infect later animal attack mockbusters, including the Sharknado series. Orca was producer Dino De Laurentiis’ take on aquatic terror, swapping out the great white shark for the aptly named killer whale and replacing Robert Shaw with Richard Harris.
Orca does make some interesting changes, such as giving the titular creature vengeance as its motivation for targeting people. Given the well-documented acts of animal cruelty perpetrated against orcas and other marine life, it’s fun and even cathartic to watch one of these whales take the fight back to the humans. The movie does everything Jaws did, just a little trashier, but it does boast solid production values, Harris giving a wild-eyed performance, and a score by legendary composer Ennio Morricone. It’s enough to make any viewer question whether or not Willy really should be free.
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9
‘Prophecy’ (1979)
Directed by John Frankenheimer
Prophecy is an over-the-top environmental horror film that succeeds mostly on the back of its bonkers mutant bear monster. The twisted, mutated ursine, the result of pollution from a paper mill, is legitimately scary looking and was easily the most terrifying of its kind until being eclipsed by the bear in Alex Garland’s Annihilation.
Much like the monster bear, the film’s script is half-baked. Still, the overqualified cast, which includes Talia Shire and Armand Assante, do their best, as does legendary director John Frankenheimer, who is completely slumming it here. Of the many killer bear movies viewers have to choose from, they could certainly do worse than Prophecy. It’s certainly the only one to feature a hilarious death by exploding sleeping bag.
Prophecy
- Release Date
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February 2, 1980
- Runtime
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102 minutes
8
‘The Car’ (1977)
Directed by Elliot Silverstein
The Car stands out from other Jaws rip-offs by simply making its monster automotive instead of bestial. In terms of vehicular mayhem at the movies, The Car falls somewhere between the cheap thrills of Maximum Overdrive and the sleek kills of Christine (Stephen King really had a thing for killer cars). The movie takes its four-wheeled menace seriously, with tongue far from cheek. That kind of earnestness can sometimes provide unintentional laughs, but the movie is otherwise competently made, and the cast is so committed that sort of humor eludes it.
The Car takes its four-wheeled menace seriously, with tongue far from cheek.
That doesn’t mean The Car isn’t a good time. The vehicle itself, a modified Lincoln Continental Mark III, is memorable, and several of its kills are well-paced and make good use of sound design. The film’s musical theme also includes the famous Dies Irae melody, later made famous in Stanley Kubrick‘s The Shining. The Car is a perfectly well-built schlock designed for late-night viewing.
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7
‘Shark Attack 3: Megalodon’ (2002)
Directed by David Worth
Amidst the glut of shark attack movies that began to appear in the late ’90s and clog the programming schedule of late-night basic cable, Shark Attack 3: Megalodon is easily the most entertaining, diving headfirst into the waters of so-bad-it’s-good territory. As the title suggests, this direct-to-video disasterpiece features a giant prehistoric shark making lunch out of its cast of characters. The effects are the perfect mix of surprisingly good for the budget and hilariously bad, and the cast performs their roles without any smug irony.
Shark Attack 3 has also become a bit of an online sensation thanks to its memeable imagery and ridiculous dialogue. The final line of the movie, said as a joke by veteran TV actor John Barrowman, is the perfect summation of what makes the movie so damned fun. There are thrilling shark movies, bad shark movies, and funny shark movies, and then there’s Shark Attack 3.
6
‘Lake Placid’ (1999)
Directed by Steve Miner
After Dawson’s Creek creator Kevin Williamson found success in the horror genre writing the script for Scream, David E. Kelley, the man behind legal comedy Ally McBeal, decided to try his hand at a Jaws riff. Lake Placid may have a script that is trying to be too clever, but it’s saved by a talented cast and an incredible animatronic crocodile created by Stan Winston. Director Steve Miner, who has made contributions to several major horror franchises, puts in solid work as well to deliver a movie that is more memorable than it has any right to be.
The premise involves a giant saltwater crocodile that has somehow made its way to a lake in Maine. It gains the attention of all sorts of colorful characters, including Brendan Gleeson’s curmudgeonly sheriff, Oliver Platt’s eccentric croc expert, and, best of all, a foul-mouthed local who has been secretly feeding the animal, played by Betty White. White’s inimitable performance is worth the rental alone of this acerbic late ’90s monster mash, which began a direct-to-video franchise that would eventually cross over with cult classic Anaconda.
Lake Placid
- Release Date
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July 15, 1999
- Runtime
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82 Mins
5
‘Razorback’ (1984)
Directed by Russell Mulcahy
Razorback trades the New England beaches for the Australian outback and the killer shark for a giant bore in what was genre filmmaker Russell Mulcahy‘s directorial debut. While the movie wasn’t initially well received, Mulcahy rebounded with the original Highlander, and Razorback went on to gain a cult following.
The film’s success is mostly due to Mulcahy’s solid direction and the surprisingly beautiful shot compositions featured in the film thanks to Academy Award-winning cinematographer Dean Semler. The plot is fairly standard and doesn’t stray too far from the beaten path, but the movie is still wickedly entertaining and makes great use of its Australian outback setting. It would be a fine double bill alongside any of the country’s grindhouse Ozploitation output.
4
‘Deep Blue Sea’ (1999)
Directed by Renny Harlin
Deep Blue Sea is a B-movie mash-up that combines Jaws with Spielberg’s other seminal monster movie, Jurassic Park. Set in an underwater research facility where scientists are using sharks as test subjects in the search to cure Alzheimer’s disease, as one does. Naturally, disaster strikes and a small group of survivors must make their way to the surface while avoiding the super-brained makos. It’s all a bunch of sci-fi horror hokum that is caught somewhere between sincerity and satire, which makes it all the more entertaining.
Critics weren’t impressed with the big-budget monster movie in 1999, but it has sustained a cult following and is often considered one of the best non-Jaws shark movies, not that the bar is set particularly high. The best parts of the movie are almost ancillary, including a jump scare involving Samuel L. Jackson and the rap theme song “Deepest Bluest (Shark’s Fin)” by cast member LL Cool J. Jaws is animal horror at its most elevated, but Deep Blue Sea is just happy to splash around in the shallow end.
3
‘Arachnophobia’ (1990)
Directed by Frank Marshall
Even Spielberg isn’t above ripping off his film, as he served as an executive producer on Arachnophobia, a spider-filled riff on the Jaws formula. Longtime producer Frank Marshall takes a seat into the director’s chair and acquits himself nicely in delivering both laughs and chills in this creepy crawly creature feature classic. Unlike many other knock-offs, the comedy in Arachnophobia is genuine, and the film knows when to lay off the laughs and lay on the scares. Jeff Daniels leads an ensemble cast as a new-in-town doctor who finds himself up against an arachnid epidemic; unfortunately for him, he suffers from the titular phobia.
A fear of spiders is one of the most common phobias but many horror films forget how to properly exploit it. Giant spiders make for campy, fun thrills, but these eight-legged freaks are at their most terrifying when they remain at their natural size, and strength in numbers helps, too. Marshall and his team fill the frame with the crawling menaces and put them in common everyday places like showers and popcorn buckets so that phobic viewers will never feel safe again. With the recent revival of killer spiders on film with the releases of Infested and Sting, now is the best time to revisit the scariest spider movie ever made.
Arachnophobia
- Release Date
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July 20, 1990
- Runtime
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109 minutes
2
‘Piranha’ (1978)
Directed by Joe Dante
Piranha was the first Jaws rip-off to be commissioned by famed schlock producer Roger Corman and was directed by Joe Dante with a script by indie filmmaker John Sayles. The rip-off was so successful it spawned a sequel featuring flying fish and “directed” by James Cameron, as well as a 3D remake. Moreover, Spielberg himself approved of the movie, later recruiting Dante to direct Gremlins. Not bad for a movie about killer fish made for less than one million dollars.
After genetically engineered piranhas that were designed during the Vietnam War escape captivity, a private investigator and her alcoholic guide must try and stop them before they reach the nearby summer camp and resort. All the Jaws hallmarks are accounted for: a sleazy man in power who doesn’t heed the warnings, underwater shots from the predators’ perspective, and practical effects that are less than convincing. Sayles’ script is smarter than the subject matter, with an undercurrent of satire, and Dante directs with the same gonzo energy he would bring to his later big-budget work.
Piranha
- Release Date
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August 3, 1978
- Runtime
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94 minutes
1
‘Alligator’ (1980)
Directed by Lewis Teague
Piranha wasn’t the only Jaws-inspired horror film to be written by John Sayles; he also contributed the script for the forgotten ’80s classic Alligator. There may be weirder and wilder Jaws rip-offs, but Alligator is the most fun. Inspired by the infamous urban legend, the film follows the late, great Robert Forster as a Chicago cop tracking a bloodthirsty gator residing in the city’s sewers after having been flushed as a baby.
Sayles layers his script with satire as the massive reptile literally eats its way up the socio-economic food chain. Lewis Teague is a steady hand behind the camera, building tension in ways similar to his later animal attack horror classic, Cujo. The alligator effects are charmingly dated and only add to the overall cheeky attitude that permeates the entire movie. Alligator is the kind of popcorn horror film that Friday nights were made for.
Alligator
- Release Date
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November 14, 1980
- Runtime
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91 Minutes
