10 Scariest Shark Movies You've Never Seen

Those terrifying shark movies that swam under the radar of the masses.

By Andrew Pollard /

Ever since Jaws ushered in the concept of the summer blockbuster back in 1975, shark movies have forever remained popular with a certain section of film fans.

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Granted, these days we so often have shark pictures that seem desperate to outdo each other with how bad and insane they can be - here's looking at you, Snow Sharks, Mega Shark vs. Mecha Shark, Sharktopus, and far too many others to name - but there have been some absolutely fantastic shark films over the decades. Unfortunately, some of the very best shark movies have swam a little under the radar and been missed by the masses.

Not every shark effort has the budget, marketing, or star power of, say, the Meg movies or The Shallows, but there have been plenty of lesser-known features that at least match, if not better, their bigger-name rivals - and that's what the focus is on here.

So, with that in mind, here are ten of the most terrifying movies out there in this murky subgenre, with only the biggest of shark movie fans likely to have taken a chance on any of these.

10. Mako

One of the more recent movies on this list, 2021's Mako puts, you guessed it, mako sharks in the spotlight. 

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With documentary filmmaker Rana Bahgat becoming a laughing stock after one of her films is accidentally announced as the winner of an award - not helped by Rana tripping over as she embarrassingly heads back to her seat empty-handed - she and her crew eventually settle on the idea of exploring the Salem Express as a way to repair her reputation.

For those unaware, the Salem Express is a real-life passenger ship that resides at the bottom of the Red Sea after sinking in 1991. To this day, the vessel contains the corpses of those trapped in the boat as it sank. And it's this trip that pits our characters up against mako sharks, not to mention their own dwindling mental states.

With so much of the movie taking place deep underwater, the dimly-lit nature of those sequences only further amps up the dread of what's already a pretty terrifying experience. Not to mention, there's a nice little twist awaiting at Mako's end.

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