10 Scariest Shark Movies You've Never Seen

5. 12 Days Of Terror

12 Days of Terror
Discovery

A made-for-TV 'based on true events' movie, 12 Days of Terror has two major things going against it. Firstly, being a TV movie naturally limits its audience. Secondly, some of those who've seen 12 Days of Terror may incorrectly label it as simply a Jaws knock-off.

You see, 12 Days of Terror is a period piece based on the 1916 New Jersey shark attacks that saw four people killed and that inspired Peter Benchley's Jaws novel. Of course, that novel would be adapted for the silver screen by Steven Spielberg, and so certain beats of 12 Days of Terror do share some similarities with Spielberg's Jaws.

Directed by Jack Scholder, 12 Days of Terror actually upholds the true factual terrors of those real-life attacks far better than Jaws. Clearly, there's not the budget or star power of Jaws, but that doesn't stop John Rhys Davies from devouring scenery in his Quint-lite role.

All in all, this 2004 film is a minimalistic, atmospheric tale that's a refreshing change in a subgenre that's so often nowadays all about excess and outlandish concepts all trying to outdo each other in how bizarre - and usually bad - they can be.

In this post: 
Shark Night
 
Posted On: 
Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer and Presenter, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund and Eli Roth to Kevin Smith and the Russo Brothers, to Kevin Conroy and Frank Miller, to Bret Hart and Sting, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, and Brian Flynn, to many, many more. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is a long-standing season ticket holder and an FSA Award-winner for his time co-hosting the Fearless in Devotion podcast.