When Steven Spielberg unleashed the great white shark in 1975, no one expected it to redefine blockbusters and give cellos their most terrifying role to date. Jaws was a gamble for the young director, and he’d picked a release date in the middle of summer. But somehow, it worked. With its slow-burning tension, grounded performances, and an unforgettable score, Jaws changed everything. It didn’t just scare us out of the water, but also ushered in the era of summer movies.
But as Jaws turns 50 and still manages to swim laps around the most amazing modern thrillers, it is worth remembering that animal attack movies did not run dry after its phenomenal success. Over the decades, several filmmakers have taken the basic premise of pitting human vs. nature, added wild spins, remote jungles, and some absurdity to deliver the same kind of, if not greater, suspense and thrills. Sharks, snakes, gators, wolves, and even coked-up bears have all had their moment to attack.
- Release Date
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June 20, 1975
- Runtime
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124 minutes
- Writers
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Peter Benchley, Carl Gottlieb
- Producers
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David Brown
It’s not possible for a movie to easily dethrone Jaws, but many movies have carved their own little space in the genre. These 10 animal attack movies aren’t knockoffs, they’re just as good as Jaws.
10
‘The Birds’ (1963)
- Release Date
-
March 29, 1963
- Runtime
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120 minutes
- Writers
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Evan Hunter
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Tippi Hedren
Melanie Daniels
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Perhaps one of the most recognizable films of his career, The Birds begins with a playful encounter between Melanie Daniels, a wealthy socialite, and Mitch Brenner, a charming lawyer, and pivots to them retreating to the seaside town of Bodega Bay. But their romantic getaway turns horrific when flocks of birds begin attacking the townspeople, plunging them into primal fear.
Ranks High in the Genre
Hitchcock wastes no time in building suspense, letting it creep in like fog as soon as Melanie reaches the farmhouse. The eeriness and lack of explanation of the attacks, no use of music, makes every pecking and screeching feel uncomfortable and visceral. Tippi Hedren gives a brilliant debut performance and her sharp dialogue keeps tension steady. In a way, the movie is less about birds and more about the fact that we don’t have control over nature.
9
‘Piranha’ (1978)
- Release Date
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August 3, 1978
- Runtime
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94 minutes
- Writers
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Richard Robinson, John Sayles
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Bradford Dillman
Paul Grogan
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Heather Menzies
Maggie McKeown
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Kevin McCarthy
Dr. Robert Hoak
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In Piranha, a pair of teenage hikers stumble upon an abandoned military facility and accidentally release genetically altered piranhas into a river system that’s upstream from a kid’s summer camp and a popular resort. As the razor-toothed fish tear through swimmers and boaters, a local investigator and a skip-tracer race to warn the people of the town.
Wears the B-Movie Badge Proudly
Inspired by the runaway success of Jaws, director Joe Dante brought a sort of winking glee to Piranha, a movie that’s bloody but also filled with cheeky subtext. The over-the-top kills and gruesome special effects are entertaining and terrifying at the same time, but the movie also pokes fun at Cold War paranoia, exploitation films, and government as it ignores danger until it’s literally chewing on someone’s leg.
8
‘Cujo’ (1983)
- Release Date
-
August 12, 1983
- Runtime
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93 minutes
- Director
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Lewis Teague
- Writers
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Lauren Currier, Don Carlos Dunaway
Cujo starts off as a small-town domestic drama, telling the story of Donna Trenton, a young woman who has been having an affair with her ex-boyfriend from high school. This ruins her marriage with Vic and she and her young son Tad drive out to a rural mechanic’s shop only to find themselves trapped inside the car. Outside, the mechanic’s St. Bernard turns monstrous due to contracting rabies.
‘Jaws’ But With a St. Bernard
An adaptation of Stephen King’s novel of the same name, Cujo is a nerve-wrecking thriller that leaves the fantastical elements of the source material behind in favor of the animal attack subgenre. It is tightly-paced and way more psychological thanks to director Lewis Teague, who keeps the tension focused on the Ford Pinto. The realism of the dog transformation is impressive as well. Cujo had a decent box office run, but it gained fierce popularity in the years after.
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7
‘Anaconda’ (1997)
Somewhere in the depths of the Amazon rainforest, a documentary film crew is trying to interview the elusive Shirishamas tribe. Their team includes director Terri Flores, anthropologist Dr. Steven Cale, and cameraman Danny Rich. After they rescue a Paraguayan snake hunter named Paul Serone, he convinces them to alter their path and lures them into an area that hosts the world’s deadliest and highly intelligent anaconda.
Campy and Captivating
Not better than Jaws but definitely just as good, Anaconda is not just a snake movie, but a glorious throwback to larger-than-life creature features. Injected with ‘90s star power and dripping with suspense, it also boasts a dash of humor as it slithers between menace and camp without missing a beat. Critics were mixed at release, but audiences devoured it and Anaconda remains a fan favorite for many.
6
‘Rogue’ (2007)
Rogue is a moody Australian thriller directed by Greg McLean. It follows a group of sightseers as they venture into a Northern Territory river system for a leisurely cruise. Led by Kate Ryan, a guide, the outing turns deadly when a massive saltwater crocodile flips their boat and leaves them desperately fighting for their lives on a shrinking mud island.
Creature Feature and Survival Drama
Starring rising stars Radha Mitchell, Michael Vartan, Sam Worthington, and Mia Wasikowska, Rogue ratchets up the tension as the characters make various attempts at rescue and watch it turn into a complete disaster. The precision with which the story is told lets the breathtaking landscapes do the talking, and while the crocodile attacks are brief, they are brutal and executed well. Sadly, despite its 83% RT approval rating, it flew under radar during initial release.
5
‘The Grey’ (2011)
After a plane crash leaves oil workers stranded in Alaska’s unforgiving wilderness, an emotionally scarred sharpshooter named John Ottway guides them and helps them battle nature, starvation, and surprisingly, a pack of relentless gray wolves. Injured and barely forging on, they try to reach civilization while the wolves pick them off one by one.
A Chilling Meditation on Man vs. Nature
The Grey puts an existential twist on the classic animal attack formula by introducing us to Liam Neeson’s protagonist, whose survival instincts clash with his own dwindling hope and deep-seated despair. It’s like a man-versus-nature showdown happening in real time, with the stark scenery providing the perfect backdrop for enhanced dread. Even the wolf attacks are shot with perfection; they are terrifyingly quick, coordinated, and always dreadful.
4
‘Backcountry’ (2014)
- Release Date
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March 20, 2015
- Runtime
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92 Minutes
- Director
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Adam MacDonald
- Writers
-
Adam MacDonald
There’s something unnerving about getting lost in the forest and by the passing minute, feeling the forest go from serene to predatory. That’s the premise of Backcountry. It follows Alex and Jenn, a couple from the city, as they venture into the Canadian backwoods, decline a map, ignore park warnings, and have their fun until nature stops playing nice and they find themselves in grizzly territory.
Camping With a Twist
Adam MacDonald’s direction is lean, impactful, and atmospheric all at once. He lets it drip in slowly and prefers realism over everything else. There is little reliance on special effects. Instead, the bear attack, when it actually happens, is raw and painful. Missy Peregrym and Jeff Roop’s performances anchor the movie, and their transformation from uneasy partners to hardened survivors is impressive and vicariously earned.
3
‘The Shallows’ (2016)
Jaume Collet-Serra directs The Shallows, a survival thriller that revolves around a grieving Nancy, who travels to the same secluded Mexican beach her mother would retreat to surf and heal. The paradise-like environment turns deadly when she is bitten by a great white shark and stranded on a rock just 200 yards from shore. The wounds, the rising tide, and the lurking shark all become her enemy and threaten to finish her off.
Blake Lively Versus Shark
Blake Lively’s Nancy finds herself in a cinematic life-or-death game in this movie, and all she’s got are her instincts and a sheer seagull to outwit the predator. The direction is sleek, and the shark scenes are gripping. But the film thrives mainly on creating a sense of isolation, which Lively captures perfectly. Smartly-edited and nerve-wrecking, The Shallows is a sleeper hit that’s worth revisiting for fans of Jaws.
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2
‘Crawl’ (2019)
In Crawl, a hurricane is bearing down on Florida and college student Haley is determined to dive into danger to search for her missing father. When she finds him injured and trapped beneath their family home, she rushes to help, but soon, they realize that they’re not alone. Rising floodwaters have invited a pack of aggressive alligators and the father-daughter duo must outswim them.
Alligators and Adrenaline
Directed by Alexandre Aja, Crawl is an adrenaline-fueled ride that takes the fan-favorite animal attack premise and blends it with B-movie thrills. Aja’s claustrophobic nightmare thrusts audiences into the confines of the flooded home as Kaya Scodelario and Barry Pepper’s characters contend with not only the water but also the snapping jaws of the reptiles pursuing them. The set design, the camerawork, and the ending make it a truly satisfying watch.
1
‘Cocaine Bear’ (2023)
Loosely inspired by true events but wholly committed to chaos, Cocaine Bear takes place in a Georgia forest where a black bear stumbles upon a duffel bag full of cocaine, consumes it, and goes absolutely berserk. What follows is an ensemble-driven rollercoaster ride as hikers, gangsters, cops, and kids, all get trapped in the bear’s path of mindless destruction.
Delightful in the Most Unhinged Ways
One of the biggest comedy horror movies of the 21st century, this one has no central protagonist and it’s still one of the most absurd, gory, and unpredictable animal attack movies out there. Directed by Elizabeth Banks, it doesn’t try to outsmart the genre or the films that came before. It just leans into the outrageous concept and lands some standout kills. The late Ray Liotta, among others, anchors the cast. Critics and audiences immediately embraced it and made it a hit.
