‘Sharknado’ and 11 More Corny Shark Movies That Are so Bad They Might Be Good

There’s something about the subgenre of scary shark attack movies that perfectly lends itself to corny b-movie plots. Perhaps its the legacy of Steven Spielberg’s decision to not show much of the monster Great White in Jaws — filming a movie with a mostly unseen monster can be pretty cheap. Open Water (2003) is a well-executed version of this idea, a low-budget shark movie that worked. Not every attempt is so lucky and poorly made or intentionally cheesy shark b-movies proliferate. Here are some of the funniest/best corny shark b-movies:

Sand Sharks (2011)

This direct-to-video horror film by Mark Atkins revolves around Jimmy Green (Corin Nemic), who is returning to the quaint but dilapidated island town of White Sands years after a tragic accident in the hopes of reviving the local economy as well as his own personal fortunes. He plans to do so by hosting a massive spring break party in the town. But just when it seems as if everything is going according to plan, an underwater earthquake opens a crack deep in an ocean crater that enables a prehistoric breed of “sand sharks”—who are able to glide as effortlessly over sand particles as they are to swim in the ocean—to attack the town and wreak havoc.

Swamp Shark (2011)

After a group of shady animal smugglers “lose” a shark in backwoods waters only a week before the popular tourist event “Gator Fest” in the Louisiana bayou, the shark begins terrorizing a community whose residents are accustomed to gators rather than sharks in their waters. With time ticking down and the local economy hinging on the success of Gator Fest, the sheriff blames a local restaurant owner for the death of a resident at the hands of the swamp shark. Was the restaurant owner in cahoots with the animal smugglers, or it is a distraction?

Jersey Shore Shark Attack (2012)

This horror-comedy was built around the popularity and success of the MTV reality series. An ensemble cast modeled after the real life cast of Jersey Shore try to survive a mass breakout of shark attacks in Miami.

The Multi-Headed Shark Attack Series (2012 – 2017)

This series of films uses a pretty simple premise—add one head to a predatory shark for the first movie. Then add another for its sequel. For the third film, add yet another head—and then another head…. and another.

• 2-Headed Shark Attack (2012) after a Semester at Sea ship is sunk by a mutant two-headed shark, the survivors escape to a deserted atoll, where they find temporary peace. But then a tsunami floods the atoll and puts them face-to-face with the double-headed death machine once more.
• 3-Headed Shark Attack (2015) a pair of marine biologists, along with a small group of researchers, research the Great Pacific garbage patch in an isolated underwater facility. But then a triple-headed great white shark slowly begins eating the facility from one end to the other, forcing the scientists and their crew to desperately plot their escape.
• 5-Headed Shark Attack (2017) off the coast of Puerto Rico, a four-headed monster shark is eating photographers, models, and surfers at a surfing competition. As police and marine biologists plot a way to capture and kill the beast, it suddenly sprouts a fifth head near its tail.
• 6-Headed Shark Attack (2018) a marriage retreat on a remote island gives couples the ultimate team-building activity: surviving a 6-headed killer shark.

Ghost Shark (2013)

Rednecks kill a Great White Shark on a fishing trip. The Shark’s spirit follows them to their hometown of Smallport to seek revenge.

Sharknado Series (2013 – 2018)

This series of films uses a pretty simple premise—add one head to a predatory shark for the first movie. Then add another for its sequel. For the third film, add yet another head—and then another head…. and another.

There are six movies in the Sharknado universe:

• Sharknado (2013) a cyclone hits Los Angeles, flooding the city with seawater—and giant sharks.
• Sharknado 2: The Second One (2014) a series of sharknados rain giant sharks down on Manhattan.
• Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! (2015) after a sharknado engulfs Washington, DC, a series of sharknados threaten the entire East Coast.
• Sharknado: The 4th Awakens (2016) following a relatively tranquil five years in the wake the destruction of the East Coast, a rare sand sharknado attacks Las Vegas and threatens to wreak further destruction.
• Sharknado 5: Global Swarming (2017) after much of North America has been ruined, a gathering storm of sharknados threaten the entire world.
• The Last Sharknado: It’s About Time (2018) after sharknados have destroyed the planet, scientists travel back in time 66 million years to prevent the catastrophe from ever happening in the first place.

Avalanche Sharks (2014)

Snowbound sharks arrive at a ski resort to ruin the bikini contest.

Shark Lake (2015)

Action star Dolph Lundgren stars as Clint Gray, a black-market dealer of exotic species. After a police chase near Lake Tahoe, Clint crashes his van. He is arrested, but in the fracas, no one noticed that a bull shark he’d been carrying in his van escaped and slipped into the lake. Meredith (Sara Lane), a maternal local sheriff, takes Clint’s three-year-old daughter into her care. After Clint’s parole five years later, the bull shark—who was pregnant at the time it escaped Clint’s van into Lake Tahoe—has grown, as has its two children. Working with a marine biologist, Meredith captures the sharks and also helps reunite a remorseful Clint with his daughter.

See also: 21 Hilarious ‘B’ Horror Movies You May Not Have Heard Of

Ice Sharks (2016)

A group of scientists at a floating Antarctic research station called Oasis are forced to do battle with an ancient breed of sharks that have risen to the surface due to global warming. As the polar ice cap melts and their research station is in danger of sinking, the scientists find themselves trapped inside with their supply of food and air dwindling. Their mission is to outwit the ferocious cold-water predators or perish.

Sharks of the Corn (2021)

Sharks of the Corn is a very bad horror movie featuring rubber sharks running through a corn field à la Children of the Corn. Small town Kentucky locals are perplexed when people start turning up dead looking like victims of a shark attack, though the town is obviously landlocked. This is a great film to watch if you’re a fan of bonkers or bad movies, or if you want something funny to be playing in the background when you have people over (it’s a real conversation starter).

Cocaine Shark (2023)

A very low-budget animal attack movie which was tweaked and repackaged to take advantage of the Cocaine Bear hype. Bioengineering creates an army of mutant creatures that escape the lab and roam the streets.

Further reading:

• The Best Beach Horror Movies: Sand, Surf, and Scares
• 19+ Underwater Movies: The Art of Aquatic Horror
• 8+ Swimming Pool Horror Films