Stream it: The best ‘Jaws'-inspired films and documentaries

San Francisco Chronicle​

08-07-2025

When Steven Spielberg's 'Jaws' hit the cinemas 50 years ago, it changed everything. The film single-handedly invented the concept of the summer blockbuster. It perfected the man-vs.-nature film, at least when it comes to the parts of nature with sharp teeth and big appetites. More than anything else, it captured the public's imagination when it came to sharks.
This summer is full of celebrations of 'Jaws,' including a 4K re-release of the original 1975 film in theaters next month. To get everyone in the spirit, the Chronicle put together a roundup of essential streaming selections to make you afraid to go back into the water.
The fictional sharks: 'Under Paris' and 'The Shallows'
The most obvious legacy of 'Jaws' is the massive popularity of the shark movie. These range from the incredibly silly, like 'Ghost Shark' or 'Sharks of the Corn,' to the nominally more serious 'Deep Blue Sea.' However, all of these still paddle around in the wake of the original, rarely reaching even a fraction of their predecessor's glory.
There are two exceptions. The first is 2016's 'The Shallows.' Blake Lively stars as a young surfer stranded 200 yards from shore while an incredibly aggressive great white shark patrols the water between her and safety. It's a taut thriller with nail biting segments that capture the menace of the original in a way no other shark film has.
The second is Netflix's 'Under Paris,' where a triathlon held in the Seine is endangered by a shortfin mako shark that has swum upstream. Though outlandish, 'Under Paris' has a deliciously obtuse and greedy mayor (Anne Marivin) who ignores the bloodshed just as the mayor in 'Jaws' (Murray Hamilton) did, something that is almost as terrifying as the shark itself.
Watch it: 'The Shallows' is streaming on Starz. 'Under Paris' is streaming on Netflix.
Other monsters: 'Nope' and 'Crawl'
'Jaws' spawned plenty of imitations centering other species, including 'Orca' and 'Grizzly.' Director Kevin Smith has been working on a moose version of 'Jaws' for years.
The best of these are relatively new. Jordan Peele's 'Nope' may be about aliens, but it plays as a low-key 'Jaws' remake with the way its small cast of heroes try to track and kill the ravenous entity in the sky. It has the same type of attack opening, it features a grizzled mentor who risks it all in an attempt to fight back and, like 'Jaws,' it has a great sleazy figure who tried to capitalize on the phenomenon. It's close enough that if 'Nope' had been made in 1975 and 'Jaws' in 2022, we'd be talking about it the other way 'round.
For a more earthly followup, try 2019's 'Crawl.' Directed by Alexandre Aja, it features a massive alligator that starts invading homes during a hurricane in Florida. There is heartwarming family drama to keep things human while the big gator slithers in and out of the water taking victims. It's arguably the best big bad animal flick since 'Jaws' and well worth watching.
Watch it: 'Nope' is streaming on Peacock. 'Crawl' is streaming on AMC+.
The real sharks: 'City of the Shark' and 'Sharks of the Red Triangle'
Of course, the scariest thing about 'Jaws' is that its monster is real. It was even based on a true incident, the 1916 Jersey Shore shark attacks that killed four people. There are a couple of documentaries that deal specifically with the sharks right outside our doors.
San Francisco's Aquarium of the Bay produced the short film 'City of the Shark,' which explores the far less dangerous sevengill sharks that make their home in the bay and the aquarium's quest to preserve the species.
If you want something a bit scarier though, 'Sharks of the Red Triangle' focuses on the great whites that inhabit the Northern California coast. It first aired as part of the Discovery Channel's 1995 edition of 'Shark Week,' and is a testament to a time when shark documentaries were a little less sensationalistic. To understand the great white better, this is where you should start.
Watch It: 'City of the Shark' is streaming on Aquarium of the Bay's official YouTube channel. 'Sharks of the Red Triangle' is streaming on the Internet Archive.
The Games: MrKravin plays 'Solitude Underwater' and 'Sharks and Minnows'
Film is great, but there's nothing scarier than being immersed in the action. Sharks in video games are as old as the original Nintendo Entertainment System version of 'Jaws.' There is one streamer that specializes in shark games, MrKravin, and watching him play through titles is absolutely nerve-shredding.
'Solitude Underwater' is a 'Five Nights at Freddy's' clone that takes place in a shark cage that has fallen to the bottom of the ocean and is being attacked by sharks. The setting is novel, and tracking the sharks keeps MrKravin on his toes.
'Sharks and Minnows' is far more ambitious. A young swimmer is trapped in a public pool that changes every time he swims a lap, starting with introducing a hammerhead shark to the mix. It's a surrealist masterpiece that culminates with a race in the open ocean against a megalodon. Though a little janky, the nightmarish quality of the game and MrKravin's genuine terror while playing it are riveting. Spielberg, who started this whole genre with a slightly janky mechanical shark named Bruce half a century ago, would be proud.