Jaws is not just an iconic horror film, but also a must-watch for all respectable Americans during the 4th of July weekend. Sadly, we can’t say the same about the God-awful knock-offs Hollywood’s been spewing out for decades in hopes of recreating the original’s huge success.
Here are the most ridiculous imitators of Steven Spielberg‘s classic.
Orca: The Killer Whale (1977)
This one is not the worst Jaws doppelganger, but it was still very poorly received. At the time, some cast members even took offense at the comparison.
Open Water 2: Adrift
Don’t be fooled by the title. Adrift is not a sequel to the 2003 psychological thriller Open Water, it just used the name to get more people to watch it. And it also has sharks, but the normal kind, not the monstrous mutant kind.
Tentacles (1977)
Hollywood writer Steven W. Carabatsos must have thought sharks outdated when he came up with the idea for this film. And in a way, he was right. While no one considers this flick a horror classic, at the time, it was a hit at the box office.
Shark Kill (1976)
While this may be a terrible movie, Shark Kill does have the honor of being one of the first rip-offs to try and profit off the back of Jaws. It follows the same premise but at a fraction of the budget.
Blue Demon (2004)
Blue Demon is a shark movie with a twist. The monsters were mutated by the military to protect the coastlines. Instead, they decided to start biting the hands that fed them.
Malibu Shark Attack (2009)
Also known as Mega Shark of Malibu, this TV movie has everything a good knock-off should: a low budget and dreadful acting. On the bright side, instead of one deadly shark, this film features a whole hunting party of them.
Mega Shark Vs. Giant Octopus (2009)
The title says it all. This direct-to-video Asylum thriller has the two named prehistoric monsters fighting each other for the humans unfortunate enough to stand in their way.
Cruel Jaws (1995)
Funnily enough, the creators of this monstrosity of a monster movie tried passing it off as the fifth installment in the Jaws franchise. They failed to fool anyone.
12 Days of Terror (2004)
As it turns out, the original Jaws movie is based on a true story from the 1900s. This made-for-TV movie tries telling that story, and the result is a period drama featuring a killer shark.
Piranha (1978)
Piranha replaced the killer shark with a group of blood-thirsty fish. It may be a bit unfair to include it on this list as the film is among the more successful copycats; it has a devoted cult following and even spanned a few sequels.
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