Although space is generally seen as the last destination, the secret of the Earth’s oceans continues to fascinate researchers and experts because over 70% of the globe remains undiscovered. This ever-present uncertainty has nourished the terror and sci-fi genres with inventive stories through sea monsters movies & terrible ocean animals that have remained to frighten viewers through the years.
However, the subject of sea monsters has provided the world with an infinite supply of twaddle; there have been several fantastic cinematic spins on the idea, primarily inside the horror genre, although not always. From Best Movie awards to legendary B-Movie gems, here are some of the greatest movies about sea monsters to watch with your friends and relatives on New Year’s Eve.
17 Sea Monster Movies You Must Watch In 2023
17. Leviathan (1989)
- Director: George P. Cosmatos
- Writer: David Webb Peoples, Jeb Stuart
- Cast: Peter Weller, Richard Crenna, Amanda Pays
- IMDb Ratings: 5.8/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 24%
- Streaming Platform: Prime Videos, Apple TV and Vudu
Peter Weller of RoboCop appeared in Leviathan in 1989 as a geological scientist in charge of a mining project that uncovers a sunk Soviet submarine at the bottom of the water, wherein they acquire a safe with details on the ship’s passengers in addition to a lethal infection.
The illness begins to murder and alter the mining agency’s staff, transforming their bodies into a terrifying enormous aquatic creature identified as homo aquaticus, thus earning a place in movie history.
16. Underwater (2020)
- Director: William Eubank
- Writer: Brian Duffield, Adam Cozad
- Cast: Kristen Stewart, Vincent Cassel, Mamoudou Athie
- IMDb Ratings: 5.8/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 48%
- Streaming Platform: Prime Videos, Apple TV, Vudu, and Hulu
Following resting on the shelves for a few years before eventually receiving an early Jan release date, Underwater appeared doomed to remain unnoticed by the public. However, the Kristen Stewart-led movie has the unmistakable air of being stitched together from bits of previous sci-fi flicks; there are a few creative passages.
The most memorable of these scenes is the Lovecraftian conclusion, which provides spectators with one of the finest expensive reconstructions of the legendary Cthulhu. Underwater is a lovely stay-at-home matinée yet, tragically, one of 2020’s initial cinematic fatalities.
15. Open Water (2003)
- Director: Chris Kentis
- Writer: Chris Kentis
- Cast: Blanchard Ryan, Daniel Travis, Saul Stein
- IMDb Ratings: 5.8/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 71%
- Streaming Platform: Prime Videos and Apple TV
This low-budget vacation nightmare, centered on the real story of Tom and Eileen Lonergan, was a powerful smash and kick-started a surge of found-footage horror films. A young couple is scuba diving inside the Caribbean when their tour boat abandons them, leaving them to battle on their own in shark-infested areas. The consequences are intense, suffocating, and genuinely horrifying, causing more to harm water-based tourists than that of any picture until Spielberg’s Little Shark.
14. Sweetheart (2019)
- Director: J.D. Dillard
- Writer: J.D. Dillard, Alex Hyner, Alex Theurer
- Cast: Kiersey Clemons, Emory Cohen, Hanna Mangan Lawrence
- IMDb Ratings: 5.8/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 93%
- Streaming Platform: Netflix, Prime Videos, Apple TV and Vudu
Sweetheart, one of Netflix’s stronger exclusive horror punches, rolls out like a cross between Jaws meets Cast Away. The survival of a young lady shipwrecked on a tropical peninsula is hampered by the discovery of a monstrous water creature living barely ashore in an eerie pit upon that ocean bottom.
Sweetheart preserves a constantly increasing tension throughout the film, culminating in a thrilling conclusion clash between lady and beast. The picture mainly relies on protagonist Kiersey Clemons, who is more than equal to the challenge.
13. It Came From Beneath the Sea (1955)
- Director: Robert Gordon
- Writer: George Worthing Yates, Harold Jacob Smith
- Cast: Kenneth Tobey, Faith Domergue, Donald Curtis
- IMDb Ratings: 5.9/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 56%
- Streaming Platform: Prime Videos, Apple TV and Vudu
This B-movie masterpiece from the Atomic Age portrays a massive octopus that, enraged by H-bomb experimentation, navigates its way to the western coastline of the United States, smashing multiple ships all along the route.
The picture showcases Ray Harryhausen’s exceptional stop-motion graphics work, which is most spectacular during the showdown on San Francisco’s Golden Gateway Bridge. However, astute observers will observe that the octopus has only six tentacles, owing to financial limitations.
'It Came from Beneath the Sea' (1955) Scientists and the navy are desperate to contain a giant, radioactive octopus that rises from the Philippine Trench to terrorize the North American Pacific Coast. Another Ray Harryhausen showcase here. Directed by Robert Gordon #SCIFI pic.twitter.com/fDZ83vwT3P
— Classicman Film (@classicsman70) May 29, 2018
12. Deep Blue Sea (1999)
- Director: Renny Harlin
- Writer: Duncan Kennedy, Donna Powers, Wayne Powers
- Cast: Thomas Jane, Saffron Burrows, Samuel L. Jackson
- IMDb Ratings: 5.9/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 60%
- Streaming Platform: Netflix, Prime Videos, Apple TV and Vudu
Among the finest monster movies on the big screen are indeed the ones that boggle the mind the most, which obviously includes Renny Harlin’s presentation. When researchers genetically modify enormous mako sharks in such an endeavor to treat Alzheimer’s disease (please bear with it), the sharks become wiser and try to flee from their isolated ocean confinement. Cue enormous fish which can smash doors down and switch on stoves pursuing Thomas Jane with Saffron Burrows across flooded halls. It’s all insanely entertaining.
11. Deep Rising (1998)
- Director: Stephen Sommers
- Writer: Stephen Sommers
- Cast: Treat Williams, Famke Janssen, Anthony Heald
- IMDb Ratings: 6.1/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 30%
- Streaming Platform: Prime Videos and Vudu
Deep Rising, released in 1998, accompanied a group of jewel robbers as they sought to board a luxury betting cruise liner, to realize that it had previously been assaulted by weird tentacle-like creatures who devoured the survivors.
As they start their journey on through board in search of their big win while hoping to avoid the monster, they discover that now the tentacles all seem to be part of the vast Octalus, which had been nesting inside the ship and feeding on the staff and gamblers following assaulting and crippling the ship.
DEEP RISING (1998) pic.twitter.com/u67DwmDUUX
— ULTRA🛸BLAST (@ultrakillblast) October 31, 2021
10. The Lure (2015)
- Director: Agnieszka Smoczynska
- Writer: Robert Bolesto
- Cast: Marta Mazurek, Michalina Olszanska, Kinga Preis
- IMDb Ratings: 6.3/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 89%
- Streaming Platform: Netflix, Prime Videos, Apple TV and Vudu
Once it pertains to genre movies, the term “original” is frequently used. The Lure, a Polish peculiarity, is undeniably deserving of the moniker. The Lure is the tale of two mermaid siblings who’ve become land-wandering, lounge-performing, love-seeking females in a small village. It’s half disco show, half mermaid horror movie, and half modern tale.
The film’s peculiar blend of pleasant cinematic amusement and unnerving psychological horror sequences has earned it a devoted following as well as a Criterion version.
9. Tale Of Tales (2015)
- Director: Matteo Garrone
- Writer: Edoardo Albinati, Ugo Chiti, Matteo Garrone
- Cast: Salma Hayek, Vincent Cassel, Toby Jones
- IMDb Ratings: 6.4/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 83%
- Streaming Platform: Prime Videos, Apple TV and Vudu
Tale of Tales, a gothic horror collection of fairy tales, commences with a peculiar sea monster narrative that establishes the atmosphere for the weird occurrences. The story about the sea monster is fronted by Salma Hayek, who gives a different portrayal than her usual sneaky seductress.
The film’s utilization of a combination of computer-generated plus realistic effects to conjure the leviathan-like sea monster into existence culminates in an incredibly terrifying sequence of visuals. Tale of Tales is a unique piece that belongs to the more conventional depictions of the legendary sea serpent.
#MovieRecommendation: Tale of Tales (2015)
Rating: 7/10#Review: Beautiful, masterful, yet unnerving fairytale stories.
-CC pic.twitter.com/wbgpgJjzY5
— Six Word Film Reviews (@reviewsin6words) May 20, 2018
8. The Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)
- Director: Jack Arnold
- Writer: Harry Essex, Arthur A. Ross, Maurice Zimm
- Cast: Richard Carlson, Julie Adams, Richard Denning
- IMDb Ratings: 6.9/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 79%
- Streaming Platform: Prime Videos, Apple TV and Vudu
The Creature from the Black Lagoon is among the finest B of the 1950s and the most genuine pulpy and enjoyable pictures underneath the “Universal Monsters” label. The titular creature wreaks beautiful devastation all around the crew’s riverboat after a geology expedition discovers an Amazonian giant with gills & flippers.
Despite being less legendary than its predecessors, Dracula and Frankenstein, the picture inspired a sequel, but none of which approached the schlocky grandeur of the predecessor. Said the movie is among the finest of its sort.
7. The Host (2006)
- Director: Bong Joon Ho
- Writer: Bong Joon Ho, Won-jun Ha, Chul-hyun Baek
- Cast: Song Kang-ho, Byun Hee-Bong, Park Hae-il
- IMDb Ratings: 7.1/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 93%
- Streaming Platforms: Netflix, Prime Videos, and Hulu
This action-filled monster thriller by South Korean producer Bong Joon-ho was hugely successful. The Host investigated the implications of the United States Military’s discharge of hazardous trash in Seoul’s River Han, which morphs an underwater living thing into the monster Gwoemul, the movie’s original title in South Korea.
After releasing a deadly sickness on the fictional town, the Gwoemul assaulted the residents and kidnapped a little child, highlighting the risks of unlawful garbage dumping, which has resulted in the development of far too many hazardous sea monsters over the years. It was the most popular Korean picture of all time at the period, and it is still Bong’s most significant foreign hit.
Divou msm
My ★★★★ review of The Host (2006) on @letterboxd: https://t.co/pw8l92OfYV— obluda (@garoulobito) January 2, 2023
6. The Shape Of Water (2017)
- Director: Guillermo del Toro
- Writer: Guillermo del Toro, Vanessa Taylor
- Cast: Sally Hawkins, Octavia Spencer, Michael Shannon
- IMDb Ratings: 7.3/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 92%
- Streaming Platform: Prime Videos and Vudu
Guillermo del Toro’s masterwork is among the most innovative and well-implemented genre movies of the last 20 years, a superb combination of old-school monstrous movies and classical destined love stories.
It’s still mind-boggling that this tragic passion film about just a deaf woman who falls in love with a water-based reptile creature won the Academy Award for Top Movie. As the lonesome deaf woman, Sally Hawkins delivers a career-best portrayal that enhances the entire situation – a masterwork.
5. Moby Dick (1956)
- Director: John Huston
- Writer: Ray Bradbury, John Huston, Norman Corwin
- Cast: Gregory Peck, Richard Basehart, Leo Genn
- IMDb Ratings: 7.3/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 83%
- Streaming Platform: Netflix, Prime Videos, Apple TV and Vudu
The outstanding American book of all time has been adapted countless times for the movie, but none finer than John Huston’s majestic rendition, featuring Gregory Peck as such obsessive Captain Ahab. Even though some special effects are a bit crude all around corners, Peck skillfully portrays a guy driven by his pursuit of the giant white whale which snatched his limb.
For those looking for a more modern version, Ron Howard’s In the Heart of the Sea is a misunderstood depiction of the “true story” that influenced Melville’s work.
4. The Lighthouse (2019)
- Director: Robert Eggers
- Writer: Robert Eggers, Max Eggers
- Cast: Robert Pattinson, Willem Dafoe, Valeriia Karaman
- IMDb Ratings: 7.4/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 90%
- Streaming Platforms: Netflix, Prime Videos, and Hulu
The Lighthouse, a belly-churning journey into maritime insanity, was among horror lovers’ greatest talked-about sea monster movies of 2019. It’s a chamber work about a conversation between an ancient lighthouse guard (Willem Dafoe) and a new Lighthouse guard (Robert Pattinson).
The movie’s world-building is heavily influenced by sea creatures and mythology from the old sailor cultures, resulting in one of the theater’s most horrific renderings of merfolk. The dreamlike and strange aspect of The Lighthouse renders it among the most demanding and distinctive horror encounters of the last decade.
3. The Abyss (1989)
- Director: James Cameron
- Writer: James Cameron
- Cast: Ed Harris, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Michael Biehn
- IMDb Ratings: 7.5/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 88%
- Streaming Platform: Prime Videos and Vudu
The movie depicting an oil crew examining a wrecked submarine thousands of miles beneath the sea was infamously challenging to make. Cameron’s concept has yet to be as concentrated and innovative as it is here, particularly in later sections employing breakthrough computer-generated visuals.
The Abyss, one of Cameron’s often-forgotten films, serves as a fitting climax towards the filmmaker’s spectacular run in the 1980s, in addition to a prediction of the more extraordinary melding of scientific progress and stunning filmmaking in which he would accomplish the years following.
2. Godzilla (1954)
- Director: Ishiro Honda
- Writer: Takeo Murata
- Cast: Momoko Kôchi, Akira Takarada, Akihiko Hirata
- IMDb Ratings: 7.5/1
- Rotten Tomatoes: 93%
- Streaming Platform: Prime Videos
Ishiro Honda’s nuclear monster “Gojia” is the most terrifying beast ever awakened from the bottom of the ocean. Godzilla, an allegory for the dangers of atomic warfare, manages to shock and excite viewers more than 60 years since his enormous form first saddled ashore and wreaked havoc on an unprepared Tokyo.
The vast, mutant lizard that bears the same name as the film has developed into Japan’s guardian and is revered as a cultural symbol, inspiring hundreds of sequels that remain to this day. However, nothing compares to Honda’s masterpiece in terms of emotional power and deep sadness.
1. Jaws (1975)
- Director: Steven Spielberg
- Writer: Peter Benchley, Carl Gottlieb
- Cast: Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss
- IMDb Ratings: 8.1/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 97%
- Streaming Platform: Netflix, Prime Videos, Apple TV and Vudu
Has there been any question that Steven Spielberg’s visual driving factor remains the best sea monster movie of all time? The first summer smash, which scared an era away from the shores and into the theatres, is still the most mimicked and parodied film of its type.
Jaws thrive as a combination adventure movie, part horror film, and part men-on-a-mission suspense due to the outstanding talent performance of Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, and Richard Dreyfuss, as well as because the continually misbehaving shark compelled Spielberg to reveal as a small portion as possible.
