5. Deep Blue Sea (1999)
Deep Blue Sea is the epitome of gloriously over-the-top yet self-serious filmmaking from the late ’90s and early 2000s, and it has since become a cult classic. It heightens the stereotype that sharks are vindictive and deliberately hunt down their chosen victims by making them genetically engineered to be smarter. The experiment to see if their brain tissue can cure Alzheimer’s backfires in the most brutal way. It’s great, blood-soaked fun to watch the all-star cast—Samuel L. Jackson, Stellan Skarsgård, Michael Rapaport, and LL Cool J (who also performs the end-credits rap), etc.—either get caught in the feeding frenzy or narrowly escape. Some scenes use slow motion to heighten the drama and make the adventure feel more epic and cinematic. When Deep Blue Sea bares its teeth, it’s less horrifying and more of a high-adrenaline action flick.
