Best Water/Underwater Action or Horror Films
by chrismilligancem | created - 24 Feb 2018 | updated - 24 Feb 2018 | PublicI LOVE movies that take place on the water or under the water and I am compiling this list for others who feel the same. Movies must be horror or action oriented, so Titanic is out!
Also, it's not like I've seen every single film that takes place under or on water so don't tell me I've left something out, maybe I just haven't seen it or felt the need to see it, but if you feel strongly about a title by all means convince me/sell me on it!
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1. The Abyss (1989)
PG-13 | 140 min | Adventure, Drama, Mystery
A civilian diving team is enlisted to search for a lost nuclear submarine and faces danger while encountering an alien aquatic species.
Director: James Cameron | Stars: Ed Harris, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Michael Biehn, Leo Burmester
Votes: 193,110 | Gross: $54.46M
2. Leviathan (1989)
R | 98 min | Adventure, Horror, Mystery
Perched on the hull of a wrecked Soviet freighter, a team of deep-sea miners led by head oceanographer Steven Beck comes face to face with a mutant creature that's the product of a failed genetic experiment.
Director: George P. Cosmatos | Stars: Peter Weller, Richard Crenna, Amanda Pays, Daniel Stern
Votes: 23,767 | Gross: $15.70M
3. DeepStar Six (1989)
R | 99 min | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi
A team of navy personnel stationed at a temporary base at the bottom of the ocean and tasked with setting up nuclear missiles discovers a huge underwater cavern which houses a giant prehistoric creature.
Director: Sean S. Cunningham | Stars: Greg Evigan, Nancy Everhard, Taurean Blacque, Miguel Ferrer
Votes: 13,222 | Gross: $8.14M
4. Jaws (1975)
PG | 124 min | Adventure, Mystery, Thriller
When a killer shark unleashes chaos on a beach community off Cape Cod, it's up to a local sheriff, a marine biologist, and an old seafarer to hunt the beast down.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss, Lorraine Gary
Votes: 659,118 | Gross: $260.00M
5. Jaws 2 (1978)
PG | 116 min | Adventure, Horror, Thriller
Police chief Brody must protect the citizens of Amity after a second monstrous shark begins terrorizing the waters.
Director: Jeannot Szwarc | Stars: Roy Scheider, Lorraine Gary, Murray Hamilton, Joseph Mascolo
Votes: 84,462 | Gross: $102.92M
6. Deep Blue Sea (1999)
R | 105 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Searching for a cure to Alzheimer's disease, a group of scientists on an isolated research facility become the prey, as a trio of intelligent sharks fight back.
Director: Renny Harlin | Stars: Thomas Jane, Saffron Burrows, Samuel L. Jackson, Jacqueline McKenzie
Votes: 142,519 | Gross: $73.65M
7. The Host (2006)
R | 120 min | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
A monster emerges from Seoul's Han River and begins attacking people. One victim's loving family does what it can to rescue her from its clutches.
Director: Bong Joon Ho | Stars: Song Kang-ho, Byun Hee-Bong, Park Hae-il, Bae Doona
Votes: 132,652 | Gross: $2.20M
8. Sphere (1998)
PG-13 | 134 min | Action, Mystery, Sci-Fi
A spaceship is discovered under three hundred years' worth of coral growth at the bottom of the ocean.
Director: Barry Levinson | Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Sharon Stone, Samuel L. Jackson, Peter Coyote
Votes: 112,482 | Gross: $37.02M
9. Sector 7 (2011)
Not Rated | 101 min | Action, Sci-Fi
A crew, drilling offshore for oil south of Jeju island, finds a lethal alien life form instead.
Director: Ji-hoon Kim | Stars: Ha Ji-Won, Ahn Sung-ki, Oh Ji-ho, Cha Ye-ryun
Votes: 2,802
10. 2012 (I) (2009)
PG-13 | 158 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
A frustrated writer struggles to keep his family alive when a series of global catastrophes threatens to annihilate mankind.
Director: Roland Emmerich | Stars: John Cusack, Thandiwe Newton, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Amanda Peet
Votes: 397,688 | Gross: $166.11M
11. Poseidon (2006)
PG-13 | 98 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
On New Year's Eve, the luxury ocean liner Poseidon capsizes after being swamped by a rogue wave. The survivors are left to fight for their lives as they attempt to escape the sinking ship.
Director: Wolfgang Petersen | Stars: Richard Dreyfuss, Kurt Russell, Emmy Rossum, Josh Lucas
Votes: 110,377 | Gross: $60.67M
12. The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
PG | 117 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A group of passengers must embark on a harrowing struggle for survival after a rogue wave capsizes their cruise ship at sea.
Director: Ronald Neame | Stars: Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine, Shelley Winters, Red Buttons
Votes: 49,201 | Gross: $84.56M
13. The Perfect Storm (2000)
PG-13 | 130 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
An unusually intense storm pattern catches some commercial fishermen unaware and puts them in mortal danger.
Director: Wolfgang Petersen | Stars: George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, John C. Reilly, Diane Lane
Votes: 177,842 | Gross: $182.62M
14. Anaconda (1997)
PG-13 | 89 min | Action, Adventure, Horror
A "National Geographic" film crew is taken hostage by an insane hunter, who forces them along on his quest to capture the world's largest - and deadliest - snake.
Director: Luis Llosa | Stars: Jon Voight, Jennifer Lopez, Eric Stoltz, Ice Cube
Votes: 111,972 | Gross: $65.89M
15. Orca (1977)
PG | 92 min | Adventure, Drama, Horror
A hunter squares off against a killer whale seeking vengeance for the death of its mate.
Director: Michael Anderson | Stars: Richard Harris, Charlotte Rampling, Will Sampson, Bo Derek
Votes: 13,280 | Gross: $14.72M
16. Moby Dick (1998)
PG | 90 min | Adventure, Drama, Thriller
The sole survivor of a lost whaling ship relates the tale of his Captain's self-destructive obsession to hunt the white whale, Moby Dick.
Stars: Henry Thomas, Patrick Stewart, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Piripi Waretini
Votes: 4,172
17. Creature (1998)
Not Rated | 120 min | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi
An amphibious shark-like monster terrorizes an abandoned secret military base and the people who live on the island it is located on. A marine biologist, as well as several other people, try to stop it before it is too late...
Stars: Craig T. Nelson, Kim Cattrall, Colm Feore, Cress Williams
Votes: 2,986
18. Open Water (2003)
R | 79 min | Adventure, Drama, Horror
Based on the true story of two scuba divers accidentally stranded in shark infested waters after their tour boat has left.
Director: Chris Kentis | Stars: Blanchard Ryan, Daniel Travis, Saul Stein, Michael E. Williamson
Votes: 56,439 | Gross: $30.61M
19. Lake Placid (1999)
R | 82 min | Action, Comedy, Horror
Four people attempt to stop a gigantic crocodile, who is terrorizing residents in Black Lake, Maine.
Director: Steve Miner | Stars: Bridget Fonda, Bill Pullman, Oliver Platt, Brendan Gleeson
Votes: 65,527 | Gross: $31.77M
20. Piranha (1978)
R | 94 min | Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi
When flesh-eating piranhas are accidentally released into a summer resort's rivers, the guests become their next meal.
Director: Joe Dante | Stars: Bradford Dillman, Heather Menzies-Urich, Kevin McCarthy, Keenan Wynn
Votes: 24,694 | Gross: $6.00M
21. Piranha 3D (2010)
R | 88 min | Comedy, Horror
After a sudden underwater tremor sets free scores of the prehistoric man-eating fish, an unlikely group of strangers must band together to stop themselves from becoming fish food for the area's new razor-toothed residents.
Director: Alexandre Aja | Stars: Elisabeth Shue, Jerry O'Connell, Richard Dreyfuss, Ving Rhames
Votes: 96,666 | Gross: $25.00M
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