Since the early 20th century, human beings have been trying to make sense of our fear of wild animals through cinema. On every hike, every swim at the beach, there is a singular unspoken fear that humans have gotten quite good at ignoring—that of the beast that may be hiding just out of sight. It’s a fear that pervades the subconscious mind, and like most other fears, it has taken center stage in popular media for decades.
Variety reports that over 21 million viewers tuned into the Discovery Channel’s Shark Week event last year. The fraught tension of Jaws works so well because it captures that instinctual fear of being weightless, suspended in water and helpless to what lurks underneath the dark waves. Grizzly plays with that nightmare scenario of an innocent hike turned horrifying with the encounter of a bear. If your craving for wild animal action needs attention, here are 10 wild animal movies that will keep you out of the woods forever.
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10 Grizzly
Film Ventures International
Largely considered a rip-off of Jaws, which released the previous year in 1975, Grizzly seeks to tap into the same rhythm of fear that made Steven Spielberg’s shark movie so engrossing. As it turns out, the practice of recreating the fear of a giant beast in the same tradition as Jaws works very well for an uncomplicated reason: bears are really scary. Following the sinking hearts of a group of park rangers, increasingly dangerous attacks by a massive bear force them to take desperate measures to deal with it. Seeing the aftermath of a bear attack on human flesh is enough to keep anyone away from the wilderness. The film was enough of a hit to spawn a sequel, Grizzly II, that released just in time, a meager 44 years later.
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9 Anaconda
Columbia Pictures
Everyone needs the comfort of a B movie about a monstrous animal, and that’s where Anaconda excels. As a premise, It’s not particularly deep - there’s a snake, and it’s gigantic. Expectedly, there’s a group of people convinced that they can hunt and kill the anaconda, and they are devastatingly, fatally wrong. Audiences found a lot to love in its dry humor, campy practical effects, and of course, the novelty of seeing a giant snake take on a group of people.
8 The Grey
LD Entertainment
Liam Neeson brings a welcome rough edge to the role of a plane crash survivor forced to survive the Alaskan wilderness and the advances of a bloodthirsty wolf pack in The Grey. Every beat of this film carries with it an encroaching sense of hopelessness for the human characters, each of whom have to come to terms with the grim reality of their situation. Famously, renowned film critic Roger Ebert walked out of another movie screening after seeing The Grey, having been so deeply affected by its atmosphere. This is a story that will leave viewers seeking the safety of their comforters.
7 Razorback
UAA Films
Another wild animal movie with clear influences from Jaws, this Australian horror story stands on its own two legs. The giant razorback boar that threatens the Australian countryside manages to feel like a truly credible threat thanks to some creative cinematography, well-designed sound effects and a plot with many twists make this movie an incredibly engaging experience. Uneven acting and some issues of tone give the sense that the film is a little confused about what genre it is striving to be, but fans of a good creature movie will find a lot to love here.
6 Cujo (1983)
Taft Entertainment
Stephen King’s story of a killer dog with rabies is brought to screen by Lewis Teague, who manages to sidestep the potentially silly implication of a movie surrounding a killer dog. Instead, the film is a bleak reminder of the horror of rabies, and there is no light to be found watching the titular dog rip and tear its way through human flesh. It turns out both man and man’s best friend have the capacity for massive violence. Cujo remained enough of a cult classic that it’s still getting special re-releases some 30 odd years later!
5 Piranha 3D
Dimension Films
Prehistoric killer piranhas make short work of people tasked with eliminating them. It’s a zany, over-the-top rollercoaster that is exactly as entertaining as it sounds. The tone and direction make extra certain to throw these concepts at viewers in good humor, and it never takes itself too seriously, to its benefit. Piranha 3D even exceeds Sharknado for ridiculous, improbable drama and comedy surrounding wild animals.
4 Snakes on a Plane
Mutual Film Company
Samuel L Jackson, delivering an iconic performance, elevates Snakes on a Plane and its seemingly silly premise to something greater than it aims for. The premise of the movie is simple, terrifying, and resonated with lots of viewers: there are killer snakes on a plane made more aggressive thanks to a creative use of pheromones by a gang boss trying to bring the plane down. Better still than watching the bizarre horror of passengers getting attacked by unexpected snakes is the internet phenomenon it inspired: YouTube parodies, fan films, fanfiction, etc.
3 The Birds
Alfred J. Hitchcock Productions
In The Birds, Alfred Hitchock dramatizes a real-life event that occurred in 1960: crazed birds attacking and dive-bombing cars and people alike in a California town. Beginning as a love story, the symbolism of birds, initially tied to blossoming love, becomes something more dubious as the birds began to attack and even kill people. This one will definitely resonate with viewers upset at that one gull at the beach that feels entitled to their food.
2 Jaws
Zanuck/Brown Company
Enough has been said about Steven Spielburg’s legendary shark movie to fill an entire library. It was such a big phenomenon that there’s even a musical adaptation of the making of Jaws set for a 2022 release date. Every aspect of the production in this film exceeds expectations, from the onset of a paranoid atmosphere, John Williams’ acclaimed score, and the actors who so convincingly portray the descent of a seaside town into madness.
1 The Revenant
Sourced via Vox
Though not literally an animal movie, everyone can recall the infamous fight between Leonardo Dicaprio and a shockingly well-animated CGI bear that was marketed so heavily for this film. And when Dicaprio finally won his Oscar for the role, the internet went wild. The story is lead by Hugh Glass, a trapper in the 19th century Dakotan wilderness, escaping a number of near death situations while weaving in and out of conflicts between settlers, indigenous peoples, and the chaos of the elements. The Revenant, directed by acclaimed Mexican director Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu, won 3 oscars for its haunting, beautiful, and well-realized vision for the relationship between human beings and their environment. This movie will undoubtedly keep viewers away from the woods for a long, long time.
