How much do you love sea monster movies? Drop your answers in the comments. The thrill and excitement that come from people struggling to survive attacks from deadly sea monsters are why some of us love sea monster movies.
Folklore tells stories of sea monsters that dwell in the deep sea. The tales imagine them as creatures of immense size.
Sea monsters, such as dragons, serpents, and beasts with massive tentacles, can come in many forms.
The old folks often told these folklores to scare little children and keep them away from the sea. It is common to find sea monsters in horror movies.
Today, we will be exploring some of the best sea monster movies. Sea monsters are creatures of myth and legend.
Many film producers use these myths to create compelling fictional works. They create terror by bringing to our awareness the danger lurking in the deep sea.
Man still has a long way to go in exploring the deep sea. Don’t try to be Sherlock Holmes; go out on your own to find mythical sea monsters.
Hang in there, and keep your phone on this page as we explore some of the man’s best imaginations.
Please note that some of these movies will have you creaking in your chair. They are not for the faint-hearted, but don’t worry—they are still fun to watch.
1. The Meg (2018)
Warner Bros. Pictures delivered another box office success, grossing $530 million worldwide. As usual, Jason Statham gives us a world-class performance. Hold your kids tight before they start diving down the ocean.
In this movie, man’s curiosity is brought to the depths of the ocean, which have never been explored.
A silent monster lurks there and has stayed undisturbed since Jonas’s first encounter. Jonas encountered this sea monster when he and his team went on a rescue mission on a submarine.
The Meg is one of the best sea monster movies, and it contains stunning visuals that showcase the beauty of the ocean’s depth.
The owner of a research facility calls on Jonas to save its members when they become threatened by the 75-foot prehistoric shark, the megalodon.
Megalodon is an extinct species of shark that ruled the earth’s waters millions of years ago.
Who knows, I might still be in existence today. This film will impress you from the beginning to the end. The cast performed very well.
This thriller is full of entertaining scenes. The second megalodon appears just after the death of the first one.
Emotions are heightened as everyone races to stop it from reaching the mainland and destroying more lives.
I loved this movie and believe you will also love it. It takes our imaginations to new heights and raises the question of what if.
2. Godzilla: King of Monsters (2014)
All hail the king of all monsters, Godzilla. The visual effects used to create this monster are top-notch.
Despite its immense size, the producers made a creature that looks very real on-screen. Godzilla is not just a sea monster but also a land monster.
Godzilla poses a potent question to all viewers: Are monsters humanity’s saviors or doom? The uncertainty lingers throughout the movie as men are perplexed about whether they should treat Godzilla as a friend or foe.
This film is truly unique. It contains a perfect blend of everything you would expect from a monster movie.
The actors are in their characters, and the visual effects are stunning. The artists did a great job making Godzilla look menacing.
Godzilla is one of the sea monster movies that defined modern-day movie monster creation.
The actors created realistic scenarios of chaos and uncertainty. If you have watched the movie, you will appreciate them for that.
I like this movie because it does not take things too far, and the graphics are just enough to create realistic imagery. The sea monster was giant, dominant, and showed what it means for a beast to be an alpha predator.
Overall, the vibes in Godzilla are good. Sea monster movies will not be complete without the menacing Godzilla looking down on the other monsters. A quick thought. Can the megalodon defeat Godzilla? Drop your thoughts in the comments.
This film is entertaining and full of excitement and terror. I watched it years after its release, and I’m glad I did. What more does the deep sea hold? Let’s explore further.
3. Deep Rising (1998)
Don’t be deceived by the release date; Deep Rising is one of the tensest sea monster movies. Its computer-generated imagery is decent, even though it looks outdated now, and the film has a good amount of humor to keep things entertaining.
Deep Rising is about survival as a giant deep-sea monster with tentacles attacks a cruise ship in the South China Sea.
The scenes are scary and unsettling, enough to make kids cover their eyes in fear, and it is a good thing they are not real.
The timing is perfect in the movie. The monster always bursts in when the characters are least expecting it.
The beast’s tentacles navigate through air ducts, sewer pipes, and shafts, and it pops out and sucks up characters where they feel safe.
It doesn’t take long for the characters to realize this monster is everywhere aboard the ship.
Deep Rising is a solid movie that passes the time. The computer-generated imagery and visual effects were masterpieces at that time.
The movie ends on a massive cliffhanger. Two survivors make it to an island to discover a third survivor. When they feel relieved, an unknown monster races towards them from the thick forest. Sadly, we never get to see what is about to attack them.
4. The Abyss (1989)
The brilliant producer James Cameron delivered this epic sea monster movie to round off his 1980 run. His films have always been futuristic, using technologies that would someday dominate the industry.
The Abyss explores the psychological and physical trauma a deep-sea diver experiences in descending into the ocean depths. It goes far into the unexplored deep but exhibits a constraint needed to provide an unforgettable viewing experience.
This film is a box office treasure. It is a technically brilliant masterpiece by the director, James Cameron, and the director gives us one of the best underwater sequences ever seen on camera.
When you watch the film, you will discover that it was a very ambitious movie in its time. The Abyss has a simple plot that might make you think there isn’t much going for it.
However, it is packed with a sizable number of catastrophes that somehow resonated with the climes of the 19080s. If the movie had been written today, the theme would have reflected the dangers in today’s society.
The sinking submarine carried 192 nuclear warheads, and a hurricane was tearing up the seas. People suspected the Russian submersibles of sinking the nuclear submarine since it was just 80 miles from Havana.
This is one of the earliest sea monster movies to feature an alien life force behind the terror. The Abyss is a masterwork visually and aurally, and Mikael Salomon magnificently lights up and photographs the underwater sequences.
The underwater scenes blend vivid purples, blues, and greens. Blake Leyh provides a lively sound design filled with a sharp, unsettling chorus of clanks and thuds.
The production design intelligently represented the present and the future with convincingly natural features.
5. In the Heart of the Sea (2015)
In the Heart of the Sea is a sea monster movie featuring a creature already known to man. It is a retelling of a horror survival sea story that inspired the work of Moby Dick. It explores the journey of a cursed 19th-century whaling voyage.
In 1820, Nantucket was viewed as the whaling capital of the world. Computer-generated imagery shows countless ships, with the town looking much more significant than now. Men of bravery and courage sailed off into the deep, searching for whale oil.
The voyage often lasted years, as some sailors would return to meet their grown-up offspring. Chris Hemsworth plays Owen Chase, who believes he should be the captain of Essex’s newly refurbished ship.
However, the shipowner chooses his son, George Pollard, to captain the ship, leaving Owen Chase as the first mate. Despite the disappointment, Owen agrees to go on the voyage with the excitement and thrill of whale hunting.
The Essex ventured into the South Atlantic when the local sea proved elusive. Undersized for such a voyage, they win their first hunt and begin processing the unfortunate whale. Young Nickerson descends into the belly of the beast to extract the oil.
In the Heart of the Sea explores the economic importance of whale oil as a significant fuel for illumination at night. As they go further in search of whales, the Essex encounters the Big One other survivors have spoken about.
With minimal effort, the vengeful white whale capsizes one of the launches. The men thought they had found a worthy trophy out of excitement, but the Big One had planned out its revenge on men for killing its species.
6. Underwater (2020)
Classy actress Kristen Stewart battles a deep-sea alien monster in this sea monster thriller. The film also brings in the famous Mariana trench, which we’ve heard about. Despite stories and myths surrounding the trench, we have yet to fully explore it.
The Kepler Ocean drill is carrying out a project at the deepest parts of the Mariana Trench.
When corporations are into exploration, they often exploit the resources without considering the effects on human life.
Underwater is one of the classy sea monster movies. It immediately spins up the action when the vessel experiences a leak.
The ship and the crew are in imminent danger of destruction, and the weary captain knows that the gig is up.
Oxygen is depleting with each passing minute. Movies like this make me wonder how engineers will build such massive vessels without a simple escape process in the case of dysfunction.
The crew has to wear bulky suits to keep themselves from being crushed by the deep ocean pressure.
To escape, the crew must walk on the ocean floor to the Roebuck drill station, where they can find transport to the surface.
The deep-sea monsters are relentless in trying to stop them from reaching safety. Men disturbed their abode, and now, they must destroy all threats.
I’ll probably watch this movie when bored and out of options. It is entertaining if you don’t expect too much from it, and it is a simple tale of exploration gone wrong.
7. Eye of the Beast (2007)
It all began as a tale until the horror stretched from the ocean deep to reach the surface. Eye of the Beast is a sea monster movie with a few tricks up its sleeves.
Several locals begin to disappear off the coast on a small North Atlantic fishing community.
The massive tentacled squid begins to feed on humans. The small town is rattled. The Government sends one of its scientists, Dan Leland, to investigate the incidents of a giant squid sucking up anything that lies in its path.
Der Beek was the government scientist sent to investigate the unfortunate incidents. The locals don’t trust the Government and believe that the Government creates the monster.
The movie also tries to address the issue of racism that has plagued society for ages.
Finally, the characters figure out the cause of the disappearances. The giant squid has moved from eating fish and other aquatic animals to feeding humans.
Of course, romance isn’t kept away from this movie. A lady sheriff is in love with the government scientist, Dan Leland.
The squid ate the father of the sheriff years ago, and no one in the town believed her. Now, they have all seen for themselves the monster that was lurking in the deep waters of their village.
As usual, everyone bands together to destroy this menacing beast before destroying everything in its path.
8. Lake Placid (1999)
Lake Placid knows its limits and settles for being a comedy thriller. Don’t watch the movie with too much expectation. The computer-generated imagery is certainly not the best, even compared to other CGI movies in its time.
The film takes a while to settle into its storyline. If you are used to monster movies, you can easily predict this movie. Lake Placid blends comedy with horror and romance, and it has an excellent soundtrack to occupy your listening ears.
The writers produced a script good enough to adapt into a movie. The crocodile, despite its poor computer-generated imagery, is menacing enough. This film will probably be the last of the sea monster movies to watch.
Bridget Fonda and Bill Pullman’s performances are good. The most entertaining parts come from Oliver Platt and Brendan Gleeson’s performances, which are always at each other’s throats. They remind me of Tom and Jerry.
A mysterious creature kills an unfortunate man in a Maine lake. Jack Wells, a local game warden, Sheriff Hank Keough, and visiting paleontologist Kelly Scott investigate the seemingly bizarre incident.
They look for clues in a tooth left behind by the unknown beast. Eventually, the people locate the monster, eager to devour anything or anyone in its path. The film reveals the beast to be a 30-foot-long giant crocodile.
Can fragile humans stop this menacing monster? Watch the movie to find out. The film plays down its horror with comedy.
9. Pacific Rim (2013)
Kaijus resurface in this movie. They threaten the peace of men. Watching this movie made me wonder if the man was wrong for taking the fight to them. They were monsters, no doubt, but they had a mission that did not warrant the destruction they caused.
Pacific Rim is not one of those sea monster movies entirely in the sea. There are entertaining action sequences in the sea and on the land. This film gives an introduction that explains the background of the battle.
When we talk of sea monster movies, the first thing to note is how realistic the monsters are. I don’t like movies where the monsters look artificial, and Pacific Rim is not one of those movies. The computer-generated imagery and the special effects are excellent.
The movie clearly defines its action sequences. The fights are well-timed and necessary, not random. Pacific Rim tells its story so well that you will come back to watch it again. The Jaegars are so realistic and exciting.
In response to the arrival of the Kaijus, humans spent a lot of resources to create machines capable of fighting them. Men operate the machines, and they mimic the movement of the pilots.
The military trains the pilots to fight to maximize the Jaegers, and Pacific Rim has a good, well-paced storyline that doesn’t seem rushed. It leaves the audience satisfied at the end, and it is exciting and fun to watch.
Pacific is pure science fiction that sticks to technology and doesn’t have horror elements. Anyone can watch it; however, some characters were not adequately developed. Ignoring that, you’ll have an exciting sea monster movie.
10. Cloverfield (2008)
J. J Abrams returns to produce this found-footage movie, and he delivers an exciting viewing experience to the audience. Matt Reeves’s directed film stars Michael Stahl-David, Odette Yustman, T.J Miller, Jessica Lucas, Mike Vogel, and Lizzy Caplan.
A monster as giant as a skyscraper descends upon the city of New York, leaving terror in its wake. The monster traps a group of New Yorkers at a going-away party in the town, leaving many wondering about the origins of such a monster.
The Cloverfield Monster is a sea monster that ventures into New York City to terrify and destroy everything in its path. A handheld video camera records their struggle. This film tells the story from the actors’ point of view.
J.J. Abrams creates an immersive experience by making a movie through the characters’ eyes. It is fun and interesting to watch. However, it is a very tense movie, so remember to keep your little kid away when watching it. If not, you will have to contain the kid’s screams.
Horror is at its peak as the sea monster ravages everything in its path.
Sea monster movies are fun and interesting to watch. They take our imaginations far into the depths of the sea, and one is left wondering what mysteries the ocean holds. I can assure you that we have not explored half of what the sea holds.
Be careful in your exploration; you might awaken the next sea monster.
