When it comes to films where sharks are at the forefront, there’s a pretty large spectrum in terms of the quality of products we’ve been given over the years. On one end, of course, is Jaws, the undisputed king of shark movies that set a precedent that none that have followed in its wake have ever cleared. Then, on the complete opposite end, you can find things like the Sharknado series, any number of Syfy Channel original movies with names like Ghost Shark and Sharktopus, and even Jaws: The Revenge.

Caught in between are films like Open Water, The Reef, and last year’s The Shallows, all projects that didn’t soar as high as Jaws, but thankfully never sank to the lowest depths of the worst types of shark movies. More than that, however, they managed to prove that there’s still some serious life left in...