Movies that are set in or on the ocean have long been very entertaining for audiences, and the new thriller Last Breath is no exception. Last Breath recounts the true story of a team of deep-sea divers who do everything in their power to help rescue their teammate after his umbilical line snaps, leaving him stranded at the bottom of the ocean. Last Breath has received positive reviews thanks to the performances of its cast and the movie’s ability to build suspense throughout its entire runtime.

As is evidenced by the movie’s positive critical response and ongoing success with audiences, Last Breath is a great addition to the subgenre of thrillers that take place on the ocean. In fact, it seems like each year brings a new release that centers on the dangers of being in the ocean, meaning that there are plenty to choose from. However, the best examples of the subgenre make the audience truly reconsider whether they want to step foot in the ocean at all after watching, and Last Breath is joined by several great companions in this category.

10

The Shallows (2016)

Even Staying Close To The Beach Can Be Dangerous

Jaume Collet-Serra’s 2016 movie The Shallows is the perfect example of how to scare audiences without ever losing sight of the shore. While many movies about the ocean take place miles from land, The Shallows sees its main character Nancy (Blake Lively) in danger just 200 yards away from shore. Nancy, a med student who recently lost her mother, decides to visit a beach in Mexico that her mother visited while pregnant with her to remember her and go surfing for the day.

However, things go horribly wrong when she becomes trapped on a rock just offshore after being attacked by a shark. The Shallows sees Nancy use every survival skill she has to attempt to make it to shore. While audiences don’t usually like to think about it, it is fairly common for sharks to swim close to the shore, meaning the fear of shark attacks, even in shallow water, is not entirely unfounded. While sharks mostly do not want to mess with people swimming, The Shallows does a great job of bringing many viewers’ fears to life with non-stop intensity.

9

Deep Blue Sea (1999)

Sharks Are A Common Enemy In Ocean Thrillers

Many of the most famous movies in the ocean thriller subgenre revolve around sharks as they are typically seen as an easy predator to use to create fear in the characters. However, Deep Blue Sea takes that logic a step further by centering on genetically modified sharks. The movie takes place in a scientific lab based in the ocean that uses sharks to study Alzheimer’s disease, but what the team is hiding is that they genetically modified the sharks to increase their brain size, inadvertently making them smarter and better predators.

Admittedly, many facets of Deep Blue Sea are quite silly and entirely unrealistic, but the movie’s message does still stand. The ocean and its creatures are far more dangerous than humans are often willing to acknowledge and this can create dangerous situations. In short, don’t mess with the ocean. While most viewers likely won’t find themselves in this situation anytime soon, Deep Blue Sea is still thrilling enough to remind audiences of how much we don’t know about the ocean.

8

The Poseidon Adventure (1972)

The Ocean Can Be Unpredictable

The 1972 movie The Poseidon Adventure is a classic disaster movie that is a must-watch for fans of the genre and has inspired several adaptions throughout the decades. The Poseidon Adventure also features a great cast led by Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine, Red ʙuттons and more. Based on the book of the same name, The Poseidon Adventure centers on the pᴀssengers of the SS Poseidon, a luxury ocean liner that is hit by a mᴀssive tsunami wave following an underwater earthquake which capsizes the boat.

The majority of the film sees the boat’s survivors attempting to get off the sinking ship so they can be rescued, but the journey is incredibly perilous. While The Poseidon Adventure stands in contrast to many of the scariest movies set on the ocean, since it does not involve any ocean creatures or being trapped deep underwater, it certainly forces audiences to think about the randomness and power of the ocean. The inhabitants of the ship believe themselves to be safe only to have that taken away thanks to a rogue wave, which is a frighteningly real possibility at sea.

7

47 Meters Down (2017)

Diving For Fun Still Has Risks

Being trapped underwater is a scary enough thought as is, but 47 Meters Down combines that fear with the possibility of being surrounded by sharks. The 2017 horror movie stars Claire Holt and Mandy Moore as two sisters, Kate and Lisa, who decide to go cage diving to observe sharks while on vacation in Mexico. However, after being lowered into the water, the winch boom breaks, and the cage sinks to the bottom of the ocean with the women trapped inside and surrounded by great white sharks.

While Kate and Lisa look for a way to get back to the surface, their situation becomes increasingly worse as they get lower on air, eventually leading to 47 Meters Down‘s twist ending. Luckily for viewers who enjoy cage-diving in safe circumstances, the movie is not very realistic, but that does not change the fact that its tense scenes might make some inexperienced audiences think twice about trying the activity. More than anything, perhaps 47 Meters Down works best as a reminder that the ocean can be dangerous, even with all the right equipment and preparation.

6

In the Heart of the Sea (2015)

Knowing The Story Is True Makes It Even More Haunting

One of the hardest ocean movies to watch is undoubtedly In the Heart of the Sea because it retells a harrowing true story. There are no angry or genetically modified sharks to be found here, just an account of the sinking of the EsSєx whaleship which occurred in 1820 and the ordeal that the crew went through afterward. In the Heart of the Sea was directed by Ron Howard and features an all-star cast including Chris Hemsworth, Tom Holland, Benjamin Walker, Cillian Murphy and more, meaning that the movie keeps viewers engrossed throughout its entire runtime.

The historical drama details the crew setting out on their whaling venture, but after finding little luck, they sail further and eventually are attacked by a white sperm whale that sinks their ship. To survive, the men board their smaller whale boats and attempt to navigate the open ocean. While In the Heart of the Sea is partially a story of survival and resilience, the gruesome lengths that the men must go to to survive highlight the horrors of being lost at sea with little hope of rescue.

5

The Abyss (1989)

The Sci-Fi Film Highlights The Ocean’s Unknowns

James Cameron’s 1989 film The Abyss is pure science fiction, but it still has several scenes that make audiences question why anyone would want to be that deep in the ocean. The Abyss centers on a submarine that has sunk near the Cayman Trough in the Caribbean and the efforts made by the US government and the workers of an underwater drilling platform that are attempting to salvage the submarine before it is too late. However, the crew gets more than they bargained for when they learn that there are other beings underwater that none of them can explain.

Though some of the science and the probability of underwater aliens certainly seem far-fetched to many viewers, the dangers of deep-sea diving can be very real, and The Abyss does a great job of reminding us of that. Thanks to some friendly underwater aliens, The Abyss‘s ending is actually more positive than many of the other movies in the ocean thriller category, but Cameron’s excellent direction and ability to create suspense keep audiences hooked throughout the film.

4

All Is Lost (2013)

The Robert Redford Survival Film Shows The Worst Circumstances

The 2013 survival film All Is Lost is pretty unusual given that there is only one cast member, Robert Redford, and the entire film includes only 51 words, but it is a near-perfect example of the extreme circumstances of being lost at sea. The film was well-received and even won several awards due to its ability to highlight the fading hope of its main character. There is nothing science fiction about the film at all. All Is Lost is straightforwardly about survival and the lengths that humans can survive through when forced into existential danger.

All Is Lost sees its unnamed main character struggle to keep his boat afloat after it is damaged by a shipping container, but just when it seems that he has fixed the damage he is hit by an oncoming storm. Each major moment of the film sees the man tried by a new challenge as his boat eventually sinks, and he is left to navigate the ocean in a life raft. Though this sort of danger seems unlikely for swimmers who remain close to the shore, All Is Lost could certainly make even seasoned sailors wary of the worst possibilities.

3

The Perfect Storm (2000)

The Star-Studded Film Is Based On A Tragic True Story

The Perfect Storm is a 2000 disaster movie based on the nonfiction book of the same name. With a cast led by George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, John C. Reilly, Diane Lane and more, the movie is full of impressive performances. However, the main takeaway from The Perfect Storm is how devastating the real-life 1991 storm was. The biographical film outlines the lives of the crew members and their circumstances before boarding the Andrea Gail fishing boat through the rescue attempts made for the crew.

The tragic true story highlights the unpredictability of the ocean and how little humans can do to interfere with it when bad weather conditions arise. Despite the attempts to help the Andrea Gail made by another fishing crew, a helicopter crew, and the Coast Guard, sadly neither the boat nor any of the crew were ever found. The Perfect Storm highlights the bravery of those involved in the attempted rescue and the crew themselves, but it does certainly show the risks of running into storms in the open ocean.

2

Jaws (1975)

The Original Shark Movie Has Had A Lasting Impact

If there is one reason why so many people alive today are afraid of sharks, that reason is Jaws. Jaws has been regarded as the first blockbuster movie and even held the тιтle of highest-grossing movie ever for a period of time. Beyond its mᴀssive impact on the movie industry, Jaws also mᴀssively impacted how people see sharks. In fact, according to Smithsonian Magazine, Steven Spielberg himself stated that he regretted how the film had changed perceptions of sharks.

It seems unfair to blame Jaws for any fear of sharks, but the truth is that it did inspire so many of the movies that came after it, which have been rooted in the false idea that sharks go out of their way to attack people. Jaws sees shark attacks happen both in the shallow waters of public beaches and deeper in the ocean, where the film’s biggest confrontation takes place. Understandably, then, the fear of sharks caused by Jaws has likely caused its fair share of people to avoid the ocean, at least for a little while.

1

Last Breath (2025)

The Movie Highlights The Real Dangers Of Working At Sea

Last Breath is a great example of the unexpected dangers of working at sea, and it is completely understandable that it may put audiences off going into the ocean for a while. The biographical survival movie stars Woody Harrelson, Simu Liu, Finn Cole, and Cliff Curtis as members of a diving team who experienced a catastrophe when their 2012 job ended in a shocking accident. The new movie perfectly recreates how tense the situation really would have been as the crew raced against time to rescue the diver Chris Lemons.

While many survival films based on true stories can only offer very bleak endings, Last Breath‘s ending is unexpectedly positive, as the real-life Chris Lemons actually survived the events portrayed in the film. The possibility of being stuck 100 meters below the ocean’s surface is admittedly terrifying and would make most audiences think twice about setting foot in the ocean, but Chris Lemons recovered almost immediately and even returned to finish the job just a few weeks later making the true story even more impressive than Last Breath.

Source: Smithsonian Magazine