Rhonda Shear of USA Up All Night will be joining Joe Bob Briggs and Darcy the Mail Girl on The Last Drive-In: Nightmareathon

When I was growing up in the ’80s and ’90s, there were a good number of hosted movie shows to choose from. There was, of course, Elvira. On a local channel, I could watch movies that were presented by the duo of Big Chuck and Lil’ John. On The Movie Channel and later TNT, I could watch drive-in critic Joe Bob Briggs host movies. From 1989 to 1998, USA Network aired a hosted movie show on Friday and Saturday nights that was called USA Up All Night, and I regularly tuned in for that. Programming tweaks were made here and there over the years, but for the most part USA Up All Night consisted of three movies that would air from 11 pm to 5 am. Gilbert Gottfried hosted USA Up All Night on Saturday nights, and on January 4, 1991, comedian/B-movie actress Rhonda Shear took over from Caroline Schlitt as the host of the Friday night edition. Joe Bob Briggs now has a show called The Last Drive-In on the Shudder streaming service, which is about to wrap up its sixth season with a six movie marathon called The Last Drive-In: Nightmareathon – and it has been revealed that former USA Up All Night host Rhonda Shear is going to be a special guest during the marathon!

The Last Drive-In: Nightmareathon will premiere on Friday, August 30th at 9pm ET on the Shudder TV and AMC+ TV feeds. The marathon will then be available on demand on both platforms the following Sunday, September 1st.

The special has the following description: Joe Bob Briggs, Darcy the Mail Girl, and a few surprise guests are up all night to party like jungle animals for The Last Drive-In: Nightmareathon, a dusk-to-dawn marathon event celebrating 6 years and 6 seasons with 6 killer movies… just like the devil intended.

On The Last Drive-In, the world’s foremost drive-in movie critic hosts eclectic horror movies, talking about their merits, histories and significance to genre cinema.

Rhonda Shear first hinted at her involvement with The Last Drive-In with a social media post back in June:

After dropping a hint of his own in an interview with our friends at Bloody Disgusting, Joe Bob went ahead and confirmed that Rhonda will be showing up during the Nightmareathon:

Rhonda Shear’s crossover into the world of The Last Drive-In follows in the footsteps of an Up All Night comic book that was published a while back and had Rhonda as the lead character, with Joe Bob Briggs and Darcy the Mail Girl making guest appearances.

Will you be watching The Last Drive-In: Nightmareathon, and are you glad to hear that Rhonda Shear of USA Up All Night will be sharing the screen with Joe Bob Briggs and Darcy the Mail Girl during this marathon special? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

A new trailer has been released for the Halle Berry / Alexandre Aja horror film Never Let Go, coming to theatres in September

About two years ago, we heard that Halle Berry had signed on to star in a horror movie called Mother Land, with genre regular Alexandre Aja on board to direct. Last year, the project went into production under a new title, Never Let Go. Earlier this year, we saw the unveiling of a teaser poster, which just featured text on a snakeskin background (you can take a look at the teaser poster HERE). Lionsgate is planning to give Never Let Go a theatrical release on September 20th – and with that date just three weeks away, a new trailer for the film has arrived online! You can watch it in the embed above.

Berry is joined in the cast by Percy Daggs IV (The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey) and Anthony B. Jenkins (Florida Man). Shawn Levy, Dan Cohen, and Dan Levine of 21 Laps (the production company behind Stranger Things and Free Guy, among other things) are producing the film with Aja. Berry is executive producing alongside Holly Jeter and 21 Laps’ Emily Morris. Chelsea Kujawa and Scott O’Brien are overseeing the project for Lionsgate.

Scripted by KC Coughlin and Ryan Grassby, Never Let Go follows a mother (Berry) and her fraternal twin sons (Daggs and Jenkins) who have been tormented by an evil spirit for years and are convinced to never let go of their family’s protective bond. But when one of the boys questions if the evil is real, their connection is severed, triggering a terrifying fight for survival. Here’s a different version of the synopsis: As Evil takes over the world beyond their front doorstep, the only protection for a mother (Berry) and her twin sons is their house and their family’s protective bond. Needing to stay connected at all times – even tethering themselves with ropes – they cling to one another, urging each other to never let go. But when one of the boys questions if the evil is real, the ties that bind them together are severed, triggering a terrifying fight for survival.

Aja’s previous directing credits include High Tension, The Hills Have Eyes, Mirrors, Piranha 3D, Horns, The 9th Life of Louis Drax, Crawl, and Oxygen. We first heard about Never Let Go (then known as Mother Land) over three years ago, when it was announced that Mark Romanek had signed on to direct the film. There were eight years between Romanek’s first film One Hour Photo and his second feature Never Let Me Go, and it looked like this was going to be his third movie. Eleven years (at the time) after Never Let Me Go. But then Romanek dropped out, Aja signed on, and the project got a title that’s quite similar to the title of Romanek’s second feature. Now we continue to wait and see if Romanek is going to make a third feature.

What did you think of the new trailer for Never Let Go? Will you be catching this movie on the big screen next month? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

When a Hollywood producer took a swipe at Ryan Gosling while championing Glen Powell, the latter would have none of it.

Last Updated on August 29, 2024

In this house we do not bash Ryan Gosling and we do not dish ignorance. But that’s just what one Hollywood producer tried to do, shrinking Gosling down in his attempt to puff up Glen Powell. And Glen Powell is having none of it.

In a social media response to this unnamed producer, Glen Powell wrote, “Gosling is a legend. I’m just Glenn”, a play of course on Gosling’s Oscar-nominated “I’m Just Ken.” That is categorically humble of Powell, who is one of the biggest stars going through films like Top Gun: Maverick and Twisters, not to mention terrific performances in works like Hit Man, which further demonstrated how diverse he can be. That he is remaining humble amidst all of this shows just why people continue to support him.

But just because you praise one star doesn’t mean you need to slam another, as happened with this case of Glen Powell vs. Ryan Gosling, a scenario concocted for no true reason. As for what the producer said, he is quoted with, “Glen Powell is most definitely an up-and-coming movie star in the sense that audiences now go to movies to see him…Unlike an actor like Ryan Gosling whose appeal is mostly limited to female audiences, Glen appeals to both females and males.” OK, so who doesn’t want to see Gosling ditch his shirt? But to say that his appeal is limited to one gender is ridiculous, especially considering how much praise he gets for his performances. To date, Gosling has three Oscar nominations: Half Nelson, La La Land and Barbie.

A teaser trailer has been unveiled for V/H/S/Beyond, the latest addition to the found footage franchise, coming to Shudder in October

The found footage horror anthology series V/H/S was launched in 2012, with the sequels V/H/S/2 and V/H/S: Viral following in 2013 and 2014. There was a spin-off called SiREN in 2016, then the franchise went dormant for a few years… before being revived by the Shudder streaming service, which has had great success delivering a new V/H/S movie every year. There was V/H/S/94 in 2021, V/H/S/99 in 2022, and V/H/S/85 in 2023 (with another spin-off, called Kids vs. Aliens, also dropping in 2023). There will be no lack of V/H/S this year, as Shudder recently announced they’ll be releasing V/H/S/Beyond on October 4th – and now a teaser trailer for the film has made its way online! You can check it out in the embed above.

A Shudder Original Film made in association with Studio71, V/H/S/Beyond will feature six new bloodcurdling tapes, placing horror at the forefront of a sci-fi-inspired hellscape.

The segments making up this entry in the franchise are:

“Stork”: Directed by Jordan Downey (ThanksKilling, ThanksKilling 3, The Head Hunter), screenplay by Downey and Kevin Stewart

“Fur Babies”: Written and directed by Christian Long and Justin Long, who had acting roles in Jeepers Creepers, Tusk, and Barbarian

“Live and Let Dive”: Directed by Justin Martinez, story by Martinez and Ben Turner, screenplay by Turner. Martinez contributed a segment to the anthology Southbound and directed a segment of the first V/H/S as part of the collective Radio Silence.

“Dream Girl”: Directed by Virat Pal (Recapture), written by Pal and Evan Dickson

“Stowaway”: Directed by actress Kate Siegel, making her directorial debut, working from a script written by her frequent collaborator (and husband) Mike Flanagan (Hush, The Haunting of Hill House, Midnight Mass, etc.)

There will also be a special presentation by Jay Cheel (Cursed Films, How to Build a Time Machine.)

V/H/S/Beyond is being produced by Josh Goldbloom, James Harris, and Michael Schreiber, with Adam Boorstin serving as executive producer.

What did you think of the V/H/S/Beyond teaser trailer? Are you a fan of this franchise, and will you be watching the latest entry? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

Last Updated on August 29, 2024

Yellowstone co-creator Taylor Sheridan is returning to the trenches with Zoe Saldaña (Avatar: The Way of Water, Guardians of the Galaxy) for Lioness Season 2, premiering Sunday, October 27. The espionage thriller is filming in Texas, with MTV Entertainment Studios and 101 Studios leading the charge. Zoe Saldaña leads the drama as Joe McNamara, the hard-lined chief of the CIA’s Lioness program. With her female undercover operatives willing to embrace any mission, the group assassinates the world’s most dangerous terrorists. Today, Paramount is thrilled to share the premiere date for Lioness Season 2 alongside a gallery of first-look photos from upcoming episodes.

Here’s the official synopsis for Lioness Season 2 courtesy of Paramount+:

As the CIA’s fight against terror moves closer to home, Joe (Saldaña), Kaitlyn (Kidman), and Byron (Kelly) enlist a new Lioness operative to infiltrate a previously unknown threat. With pressure mounting from all sides, Joe is forced to confront the profound personal sacrifices she has made as the leader of the Lioness program. The series also stars Dave Annable, Jill Wagner, LaMonica Garrett, James Jordan, Austin Hébert, Jonah Wharton, Thad Luckinbill, and Hannah Love Lanier.

Laysla De Oliveira (Locke & Key, In the Tall Grass), Genesis Rodriguez (The Umbrella Academy, Big Hero 6) and Emmy Award nominee Michael Kelly (Man of Steel, Chronicle) join Saldaña as lead cast members, with Oscar winner Morgan Freeman (Lean on Me, The Shawshank Redemption) and Oscar and Emmy winner and executive producer Nicole Kidman (Eyes Wide Shut, The Others, Paddington).

The series is executive produced by Taylor Sheridan, David C. Glasser, Zoe Saldaña, Nicole Kidman, Ron Burkle, Bob Yari, David Hutkin, Jill Wagner, David Lemanowicz, Geyer Kosinski, Michael Friedman, and Keith Cox and distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution.

You can check out a collection of first-look pics from Lioness Season 2 below:

When Lioness roared on Paramount+, it set a new world record as the most-watched worldwide series premiere on the streaming service. Anticipation for the new season is sky-high as fans await answers to burning questions and prepare to go behind enemy lines to keep the world from unraveling.

Lioness Season 2 joins the expanding Taylor Sheridan-Verse, which includes shows like 1883, Mayor of Kingston, Lawmen: Bass Reeves, the upcoming Landman, the second season of Tulsa King, 1923, and The Madison.

Lioness Season 2 gets its premiere exclusively on Paramount+ on Sunday, October 27.

Tim Burton’s long-awaited sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice reaches theatres next week, and the first reactions are now online!

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the long-awaited sequel to director Tim Burton’s 1988 classic Beetlejuice (watch it HERE), is set to reach theatres on September 6th – and today the first reactions from critics who have had the chance to watch the movie have appeared online! You can see a collection of these reactions below, but we’ll start off here with what JoBlo’s own Eric Walkuski had to say about the film: “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is an enjoyable, fast-paced bit of lunacy from Tim Burton that should please the many who’ve waited decades for its arrival. It certainly leans into nostalgia throughout, but it also manages to have some bizarre new tricks up its sleeve; it’s not just another retread playing the Greatest Hits from the original. The returning characters are a sight for sore eyes, with Keaton and Ryder not missing a beat reprising their iconic roles, though it’s Catherine O’Hara who absolutely steals the show as the ever-frenetic Delia. There might be one subplot too many (the film juggles about three or four of them), but overall it’s a welcome return to zany form for Burton.“

About the Author

Cody is a news editor and film critic, focused on the horror arm of JoBlo.com, and writes scripts for videos that are released through the JoBlo Originals and JoBlo Horror Originals YouTube channels. In his spare time, he’s a globe-trotting digital nomad, runs a personal blog called Life Between Frames, and writes novels and screenplays.

Nicole Kidman says she agreed to star in Joel Schumacher’s Batman Forever as Dr. Chase Meridian so she could kiss Batman.

Last Updated on August 29, 2024

Some people wait their entire careers to appear alongside the Dark Knight in one of Hollywood’s Batman films. They imagine being ghosted by the Caped Crusader mid-conversation or interrogated while hanging upside down from a gargoyle perched on Gotham Cathedral. However, when Nicole Kidman joined the cast of Joel Schumacher’s Batman Forever as psychologist Dr. Chase Meridian, she had a different, saucier reason for starring in the divisive superhero film. Her reason? She wanted to tongue-punch Batman.

Speaking with L’Officiel, the French fashion magazine, Kidman said the role wasn’t about the money but realizing her dream of smooching the man beneath the cowl. “Everyone’s like,’ Why are you doing that?’ I’m like, ‘Because I get to kiss Batman!’” she said. Kidman doubled down on her claim, adding, “The thing people don’t understand is, it’s not about the check. A lot of mainstream big blockbusters that I do are hopefully different.”

Schumacher’s Batman Forever remains one of the most talked-about chapters of the Dark Knight’s cinematic history, with fans divided on the film’s overall quality. Tim Burton‘s Batman and Batman Returns showcased the director’s twisted visual flare with a dark and Gothic edge, so the jump to Schumacher’s vibrantly colored and slapstick-inspired world was jarring, to say the least. A sub-section of fans rejected the “goofy” tonal shift, while others embraced the sequel’s wacky presentation. Schumacher’s Batman films harken back to the audacity and winking ways of when Adam West played the character. That won’t sit well with fans new to the character or used to Burton’s gloomy, atmospheric take. As a love interest, Dr. Chase Meridian confused some viewers. Her forwardness, kinky curiosity, and lust for adventure were too much for some to handle. Still, Nicole Kidman got what she wanted from the gig when she played tonsil hockey with Val Kilmer’s Batman. Sometimes, you’ve got to do something for yourself. It’s not about the paycheck.

When was the last time you watched Batman Forever? Are you like me in that you have a soft spot for Schumacher’s Batman films? I recognize their ridiculousness, but that’s also why I enjoy them. A little absurdity is good for the soul and helps us appreciate the finer films in life. It’s all about balance, folks. Plus, who doesn’t want to clean Batman’s teeth with their tongue? That’s some bucket list stuff.

About the Author

Born and raised in New York, then immigrated to Canada, Steve Seigh has been a JoBlo.com editor, columnist, and critic since 2012. He started with Ink & Pixel, a column celebrating the magic and evolution of animation, before launching the companion YouTube series Animation Movies Revisited. He’s also the host of the Talking Comics Podcast, a personality-driven audio show focusing on comic books, film, music, and more. You’ll rarely catch him without headphones on his head and pancakes on his breath.

Lee Daniels’ foray into horror features great performances but seems intent to just check off tropes versus create something challenging.

Last Updated on August 29, 2024

PLOT: An Indiana family discovers strange, demonic occurrences that convince them and their community that the house is a portal to hell.

REVIEW: Netflix is pretty hit or miss when it comes to their horror releases. While their horror TV output has been impressive, there often seems to be a considerable quality drop when it comes to film. So adding a movie from an Oscar-nominated director seems like a winning formula to break that curse. Unfortunately, no one at Netflix seemed to be aware that Lee Daniels doesn’t know horror. At least, nothing that isn’t extremely stereotypical and repeating beats of other popular films. Because if there’s one thing about The Deliverance that’s clear: it was inspired by much better films.

The story itself follows a basic structure we’ve seen a million times before whether it be The Poltergeist or The Conjuring: a family sees their home increasingly haunted with all sorts of spooky occurrences. It’s tired and a bit generic but thankfully the performances are stellar. Andra Day is great as neglectful mother Ebony, a woman who just can’t stay away from the booze. While the role itself is a little on the nose, Day does a great job of adding some layers to her, whether it’s a subtle look or delivery. Mo’Nique has a great monologue as the case worker but otherwise, her role is as stereotypical as you can get. While Ebony certainly has her issues, the clear supernatural element just muddies the waters of her neglect.

Glenn Close is nearly unrecognizable as Alberta, Ebony’s mother who is going through chemo. It’s a complex role as Alberta has a good heart, but it was clearly a rough journey getting there. Caleb McLaughlin of Stranger Things fame appears as one of Ebony’s kids but he’s hardly given any screentime. He, along with Demi Singleton, just seemed desperate to do anything meaty with their roles. They have a little more to take part in by the end but it still feels like anyone who’s not Close or Day gets shortchanged.

As with what happens most of the time with non-horror directors entering the genre realm, Daniels seems intent on checking off stereotypical boxes versus making something original. It almost feels like the filmmakers never saw The Poltergeist and felt like they were really doing something special. But parental abuse isn’t enough to make this one feel deeper than what it is: a simple possession story. Every story beat you would expect is here, complete with conflict that feels only for the audience’s benefit. And just when you think it’s going do something outside the box, it then results in the usage of tropes we’ve seen time and time again.

The second half of the film goes much harder into the possession angle, getting fully demonic. They try to give history to the demon but it feels a bit broad. There’s even an exorcist lady who seems to have every answer to any question. If anything, it makes the situation feel more Hollywood and lose anything it had going for it. The possession itself gets really silly in the third act with there being some full-blown Spider-man wallcrawling. The finale is very poorly handled and just becomes a CGI nightmare. It wouldn’t be so offensive if it wasn’t also trying to wrap it up in a message about alcoholism tearing apart a family.

I’m not sure anyone is going to be surprised that The Deliverance is absurdly average. This is a story that we’ve already seen done a thousand times before and done better. While there are some intriguing ideas here, they’re lost in favor of going a more stereotypical route. I was intrigued by the first half, with its focus on an alcoholic mother and her three kids being various degrees of fed up with her. But it completely devolves into an over-the-top demonic mess by the end.

THE DELIVERANCE IS STREAMING ON NETFLIX ON AUGUST 30TH, 2024.

Gwyneth Paltrow plans to end her Hollywood hibernation by starring alongside Timothée Chalamet in Josh Safdie’s Marty Supreme.

After answering the call to defeat Thanos in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, Gwyneth Paltrow stepped away from the Hollywood spotlight to appear in shorts, Netflix’s The Politician series, a voice-acting role in She Said, and a guest voice role in American Horror Stories. While in big screen hibernation, she nurtured Goop, her wellness and lifestyle program. Now, Gwyneth Paltrow is ready to return to cinemas as a featured player in Josh Safdie’s mysterious new film project, Marty Supreme.

The forthcoming film hails from Josh Safdie (Uncut Gems), with the project based on a script he co-wrote with Ronald Bronstein. Initially, watercooler whispers pegged Marty Supreme as a film loosely revolving around a pro ping pong player. However, the latest gossip says it’s a fictionalized original film. Is the project still making moves to tell the story of ping-pong professional Marty Reisman? Your guess is as good as ours.

Reisman passed away in 2012, but not before leaving behind a legacy of mythical proportions in the ping-pong community. Variety reports that the table tennis star began his career by hustling others in the lightning-fast game of paddle warfare. He won 22 significant ping pong titles from 1946 to 2002 and five bronze medals at the World Table Tennis Championships. Variety also notes that at 67, Reisman played in the United States National Hardbat Championship and became the oldest player to win an open national competition in a racket sport. People loved to watch Reisman play, and he was fearless in hamming his skills up for audiences by performing trick shots to wow the crowd.

Reisman wrote and published his autobiography “The Money Player: The Confessions of America’s Greatest Table Tennis Champion and Hustler” in 1974, followed by a 2014 documentary called “Fact or Fiction: The Life and Times of a Ping Pong Hustler.”

While Marty Supreme is poised to become Gwyneth Paltrow’s return to cinemas, the project marks Josh Safdie’s first solo directorial feature since 2008’s The Pleasure of Being Robbed. Marty Supreme stars Timothée Chalamet as the ping-pong hustler, with Paltrow’s role remaining a mystery.

After playing Pepper Potts in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Paltrow could rise like a mighty phoenix by working alongside Safdie and the glowingly popular Timothée Chalamet. In addition to Marty Supreme, Paltrow features alongside Christine Taylor, Drew Barrymore, David Krumholtz, and Jason Biggs in the upcoming comedy Miracle on 74th Street. Miracle revolves around renowned influencer Dzanielle, who navigates fake friends among the Black card-swiping, Ozempic-sharting, workout-addicted Upper East Siders. In her comedic quest for a million followers, she finds her first real new friend and her true self.

Are you excited for Gwyneth Paltrow to join Josh Safdie’s Marty Supreme cast? Let us know in the comments section below.

About the Author

Born and raised in New York, then immigrated to Canada, Steve Seigh has been a JoBlo.com editor, columnist, and critic since 2012. He started with Ink & Pixel, a column celebrating the magic and evolution of animation, before launching the companion YouTube series Animation Movies Revisited. He’s also the host of the Talking Comics Podcast, a personality-driven audio show focusing on comic books, film, music, and more. You’ll rarely catch him without headphones on his head and pancakes on his breath.

Everyone loves animals, but in the big screen we seem to love them even more when they go bad!

C​ocaine Bear surprised everyone with its box office haul. For fans of animal attack movies, this is not a shock. People love animal attack films and can’t get enough of them. I’m not sure if it’s the man vs. nature theme of the films, the animals themselves getting revenge on humans, or just the all-around fun these films bring. No matter what, they are enjoyable for audiences in theaters. T​here has been a long history of animals attacking humans on film. Some films that are classified as ‘classic’ cinema fall into the animal attack category. We can always use more movies of animals rampaging through humans on the big screen. What are some of the best animal attack movies?

S​ince bears seem to be on everyone’s brain this weekend; then we might as well start with this classic. A fifteen-foot tall grizzly bear kills hikers and campers in a state park. When the supervisor refuses to close the park (sound familiar?), a park ranger and a military helicopter pilot take it upon themselves to kill the giant bear. This horror film has lots of bear savagery, which makes it a favorite among fans of animal attack movies.

W​hen the Earth’s ozone layer begins to be depleted, animals above five thousand feet start to act aggressively. Their rage focuses on any human that comes in contact with them. Before a quarantine can be implemented, a group of hikers is dropped off on a mountain. Now they have to descend the mountain to get to safety, but can they trust each other? Leslie Nielsen, Christopher George, and Lynda Day George play the hikers fighting off animals.

F​rom the novel of the same name written by Stephen King. A woman takes the family car to a mechanic. With her husband out of town, she takes their son Tad with her. She doesn’t know that the family Saint Bernard has gone rabid and killed everyone it has come in contact with. Now she is trapped in her broken-down car while the summer sun beats down on them. No one else knows they are stuck there. They have little chance of being rescued. The St Bernard keeps trying to get inside the car, so she has to protect herself and her son. It’s an interesting single-location thriller. There are talks about remaking the film, but I’m wondering if it would work with modern technology.

A​ giant wild boar is wreaking havoc in the Australian outback. Locals scoff at the story of the giant boar as nothing but a made-up story. A hunter and the husband of one of its victims set out to find the swine while trying not to fall victim to its wild rampage. Turns out, giant pigs make for a great animal attack movie.

S​ure we’ve seen sharks attacking people in movies. What would happen if the man-eating sharks were genetically modified to be highly intelligent? Well, then we’d be in big trouble. A group of scientists is looking for a cure for Alzheimer’s disease. They increase the size of sharks’ brains to collect the disease-fighting enzymes found in them. Unfortunately, the sharks escape and begin to hunt down their captors. The film is star-studded, with Samuel L. Jackson, Thomas Jane, and LL Cool J leading the charge.

B​ased on the urban legend that someone flushed a baby alligator down the toilet in New York City, and it grew up to be a giant in the sewers. What if it actually happened? Well, this creature feature will tell you. Robert Forster is a cop looking into bodies showing up that appear to have been eaten by a giant creature. A reptile expert accompanies him as he tries to figure out what is killing people and how do they stop it.

T​his self-admitted rip-off of Jaws has weirdly spawned more films in its franchise than Jaws did. Joe Dante directed this Roger Corman classic. A tank of veracious piranha at a military base accidentally gets released into a river. These genetically engineered fish can survive in both fresh water and salt water. If they reach the ocean, they will multiply out of control and eat everything in their path. More importantly, the stream runs right by a summer camp on its way to a fancy country club. Carnage properly ensues. Alexandre Aja’s Piranha 3D (2010) is also well worth checking out… and speaking of Aja, his alligator movie Crawl (2019) is another great one.

A​lfred Hitchcock was a master of suspense, and his entry in the animal attacks genre is no different. Only could make a gathering of birds on a school jungle gym seem ominous. Birds begin attacking people for unknown reasons. Anyone that is outdoors quickly becomes a target. Those still in the small town have to find a way to survive. A classic of Hitchcock’s filmography fits rights in. It even got a sequel called The Birds II: Land’s End in the nineties. This one is not remembered as a classic.

M​ost would probably discount this one as it features more in the giant animal category, but it still fits. A film crew heads to a remote island to shoot with their cast. They discover that the island has a giant ape that takes a liking to the lead actress in their film. Realizing they could make more money showcasing the giant gorilla, they capture and take him back to New York. When the primate breaks loose of his chains, he kidnaps the actress and takes refuge on top of the tallest building in the city. A true classic.

It had to be the last one on the list, right? This Universal Pictures / Steven Spielberg classic is responsible for creating the summer blockbuster. The entire movie industry changed its release strategy purely based on this film. It was that big of a deal. A great white shark begins to attack people off the coast of Amity Island. The local Sheriff decides to hunt the killer down when the mayor won’t close the beaches down. The amazing part of this movie is how much went wrong during filming, which caused them to edit it in such a way that it made the film way scarier for the viewing audience. Nothing has touched the greatness of this one… but we still get several shark movies every year.

W​hat are some of your favorite animal attacks films? Let us know in the comments. Would you have included Piranha 3D, Crawl, the true story-inspired Open Water, or the “plane crash survivors vs. wolves” film The Grey?