Every time this film feels like it’s exhausted all there is to say about goofy shark stuff, Scarlata finds another wild and gory clip, or he gathers another keen insight about why we love being terrified by sea beasts.

"Sharksploitation" isn't a critical creation, going the back rub route as it tries to celebrate all forms of shark-based cinema, which has its limitations.

Similar to the Gregorian and Julian calendars, shark movies can effectively be split between two eras: BJ (Before Jaws) and AB (After Bruce). Scarlata doesn't spend a ton of time on the 1975 classic, but its influence is felt from that year on.

Director Stephen Scarlata’s overview makes note of sharks’ fairly minimal appearances in pre-Jaws cinema—including a surprising number of 007 adventures—some of which treated them more realistically than the “unstoppable killing machine” image...