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What happens when humans interfere with “natural” processes? Or when we create monsters? Jurassic Park identifies a fear of nature as it exceeds our control as well as a fear of our own attempted mastery of the natural world. This time, though, the fear is not simply of the animal but of human intervention in the natural world. Spielberg returns with still more fear of the natural world. It is not something we can identify with, and it therefore seems cold, unfeeling, and threatening. It is big and bitey, it lives in a world alien to us (the ocean), and it is not a mammal. The shark makes a perfect creature feature villain, after all. Jon Turteltaub), all released within approximately the last year.

Johannes Roberts), Sharknado 5: Global Swarming (2017 dir. Countless shark attack movies have been made since the release of Jaws, including three sequels as well as shark-related films such as 47 Meters Down(2017 dir. Other movies borrow from it in many ways, from the plot and thematic elements (see Tentacles) to the central idea of the shark-specifically the great white shark-as killing machine. This thriller about a giant shark terrorizing a beach community (again, for no clear reason) changed the game for animal horror. The film is a wonderfully unsettling representation of humans’ fear of nature as something that exceeds both our control and our understanding. Their omnipresence in the background, followed by their direct attacks and their silent, staring presence at the end of the film, points to the way the natural world is something we take for granted-but perhaps we shouldn’t. In this classic film, birds begin attacking humans for no identifiable reason. The following films illustrate these patterns within the genre-plus, they’re all fun film experiences. Given this complexity, and building on the work of Rust and Soles, I see ecohorror as summed up in three fears: fear of nature, fear for nature, and fear of blurred boundaries between ourselves and nonhuman nature. And, whatever form it takes, this pleasure can also help create sympathy for and connection to the nonhuman world. This pleasurable response may manifest as awe at animals that overcome our senses, fascination with fantastic monsters and extinct beasts, or even simple appreciation of the special effects that go into representing the creatures.

However, these films’ focus on creatures also allows room for pleasure. Creature features explore cultural attitudes toward the natural world.