Over the years, the Syfy channel has become notorious for made-for-TV movies full of bad actors, cheap special effects, and ludicrous plots.
Then the channel that brought us Mansquito and Mega Shark vs. Crocasaurus outdid themselves with Sharknado.
When it aired in July 2013, it blew up a cyclone of Twitter snark and became a phenomenon beyond the usual audience for these movies.
Did Sharknado awaken your appreciation for so-bad-it’s-hilarious sci-fi movies? Then you may want to check out these other gems:
8 Metal Tornado (2011)
C-list stars: Greg Evigan, Lou Diamond Phillips
When an experiment goes wrong, the energy burst becomes a magnetized funnel, traveling through the surrounding area and pulling in anything metal in its path.
Scientists race against time to stop the monster storm.
7 Sand Sharks (2011)
C-list stars: Corin Nemec, Brooke Hogan
An underwater earthquake releases prehistoric mutant sharks that can swim under sand as well as water.
Teens partying on an isolated beach island (where else?) quickly discover that staying out of the water won’t save them.
6 Ice Twisters (2009)
C-list stars: Mark Moses, Camille Sullivan
A science fiction author finds himself in a true science nightmare when a weather control experiment aimed at relieving a drought instead unleashes freezing weather and a storm of ice tornadoes that head for the big city in the area.
It’s a race against time to stop them!
5 Jersey Shore Shark Attack (2012)
C-list stars: Jack Scalia, Jeremy Luke
Nearly a century after the infamous New Jersey shark attacks of 1916, the Jersey Shore is a much less genteel place.
See what happens when “Nooki”, “The Complication” and the other local Guidos have to team up with the Preppies to fight sharks!
4 Storm Chasers: Revenge of the Twister (1998)
C-list stars: Kelly McGillis, Wolf Larson, Adrian Zmed
The widow of a storm chaser carries on, teaming up with the FEMA coordinator played by Wolf Larson.
They discover that local toxic waste storage is causing the massive tornadoes plaguing the area –and more are on the way!
Sadly, though the title implies that there is a conscious tornado seeking payback, this does not seem to be the case in the actual plot.
3 Sharktopus (2010)
C-list stars: Eric Roberts, Kerem Bursin
The poster’s tagline pretty much sums it up: “Half shark, half octopus, all killer!”
A mutant sharktopus, created as a military experiment, escapes to wreak havoc on Mexican beaches, as one of the scientists who helped create it tries desperately to stop it.
2 Devil Winds (2003)
C-list stars: Joe Lando, Nicole Eggert
Retired stormchaser Peter Jensen suspects the new Oklahoma epidemiological facility has been too poorly constructed for the local weather.
When a series of monster twisters begin forming in the area, Jensen must find a way to keep the destruction from unleashing a perfect storm of biohazards.
1 Two-Headed Shark Attack (2012)
C-list stars: Carmen Electra, Brooke Hogan
After the mutant shark sinks their Semester at Sea ship, the surviving college students take shelter on an island – but the island is flooding, and the shark is still hungry.
The best thing about this one might be the poster, which not only has the classic tagline, “One body, two heads, and 6000 teeth!” but also shows Brooke Hogan’s bikini top apparently being scared off her as she faces down the monster shark.
Movies like Sharknado shout-out: Sharktopus Vs Whalewolf
Half shark, half octopus up against… yes you guessed it half whale, half wolf.
Mix in some a dominatrix type doctor and some nurses unlike any we’ve seen and you have some quality entertainment.
If none of these sound, well, appetizing, don’t worry. There is already a trailer out for Syfy’s next masterpiece, Ghost Shark, coming soon to a TV near you!
Last updated October 25, 2015.
Have you seen any of these so-bad-they’re good movies? Have you seen any other made-for-tv gems? Let us know in the comments section below.