Shark Week is coming to an end, but The Meg is just getting started. Meg 2: The Trench opens in theaters on August 4, with Jason Statham reprising his role as intrepid rescue diver Jonas Taylor in another terrifying showdown with everyone's favorite prehistoric giant shark.

Based on Steve Alten's 1997 book Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror, The Meg was released in 2018 and grossed over $530 million at the box office. Warner Bros. saw that audiences were still hungry for more, so they announced a sequel later that year. And if fans eat up "The Meg 2" in the same way, the next blockbuster sci-fi/horror franchise may be born.

Before we go see our old friend Meg and watch Statham go for round two with the world's largest predator, here's a roundup of the best shark movies to tantalize your taste buds. But while these films depict the horrific destruction sharks cause, it would be irresponsible not to point out that real-life attacks are extremely rare (in fact, cows and bees kill more people each year than sharks). Despite their fearsome reputation, sharks are not the bloodthirsty human stalkers we are told they are on TV and in the movies.

So, with this disclaimer in mind, let's dive right in. The shark movies you should watch before watching "Meg 2" can be found on the following streaming services.

Let's start with the obvious one: the gold standard of shark movies, Jaws. Steven Spielberg's terrifying thriller has since stimulated our collective subconscious, leading to sequels, copy cats, and a wave of horror that continues to captivate bathers to this day.

Based on Peter Benchley's best-selling novel of the same name, the story follows Police Chief Martin Brody, played by Roy Scheider, as he tracks down the great white shark behind the attacks that shook the townspeople of Amity Island. The hunt is enlivened by John Williams' Oscar-winning score, which has gone down in film history. Watch it now on Peacock

Unlike the other films on this list, "Open Water" is inspired by a true story: in 1998, two American divers, Tom Lonergan and Eileen Lonergan, were on a dive boat when the crew of their boat failed to properly count the number of people before heading to shore. Failing to check, they were accidentally stranded on the Great Barrier Reef. The couple was never found and both are presumed to have drowned.

In "Open Water," this merely horrifying scenario turns even more painstaking. Daniel Kintner (Daniel Travis) and Susan Watkins (Blanchard Ryan), whose marriage has been on the rocks, take a scuba diving vacation in hopes of rekindling it. During the dive, they split off from the group to explore, but when they surface, the dive boat is long gone. As their plight becomes apparent and panic begins to set in, they realize another problem: the dive boat is gone.

Perhaps you can already guess where this development is headed. Competition for survival, a desperate search for shelter and rescue, a feeding frenzy - you get the idea. Watch it now on Prime Video

Decades before Samuel L. Jackson became Nick Fury, he gave a passionate speech in an iconic scene in The Deep Blue Sea. To explain why it is iconic would be a spoiler, so the only way to understand why the "Secret Invasion" star still brings up the film in interviews is to watch it.

In "Deep Blue Sea," a remote undersea research facility was experimenting on sharks to find a cure for Alzheimer's disease. The experiments result in a bloodthirsty, genetically engineered super shark. When these sharks escape and begin to threaten the scientists and the surrounding waters, the result is that the facility is flooded.

As the oxygen supply is gradually cut off, a race to the surface begins. They are hunted down by mutant sharks one after the other, if they can escape. ...... Watch Now on Max

"The Shallows" is a departure from the gory, fast-paced action of the films I've mentioned, focusing instead on one woman and her harrowing battle to survive against impossible odds.

Blake Lively stars as Nancy Adams, a medical student struggling with an identity crisis after the death of her mother. She finds herself on a secluded beach in Mexico, the same secluded beach her mother visited when she was pregnant with her, to reconnect with herself and enjoy surfing. Just as she is about to call it a day, she stumbles upon a dead whale that has obviously been snatched up by a shark.

Bitten and bleeding, she must use her wits and the last of her strength to fight off the shark and figure out how to get back to shore. Every time Nancy is bitten, scratched, or hit, she can't help but cry.

Watch it now on Max

I know these movies are ridiculous, but I would be remiss if I didn't include at least one Sharknado on this list.

You can probably already guess the premise from the name, but just to recap: Against all logic and the laws of nature, a freak hurricane scoops up thousands of sharks from the ocean and rushes toward Los Angeles. Sharks rain down from the sky, the storm floods the city with shark-infested seawater, and all hell breaks loose.

The original "Sharknado" is less comedic than the five sequels that followed, but it is still a riot. Sharks rip the roofs off cars and devour the humans inside. One character dives into the shark's mouth with a chainsaw. Another character must fight off a shark perched on a helicopter. Definitely a great palate cleanser after the tension and terror of the other films on this list, watch it now on Shudder