Television series
Chasing Monsters
- Action
- Dip in and out
Cyril Chauquet hunts the world's most fearsome aquatic predators in their natural habitats—piranhas in the Amazon, tiger sharks in the Caribbean, giant Nile perch in Africa. It's adventure television stripped to its essence: a skilled diver, real danger, and creatures that genuinely want to kill him. For people who watch nature documentaries and wish someone would actually *swim* with the thing.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you like a single presenter plunging into murky water after a dangerous animal, and you enjoy the chase as much as the creature itself.
Skip it if you want the animals studied in depth or a wider look at ecology, since the focus is the hunt and the adrenaline more than the biology.
What it asks of you: Forty-five-minute episodes, thirty of them across three seasons, so you can dip in and out; it moves briskly and keeps its eyes on the next encounter.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
River Monsters2009
Jeremy Wade searches for legendary freshwater fish across the globe with infectious curiosity and real expertise. Same DNA as Chasing Monsters but with deeper cultural history and more creature mystery.
But The pacing is deliberately measured; Wade spends time on local stories rather than rushing to the next encounter. Less adrenaline, more anthropology.
Life2009
Attenborough narrates the most stunning animal behaviours ever filmed, from predation to survival. Pristine cinematography and genuine awe at every turn. If you love what lives in water, this covers everything.
But It's reverential and contemplative rather than thrilling. No one's in danger; the drama is entirely in nature's indifference.
Planet Earth III2023
Sweeping, intimate, and beautifully shot across every ecosystem. Predators and prey filmed with patient artistry. Modern production values make everything feel immediate and real.
But Still a traditional nature doc. It observes; it doesn't participate. If you want a human at risk, this isn't it.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Chasing Monsters
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Fitzcarraldo1982
Both are about driven men pursuing dangerous visions in hostile nature. Both blur the line between adventure and obsession, documentation and myth-making.
Werner Herzog's mad masterpiece: a man drags a steamship over a mountain to build an opera house in the jungle. Real obsession, real danger, real achievement. Chauquet's spiritual ancestor.
But It's slow, it's difficult, it's as much about the filmmaker's vision as the story. Some will find it pretentious or exhausting.
More like this (8)
Crocodile Dundee1986
Mick Dundee wrestles crocodiles and outmaneuvers them with casual expertise and humour. Adventure that doesn't take itself seriously but respects the danger. Pure fun.
But It's comedy first, nature second. The crocodiles are props in a love story. You came for the monsters, not the rom-com.
Piranha 3D2010
A lake full of prehistoric piranhas attacking spring breakers. Gloriously silly, genuinely tense in spurts, and committed to the premise. Fun for what it is.
But It's B-movie trash with jump scares and gore. The science is nonsense. If you want real information, look elsewhere.
The Blue Planet2001
David Attenborough explores ocean predators with the same patient eye he brings to land. Incredible underwater footage of sharks, eels, and octopi in their element.
But Very BBC: stately pacing and narration that privileges wonder over excitement. No human stakes, no adventure narrative.
Grizzly Man2005
Werner Herzog documents a man who lived among grizzlies. It's a real portrait of obsession, danger, and the cost of what Chauquet does. Haunting and thoughtful.
But It ends in tragedy and death. The tone is elegiac, not thrilling. This is about grief and hubris, not adventure.
Perfect Blue1998
A deep-sea documentary following explorers to the ocean floor. Alien beauty and genuine wonder at what lives in absolute darkness. Uniquely meditative.
But Slow and hypnotic to the point of being almost abstract. Not a traditional narrative. Patience required.
Deadly 602009
Steve Backshall hunts for sixty of the world's deadliest animals across multiple seasons. High energy, real danger, impressive finds. Good complement to Chasing Monsters.
But Spread across so many seasons that the format can feel repetitive. Not every episode lands the same way.
My Octopus Teacher2020
Both are intimate encounters with intelligent aquatic creatures filmed by a single person committed to getting into the water. Both ask what it means to truly see something wild.
A filmmaker spends a year with an octopus in a South African kelp forest, diving daily to observe her. Intimate, meditative, revelatory. Pure cinema and pure nature.
But It's contemplative to a fault; no danger, no conflict, no narrative arc. If you want adrenaline, this is its opposite.
Inland Empire2006
A solo adventurer in extreme water environments confronting a world that is genuinely dangerous—not from predators, but from the environment itself changing. Same courage, different enemy.
A glaciologist and cinematographer paddle through Iceland's glacial rivers, documenting a landscape collapsing in real time. Stunning, urgent, and deeply personal about environmental change.
But It's more essay than adventure, more mourning than thrills. The danger is invisible and existential rather than immediate.
