Under Paris features a mythologized monster shark, but it is based on a real species - the shortfin mako. The film ties to Deep Blue Sea by using the shortfin mako as the main villain, a departure from the typical great white shark. While both films take liberties with the species, Under Paris uses the shark as a metaphor for environmental degradation.

Under Paris is one of the most outlandish and successful shark movies since Jaws, yet while its environmentally-tinged story marks it as an outlier in the genre, other details from the film reveal it has some surprising connections to older projects. As its title implies, Under Paris has the unique distinction of being set in mainland Europe in the middle of the French capital despite the difficulties this presents to its finned antagonist. While this would seem to place it in a similar strata to more deliberately over-the-top shark films,...