Imagine seeing something creep up behind you while you are swimming in the salty ocean water or feeling something grazing your legs. You get scared, but you brush it off, thinking it could be a sea turtle. You keep swimming, then something pulls you under water. You are trying to swim back up but fail. You look down and see a huge shark. Then everything goes black.
That was the start of one of the Jaws movies. In honor of the original film’s 50th anniversary, I will be comparing some of the scenes from the terrifying trilogy. (WARNING: There are spoilers)
The original 1975 film starts as a terrifying masterpiece of psychological horror. The opening scene with Chrissie Watkins at night doesn’t show the shark, instead relying on the water’s surface, her frantic struggle, and John Williams’s chilling music to create dread. This approach makes the Shark feel like a mysterious, unknowable force of nature. Film Studies teacher, Mr. Noga, concludes, “Overall, the movie is great.” Meanwhile, Jaws 2 (1978) begins to change the formula, focusing more on immediate action. The sequel quickly shows the shark attacking scuba divers and a waterskiing group in broad daylight. While still scary, the scene moves away from quiet suspense and toward bigger, more visual thrills, transforming the movie into a more typical monster flick. Finally, Jaws 3-D (1983) completely leaves the ocean for the confined space of SeaWorld Orlando. The film’s opening relies on a cheesy 3D gimmick, featuring a close-up of a severed fish head, aiming for cheap shock value instead of building tension. The threat is no longer the vast, mysterious sea, but a trapped monster in a tourist park, marking the franchise’s full shift to a contained disaster movie.
Now for scenes and parts of the movies that they could add or get rid of. The biggest mistake was making the shark bigger. Mr. Noga also felt the sequels showed the shark too much, commenting, “It’s like the shark is not getting any attention in the movie.” The first movie was scary because the shark was a mostly unseen, terrifying threat. To improve, sequel movies like Jaws 2 should have focused on the human toll, Chief Brody’s mounting stress, and the town’s need to survive – keeping the fear psychological and real. For Jaws 3-D, setting the movie in a place like SeaWorld ruined the horror. The ocean’s size and mystery are what made Jaws scary. A better sequel would have returned characters to isolated, unpredictable locations. They also should have focused on human mistakes or new natural dangers, rather than using silly plot ideas like a shark seeking personal revenge.
Overall, the first movie was the best one. The first film showed the shark at the right moment and got the right parts to scare you. The second one is ok but shows the shark too much and it comes to unnecessary scenes of the movie. Lastly, the third one should have focused more on what humans did than on the danger of the shark. In the end, all 3 Jaws movies are great, but I mostly recommend watching the first one to celebrate the 50th anniversary of this terrifying classic.
