'Here comes Jaws. Jaws the shark. Mind he doesn’t bite you with his enormous jaws,' (Jeremy, Peep Show)
Billed as a thriller, in my opinion Jaws sits firmly in the on the horror shelf in my movie library, and I will fight anyone that argues that it’s not a horror.
Let’s look at the evidence; we have a small town terrorised by a relentless monster, an out-of-his depth police chief, and scantily clad teens meeting gruesome ends.
We all know the story; a beachside town at the peak of tourist season has found its waters host to a hungry shark. Chief Brody (Roy Schneider who I did, and still do have a huge crush on), marine biologist Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) and professional shark hunter Quint (Robert Shaw) set out on a flimsy boat to catch the great white that’s been making human sushi out of locals and tourists.
It’s funny, gripping, gruesome and enduring – it still has the power to scare a new generation of viewers out of swimming in the sea. The iconic theme tune is up there in the Collective consciousness as much as the one from Psycho is. You may not have seen the film, but you know where that music is from.
It’s a once a year watch for me. Stone cold classic.
Fun fact: The famous line is often misquoted - ‘we’re gonna need a bigger boat’ is actually ‘you’re gonna need a bigger boat’.
Content warnings: mechanical shark, floating heads, flares, people that are supposed to be forty but look about 75.
Final verdict: Here’s to swimmin' with bow-legged wimmin.
Jaws is currently streaming on Netflix.
