‘Jaws at 50': How Spielberg made one of the most influential horror films of all time

Indian Express

6 days ago

Written by Jared Bahir Browsh
A half century after Jaws convinced people to stay out of the water, it still maintains its place as one of the greatest films of all time, but it is often overlooked as a groundbreaking horror film.
When Jaws was released on June 20, 1975, Hollywood was in the midst of a major shift as 'New Hollywood' brought in a new generation of directors who were students of film. These auteurs were given more freedom to pursue their vision, the abandonment of the Hays Code allowing for the exploration of a greater range of themes and narratives rooted in realism.
Steven Spielberg is a student of film, and even though many consider Jaws a thriller, it also draws inspiration from several genres, including science fiction, suspense and, particularly, horror. Alfred Hitchcock is one of the greatest influences on Spielberg's career, and you see the influence of Hitchcock's works, like Psycho and The Birds, throughout Jaws. Similar to how Hitchcock's films forced audiences to be fearful of showers and birds, Jaws convinced people to avoid the ocean and led to misunderstandings about the prevalence of shark attacks.
In addition to the influence of Hitchcock, the 'Master of Suspense', Jaws also reflects the cinematic approach of past monster and horror films. Both man's dangerous contempt for nature and the use of the musical score to reflect the main antagonist are reflected in monster films, particularly King Kong.
Film scholars see these 1930s horror films as both escapist and reflective of the struggles of the Great Depression. A similar argument has been made regarding the popularity of disaster movies in light of the economic downturns and recessions of the late 1960s and 1970s. Films like The Poseidon Adventure, Earthquake, and The Towering Inferno not only build suspense as a disparate cast of characters tries to survive different extreme — but not entirely unrealistic — disasters, they also reflect larger societal frustrations as politicians and leaders place their own ambitions above the safety of innocent people. Jaws also reflects this as the mayor in the film keeps the beaches open during a holiday weekend in spite of the attacks.
Cinematically, the film also draws inspiration from 1950s Universal horror films like Creature from the Black Lagoon, including underwater point of view shots, and It Came from Outer Space, in which suspense is built throughout the film in spite of the aliens remaining off-screen for much of the film. This approach in Jaws is not completely intentional, as the malfunctioning animatronic shark led to changes in how Spielberg approached filming. This created suspense, increasing fear among the audience through John Williams' legendary score, only showing the early attacks either from the surface of the water as the victim is taken under, turning the water red, or from the shark's point of view with the full shark not appearing until well into the second half of the film.
The success of Jaws and later Star Wars fortified the summer as the prime season for 'high-concept' films that could easily be described and marketed for wide release. Several films utilised the Jaws template, like Grizzly and Piranha. However, the influence of Jaws went far beyond animal attack films, directly influencing the horror and suspense genres over the next 50 years. Ridley Scott's science fiction horror film Alien was pitched as 'Jaws in space' and we see the use of emotional manipulation and the threat of the antagonist even when they are offscreen in subsequent horror franchises like Halloween, Friday the 13th, and Tremors, which features a poster that is an homage to Jaws.
Jaws also reflects a two-pronged approach where the first part of the film is a monster horror film where the entire public is threatened by the inhuman antagonist, and the second half features a trapped-in-a-house (or boat) horror approach. like in Night of the Living Dead. Although Quint is not killed by the shark until near the end, as Chief Martin Brody and Matt Hooper survive, the death of one of the few characters who understood the danger the shark posed reinforces the fact that no one would be safe until the shark was destroyed.
Directors continue to cite Jaws as one of the most influential films of all time, including Quentin Tarantino, who said that it is one of the greatest movies of all time. Recent movies, like the 2021 adaptation of Dune, Nope (2022), and the 2023 film Godzilla Minus One, continue to draw inspiration directly from Jaws.
Most do not describe Jaws as a horror film, in spite of the elements it shares with the horror films that preceded it and those it inspired since its release 50 years ago. That may be because many earlier horror films were low-budget 'B' movies, whereas Jaws was backed by a major studio and its deep pockets. This, along with the vision of the now legendary filmmaker who throughout his career has been able to balance complex cinematic techniques with high-budget entertainment, led to Jaws becoming the groundbreaking, genre-spanning film that forever changed the movie industry.
The writer is an Assistant Teaching Professor and Director of the Critical Sports Studies Program in the Department of Ethnic Studies