10 Horror Movie Characters Punished For Not Believing

4. The Amity Town Council - Jaws 2

Jaws 2 Amity Town Council
Universal Pictures

One bloody, brutal summer of a shark stalking the shores of Amity Island should be enough to have anyone and everyone on their toes at the mere whiff of a unwanted underwater presence.

Unfortunately, the idiots on the Amity Town Council refused to believe that there could ever be another shark attack in the history of Amity, and thus the body count of Jaws 2 was unnecessarily added to.

Jeannot Szwarc's 1978 sequel offering opened up with a 25ft great white shark killing a couple of scuba divers, a water skier, a boat driver, and then is alluded to have brutalised a killer white.

Having already been through similar terrors, Chief Martin Brody (Roy Scheider) knows a shark problem when he sees one. The thing is, his pleas to Mayor Larry Vaughn and the Amity Town Council fall on deaf ears.

Not only do Vaughn and his cronies refuse to believe Amity could be in the midst of more shark trouble - even though Brody presents them with plentiful evidence - but they actually vote to have Martin removed as the Chief of Police.

A further three deaths would happen, a bunch of youngsters would be left emotionally scarred, and the reputation of Amity and its beaches took yet another major hit - all because of the Amity Town Council.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.