10 Times Less Was Definitely More In Movies

There has long been a rumour floating among film fans that the titular shark in Jaws doesn’t appear in the first half of the film because of the animatronic prop’s unreliability. This is not entirely true.

While the prop did indeed cause some issues for Spielberg and his crew during shooting, the decision to keep the shark hidden for much of the runtime was planned from the start.

This has the chilling effect of putting the audience directly into the shoes of every Amity resident foolish enough to go to the beach. They don’t know exactly what’s out there and neither do we. Just like the best slasher movies, the killer is cloaked in mystery and that means we genuinely feel like it could strike any poor unsuspecting swimmer at any point in the film.

And just in case you weren’t terrified enough yet, all we see of each of the shark’s kills is its prey desperately screaming and flailing before being dragged underwater, leaving their bloody demises mostly up to the viewer’s imagination. Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water…