When Jaws released in 1975, it didn't just invent the modern day blockbuster. Steven Spielberg's seminal horror ended up spawning a whole new formula, one that used misdirection and other trickery to build suspense rather than by showing off the monster right from the very get-go.
The film's opening sequence is a testament to that, with the shark in question lying beneath the waves and out of shot for the majority of its first attack.
Further still, by placing the camera underneath the victim (a young teenage called Chrissie), Spielberg tapped into primal fears pertaining to the ocean, and how although the beach is a favourite pastime for plenty of tourists, no one can truly sense what's lying beneath the waves.
And, for the most part, Jaws did live up to the tagline that its sequels would go on to spawn. People were afraid to go back in the water, and while the animatronic shark (affectionally called Bruce by the crew) might look less convincing today, there's no denying that those moments where it was out of view made for Jaws' most terrifying - and impactful - moments.
WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well.
In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.
