Cast: Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss
Director: Steven Spielberg

After watching Jaws, you will think twice before venturing into the sea for a swim. That's because Jaws ranks as a definite must-see film this summer. Spielberg's edge-of-your-seat thriller is sure to catch your fancy, creating all the horror, thrills, suspense, and special effects into one super thriller for a good two hours.

Based on the true story of a great white shark which terrorized the shores of New Jersey in the summer of 1916, Jaws is an ingenious adaptation of Peter Benchley's best-selling novel inspired by the incident.

The 1975 film is set in Amity Island resort town which is hounded everyday by tourists and is also preparing for the tourist-heavy 4th July weekend. One night a motley group of youngsters on the beach head towards the water after dark. One of them is attacked and killed.

Martin Brody (Roy Scheider) is the police chief of Amity town who lives with his wife Ellen, and two sons Michael and Sean. Brody is called to the beach, where the mangled body of a young girl Chrissie Watkins is found. Medical reports reveal the attack to be that of a shark. But Mayor Larry Vaughn (Murray Hamilton) does not believe it, and is desperate to not lose revenue from the oncoming tourists. He directs Brody to reveal the death as that of a motorboat propeller instead of a shark.

In the next few days another vacationer is killed. Shark expert and scientist Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) believes that both tourists were killed by a shark. An old fisherman and shark hunter Quint (Robert Shaw) offers to find the shark and kill it, but Vaughn thinks Quint's price of $10,000 is just too high. Despite more attacks, Vaughn is unmoved, until Brody’s son is witness to an attack. Vaughn finally gives in and puts Quint, Hooper, and Brody on the job to kill the shark. The trio set out Quint's small boat, the Orca with the sole mission to kill the beast.

Today ‘Jaws’ is one of the most iconic franchisees of all time, apart form Spielberg’s vision behind the camera, its John Williams’ Academy award winning score that takes you into a journey to the centre of the ocean. Slowly building up the music throughout the movie, you can feel the sound waves build up as you watch the story unfold, that comes with the killer shark. What Spielberg does with the visuals, Williams does with the soundtrack that eventually burst into your ears and catches hold of your attention like the sharp tooth killer shark.

Rating: ****

Reviewed By Verus Ferreira