Ghouls, vampires, zombies, disfigured freaks in a hockey mask, none of them hold a candle to a two ton fish named Bruce. I am 36 years old and to this day I do not put a single toe in the water at any beach. All thanks to Steven Spielberg’s 1975 film Jaws. Based on the novel, of the same name, from writer Peter Benchley, Jaws tells the story of great white shark and it’s violent attack on beachgoers in the town of Amity Island.
That shark and all its teeth is the first monster that really really terrified me.
There have been a dozen stories written about Jaws and how the film’s success birthed the term ‘summer blockbuster’ so really there is nothing new that can be said about this horror classic, but what must be recognized is that movie still has an impact on me. I have seen the film a dozen times and I will see it a dozen more because it’s not about entertainment it’s about survival. So go ahead and have fun with your zombie runs and your doomsday preparations. I will always win out the competition because I will never say “we’re gonna need a bigger boat”…because I’ll never be on a boat.
So, what was your first monster?
**odd ball Batman fact. The crew of Jaws named the shark Bruce, the character Ellen Brody in later films has a romantic relationship with a character named Hoagie who was played by Michael Caine, who played Alfred Pennyworth in Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy. Alfred is the butler and caretaker of Batman whose real name is Bruce Wayne. Mind blowing, right?