In 1975, people around the country refused to go near the water. By 1987, they were laughing hysterically. After a so-so second film, the Jaws series nose-dived with one of the most laughable sequels of all time, Jaws 3-D. Then, for whatever reason, some exec over at Universal thought a 4th film was in order. Though not as bad as Jaws 3-D, Jaws: The Revenge has little to recommended.
Ellen Brody (played for the third time by Lorraine Gray) is now a widow after her husband, Martin Brody, passes on from a heart attack. Right around Christmas, her son Sean (Mitchell Anderson) is brutally attacked by a great white. Her other son Michael (Lance Guest) invites her down to the Bahamas to try and calm her down. However, Ellen feels that the shark is following and knows it won't stop until it kills off the entire family.
Jaws: The Revenge might have been a decent sequel. The direction is fair, acting on par, and the scenery is gorgeous. A few nice, gory death sequences and some mild tension make this somewhat tolerable as well. What ruins the entire experience is the notion that the shark and Ellen have some sort of "connection." Yes, this giant great white shark really does have it in for the Brody family and no explanation is ever given for its actions (though the book places the blame on a voodoo curse).
As if that wasn't laughable enough, the shark itself looks incredibly cheap and nowhere near the original creation of the first film. Far too much screen time is given to the beast and there are more than a few moments where you can see the track that leads the monster around. Then, it gets even more asinine at the end when the shark suddenly produces some vocal cords and lets out a cheesy roar (brought over from countless 50's monster films) and explodes when impaled by the boat.
The ending is actually a small piece of movie history. The original script had the shark simply get impaled but a few of the Universal higher-ups didn't believe this would work with the audience (or they may have responded during test screenings). They ordered a new ending with a shoestring budget and what came out was a cheap miniature and stock footage from the first film. Either way, it's a sad end to what should have been a classic series. (** out of *****)
Article comments
1 - jadester
strangely, when ths was on uk tv a few years ago, the ending was the original one you describe; the shark was impaled (although the roar was there)
the film was more amusing than scary, which is a shame but it's the Law Of Sequels (sorry, Diminishing Returns) in full effect: you just *know* that from the third film on, any film series will be crap.
Terminator 3
Robocop 3
Lethal Weapon 3
...
2 - Aaron, Duke De Mondo
Hey, jadester, Nightmare On Elm Street 3 was a masterpiece, is what. And Bride Of Chucky also.
Jaws - The Revenge holds a special place in my blood-pump. It's so stunningly awful that i can't help but love it. Ridiculous it may be, but it's never boring, and great fun to be around.
Great article, man.
3 - Chris Kent
Great work Matt. Isn't this the film where Lorraine Gary stands on the bow of the boat, stares the shark down, and says something like, "Come and get me you son of a bitch!"
Lines just don't get any better than that!
Anyway, believe I once read that Roger Ebert stood up after the end of this film and yelled, "Worse movie I've ever seen!" To me, that at the very least, makes it worth a look.
4 - Matt Paprocki
Yeah, this is the one Chris. After she says it, the shark lets out the first roar which puts almost anyone into an uncontrollable laughing fit.
I'll have to check on the Ebert thing. I'll try to dig up his review.
5 - Matt Paprocki
URL
There's Ebert's review. I'd say he makes a pretty strong case by giving it no stars at all. =:)
6 - Chris Kent
Terrific link Matt. Thanks!
7 - D. Gordon
Yes, this JAWS THE REVENGE movie is a turkey. Lorrain Gary acknowledges how bad it really was and she's upset over it. She's usually a pretty lady but she looks scary in this film as she's too thin here and has a bad 1980's hairstyle.
8 - D. Gordon
Yes, this JAWS THE REVENGE movie is a turkey. Lorrain Gary acknowledges how bad it really was and she's upset over it. She's usually a pretty lady but she looks scary in this film as she's too thin here and has a bad 1980's hairstyle.
9 - Alice Keymer
Better than Jaws 3-D eh? At least that had a few scary abnd suspensful scenes, especially in 3-D. Jaws the Revenge was crap, pure and simple.