In honor of the 30th anniversary of Joseph Sargent’s 1987 sequel Jaws: The Revenge, I thought it would be fun to revisit the much-maligned movie with the intent of finding something redeemable about it. With its famously rushed production, head-scratching plot, questionable special effects, and a surprisingly low body count, it’s no wonder to many that this final entry in the Jaws franchise is considered one of the worst films of all time, horror or otherwise. Though it made $51.9M on a $23M budget, the film was a dud with franchise fans and critics alike; it was ultimately nominated for seven Razzies–including a nod for Bruce the Shark as Worst Actor–and sits at 0% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 33 reviews.
I have always had fond memories of the Jaws series growing up. As a child, I actually recall watching The Revenge and Jaws 2 (which is still holds up as an extremely fun sequel, mind you) far more than Spielberg’s more markedly paced original. Having re-watched The Revenge as an adult a few years back, however, I was dumbfounded by how poorly written and executed the film actually is. Not even my heavily influential nostalgia blinders could elevate that viewing experience, and I was left wondering how I ever sat through it as a kid as often as I did.
For those who are unfamiliar (SPOILERS AHEAD), Jaws: The Revenge follows a now-widowed Ellen Brody (franchise staple Lorraine Gary) after her youngest son Sean (Mitchell Anderson) is killed by a great white shark on Amity Island–the site of Martin Brody’s (Roy Scheider) two previous run-ins with great whites. After some convincing by her eldest son Michael (portrayed this go-round by Halloween II’s Lance Guest), Ellen steals away to the Bahamas with Michael’s family to escape the painful memories on Amity Island. However, it turns out that the shark that killed Sean is not quite finished with Ellen, and it somehow follows the Brody family over a 1000 miles to paradise to wreak more havoc. What follows is a film in which sense and franchise continuity are thrown out the window, scares are nonexistent, and sharks roar. Oh, and Michael Caine inexplicably co-stars as Ellen’s love interest, a carefree pilot named Hoagie.
To its credit, Jaws: The Revenge tries its hardest to hark back to the character-building family drama that added a truly human element to Spielberg’s original chiller, even featuring a nod to the famous father-son dinner table scene in the original. For a drama-fueled sequel, however, the film is not nearly as emotionally engaging as it sets out to be. The clunky editing and rush-job script centered on a shark with a personal vendetta against the Brody family certainly don’t aid in eliciting much genuine sympathy in the wake of Sean’s death, even for long-standing series regulars like Ellen and Michael, who at times appear to forget it ever happened mere days later. In its greatest misstep though, it is simply far too boring to be an effective horror film. Even despite the laughable fact that the film suggests Ellen has some kind of telepathic connection with the shark who killed her son, Jaws: The Revenge never takes advantage of such wild notions to any entertaining effect (although the film’s novelization did explain this connection as having magical roots).
Still, as I have found time and again with my best friend (to whom I will refer here as “LL”), even the most mediocre films can provide for the best kind of entertainment with some strong drinks and laughs. LL and I have time and again enjoyed some of the most laughably bad films while throwing back a few–from Verhoeven’s Showgirls to Tommy Wiseau’s The Room to Dark Floors, an insanely silly vehicle for Finish heavy metal band Lordi. My hope was that by introducing LL to Jaws: The Revenge, I might be able to find some so-bad-its-good-level redeeming qualities in its bumbling execution.
For the most part, that wasn’t the case. LL actually hated the film, and I still found myself quite frustrated with its pacing and script issues. In any case, I actually still had a blast revisiting it, mostly because I advised LL to keep her first-time-viewer commentary coming. During our screening, I collected a few entertaining sound bites from this first-time audience member… naturally, after a few glasses of champagne and some beers.
Here are some highlights…
- “So… is this shark… targeting this family?
–A valid question posed very early after Sean’s death. - “How are you?! Your brother was just killed… remember? You used to work at SeaWorld together.”
–When Michael doesn’t seem quite as phased by his brother’s death as Ellen. - “What?! Get away from the water and this won’t happen anymore!”
-After Michael suggests that Ellen spend some time in the Bahamas to, you know… get away from the dangers of the ocean… - “They should have come up with some explanation… like that it got into toxic sludge or something and now it’s telepathic…”
-After Ellen first “senses” the shark.
- “Why is it made of cloth?!? They didn’t even try to make it look like skin. Looks like they went to Jo-ann’s with a coupon.”
–It does not look great… - “Are they trying to make this woman crazy?”
-After Michael’s wife Carla (Karen Young) shows Ellen a piece of artwork that looks suspiciously shark-like. - “This makes me want to go to the beach… so it’s not doing its job.”
-Admiring the shots of the Bahamas. - “Oh my god, this is just like The Little Mermaid.”
-During Michael’s chase scene with the shark, which does bear some interesting similarities to a scene in the Disney classic. Interestingly enough, The Little Mermaid came out 2 years later.
- “So how is this shark related to the other sharks… and didn’t they die?”
-No one knows, and yes, they sure did. - “They needed to talk to Jim Henson. He could have made them the best shark.”
–In a clearly unrelated note, LL’s favorite movie is Labyrinth… - “This movie is so… boring.”
-I did not disagree.
- “STOP. No way… *laughs*”
-When Mario van Peebles’ Jake is revealed to still be alive, even despite being pretty visibly chomped on by the shark just moments before. In the version cut for television, his character remains dead. - “I’m not kidding… I hate this movie so much. I feel nothing for these characters… I don’t care who dies… I just want them all to die now.”
-When Hoagie crash lands the plane into the water so he and the others can save Ellen. - “I’m legitimately pissed off.”
–When the shark’s exploding death happened quickly and didn’t quite make sense.
So while Jaws: The Revenge is certainly not my cup o’ tea, I have found that, with the right priming, some fun can be had from revisiting it in all of its messy glory.
What are your thoughts, folks? Love the film? Love hate-watching it? Just outright hate it? Sound off!