I STILL have trouble with the deep-end of the pool

Rating: 7/10 (23 November 2015)

I was VERY young when I saw this movie. I'm thankful for that for two reasons: there is NO WAY I could watch it again now without some therapy so I'll be able to keep enjoying water sports, and also because that was a time that movies need not be ultra-primo CGI to be "impressive". This just scares the crap right out of you on its own.
I remember hearing later that this movie unintentionally led to the hunting of Great Whites at a shocking level, which (if true) is horrible. As a surfer, spending days in an ocean Great White-free would be great, not having to worry about what's lurking about in my vicinity, and if it sees me as a juicy snack food. I have to say that the danger man-eating sharks pose to - well, man, is not a new concept and didn't start with this movie. So if a Hollywood movie made people suddenly afraid that sharks are a somehow new invention and needed their numbers suddenly controlled, I can't help but say how horribly sad that is - mostly for the sharks, but also for the people that let movies rile them up like that.

On a side note, I've heard of new(er) inventions that can keep a shark basically uninterested in you. Or at the very least, keep your limbs intact should the unthinkable happen. Sign me up! That being said, whatever my mother was thinking letting me watch this at such a young age (or ever, for that matter), especially with our frequent family trips to the beach, I have actually hoped for some kind of way that I could mentally block Jaws - at least on beach days. I'm actually thankful to have endured Jellyfish stings because Jellyfish don't friggin' eat you.

I remember this being a good and captivating movie, and likely the first "horror" movie I'd ever seen, sans ghosts; made up of real creatures and actual, possible events. It got the "horror" classification from me because I was terrified, just TERRIFIED, and came close so many times to needing to leave the theater if for nothing else than a change of pants. Good G-d. No demon from the front gates of hell could have an effect on me like one of these creatures.
My summers were never the same, even with all my childhood friends in my pool with me, in crystal clear water. The deep end was, without a doubt, off-limits for me. Had our household had only a bathtub but no shower, I would have had to be the dirtiest kid on our block to ever exist - we're talking Charlie Brown's smelly buddy level - because bathtubs were ruined for me too! For the record, it wasn't until years later that I learned how to surf. How or why, I ever managed to turn that idea into a reality bewilders me to this day, even though I love to surf. I'd have to say prescribed anti-anxiety pills may have helped the mental process though (the balance part, not so much). Waiting for a wave can be nerve-wracking. I'm good at it now, but I'll likely always have mini-panic attacks every time I think about the fact that my legs are dangling off a board into water that I can't see into, past a few inches (the Pacific is murky). And seeing a dolphin in the distance? Forget about it.
Need a visual into what has haunted me now my whole life? All I need to say is this: the cover of the movie. Just LOOK AT THAT THING! LOOK AT IT!! That swimming woman? She looks Barbie-sized compared to Jaws.
This is without a doubt a scary movie - but never say you haven't been warned! I recommend it, but NOT if you ever want to have peaceful thoughts about that swim you want to take tomorrow, or ever again at any time for the rest of your life.
If he's reading this - you are a talented, talented man, Steven Spielberg. Kudos to you, boychik. But ... I will NEVER FORGIVE YOU FOR MAKING THIS!!