A masterclass in suspense

Rating: 10/10 (23 April 2019)

I first saw Jaws when I was 6 years of age. After that I was too traumatised and frightened to watch it again, until now, 25 years later.
The movie has really stood the test of time; the shark doesn't look too fake and it's still as realistic as ever. This could actually happen in real life, which is what makes the movie so terrifying. I am a huge horror fan and have watched all sorts of horror movies, it seems to be a trend these days to capture maximum amounts of blood and suffering on camera to equate to a decent horror movie. This annoys me as a horror fan, as I feel that true horror is built through the unknown, suspense and the feeling of impending doom. Jaws captures all of these components with ease, hence why I would call it the scariest movie I have ever seen. The opening scene is the most horrific scene I have ever seen, yet you don't actually see any blood or what is killing the girl. Then you barely see the shark until the end of the movie, which is a stroke of genius from Spielberg. Too many movies force feed the audience these days, and require little to no mental effort from the viewer to imagine things or to try to analyse exactly what is going on. Jaws engages your imagination right from the beginning and makes you actually think about what is going on, what will happen next and you have an emotional link to the characters. You care about them and can feel their fear and suffering through the screen.
A must see movie. As a horror fan it is the only movie that I refused to watch for 25 years as it was so effective in scaring me.