Jaws - 1975
Thanks to ‘Jaws’, thousands of people are now terrified of the water. This absolute classic, by the wondrous Steven Spielberg, is (and excuse my French) SHIT scary, and that’s just the soundtrack.
A small town is about to get a very big surprise. A young woman is butchered in the towns waters. She is found on the beach in pieces and as a result, the Chief of Police Martin Brody (played by Roy Scheider) suspects a shark attack, therefore rightly orders for the beaches to close. The Mayor is most displeased especially since summer has arrived, and with summer comes tourists with Benjamin Franklins and Abraham Lincolns stuffed in their pockets. So the beaches remain open and sooner rather than later, the inevitable happens. The shark strikes again but this time; he takes victim of a small boy. The mother of the deceased offers up a reward for 10 thousand smackerooni’s for anyone who can find and kill this murderous creature.
So Brody along with marine scientist and expert Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) and mad fisherman Sam Quint (Robert Shaw) head off on a bid to find this great shark. Little do they know what they are getting themselves in for. From the boat being attacked, to the sudden realization that they’re “ganna need a bigger boat”, and of course who can forget when Hooper heads to the depths in a metal cage. Frightening stuff.
This film really is terrifying, and the shark itself is something else. Some debate that now with modern technology around, the shark looks robotic and unrealistic. But its jaw-dropping jaws really do make you think twice about jumping in water head first. Now, let’s look at other shark films. There is of course ‘Deep Blue Sea
The actors in this film act incredibly well, and all loose themselves in the characters to produce and deliver realistic performances. When they scream in absolute agony as the jaws of the beast crunch down, you truly believe it’s real.
Roy Scheider plays the quiet family man sheriff who is roped into a tragic and terrifying turn of events.
Richard Dreyfuss plays the wealthy, intelligent marine expert whose love for sharks is put to the test, especially as he goes down in a metal cage but does he come out?
And Robert Shaw plays the mad, disturbed fisherman who leads the team on this horror quest. The scene in which he recalls his time on the Indianapolis
Steven Spielberg is of course a movie-genius with any film and this is no different. I mean look at his films, E.T, Schindlers List, Saving Private Ryan, Indiana Jones to name oh but a few. ‘Jaws’ serves its righteous place of one of his all time greats, if not the greatest.
The Exorcist – 1973
Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn) sees her life turned upside down and shaken (quite literally) by her 12 year old daughter’s strange behaviour, that quickly turns into a living nightmare. She takes her daughter, Regan (Linda Blair) to doctor after doctor and hospital treatment after hospital treatment, until finally, tired and worn out turns to two priests. They discover that Regan is horribly possessed by the devil himself.
This 1970’s hit is an absolute classic. The music is almost as famous as the ‘Jaws’ soundtrack and Regans cut and torn face is undoubtedly known worldwide. From being thrown against the wall by an unidentified source, to the full bed shaking with no-one there to shake it, and to the absolutely horrifying moment when poor Regan comes down the stairs in a crab-like position, spitting blood and venom to shocked onlookers downstairs. Some may say that the effects aren’t as ‘real’ with scary films in the present day such as ‘Hostel’ or ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’, however most would strongly disagree. No matter how old this film may be, it never looses the touch of simply scaring you stupid.
Ellen Burstyn delivers a very convincing performance as a severely worried and frightened mother. Every mother knows the sickening thought of having their child sick, however this is on a completely different level, and Burstyn completely pulls it off.
Praise must also be there for Linda Blair, whose performance as a scared, possessed, mad, young Regan is a non-blinking, mouth-open watch as you wait with anticipation exactly what’s going to happen next. Considering she was only 14 years old when she took on this role, her performance is quite literally terrifying.
The make-up on Regans face is horrific as well as worldwide known. A lovely sight and a superb job by the make-up team.
The direction is cleverly done. From the different camera angles showing Regan coming down the stairs, to the bed shaking, to the famous 360 degrees head turn, William Friedkin (The French Connection, The Hunted) does a wonderful job that really does terrify you.
http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi4277207321/ 
