The opening scene has become a horror film cliché. What makes the journey all the more formidable is the fact that we cannot actually see the shark; this creates an even greater sense of threat for the audience as it is an unseen danger.
As the underwater world slowly fades up to the beach, we are lead up to a magnificent campfire which contrasts the threatening atmosphere of the water: there is the diegetic sound of a harmonica and guitar is being played by teenagers on the beach, there are also people having fun, laughing and talking. This location is much less menacing that the water, it is warm and inviting. This leads the audience to accept that the threat has subsided for the moment and they expect to know find out some of the film’s setting and plot. The use of folk music suggests peacefulness, the campfire has connotations of being a happy, safe, fun place to be, however the sea has something else in mind.
As the camera pans around the scene, we are finally shown the shear amount of teenagers sitting around the campfire: this makes the beach seem all the more safe; however, the audience are still wary because of what has just been shown. This feeling is intensified when we see a young woman, Chrissie (Susan Becklinie) sitting alone admiring a young, very drunk man. As the two continue staring at each other, the audience wonder how they are connected to the story. Suddenly a very long shot of the campfire and the sea is shown which reminds us of the opening setting and how these two actors fit into our previous expectations. As Chrissie runs into the sea, stripping off her clothes which symbolises her innocence, the tension building music of the opening grabs the audiences’ attention and clearly build expectation of what will follow.
Plunged into the water again by the camera as it returns to showing us the shark’s perspective, we are forced to see the approaching danger to the girl. The effect is end-of-seat gripping as the tension builds and we see the girl’s vulnerability approaching towards the camera and yet we are helpless as the audience to stop it. The tension increases as the screams of the girl become louder and more desperate and we see her being pulled fatally by the shark. Becklinie’s acting seems incredibly real. From her screaming to the ‘sharks’ tugging at her leg, Becklinie performs her all time best, leaving the audience in awe.
The climax of the scene is a pitch black screen in which we are able to see Chrissie’s deep red blood. This subtly shocks the audience because whilst we do not see the actual violence of the attack, the eerie image of the blood leaves the audience shaken by the horror of what has just happened.
Finally, using an entirely different location, Spielberg uses Chrissie’s death to introduce the film’s hero – the local sheriff Martin Broody (Roy Scheider). Various big close-up and close- up shots of Broody looking out of his bedroom window at the beautiful, irenic sea guides the audience to expect him to be a goodly character and contrasts to the drama of what has just occurred: who would have thought that just the night before, a young, innocent woman got brutally eaten alive by a shark in that very same sea?
This introduction of Broody makes the audience think, the shark is not gone! It wants more and until it gets what it wants, it isn’t going anywhere and the use of two such contrasting locations in two different times of the day indicates that more gruesome action is on its way!
This hide-behind-the-sofa-style movie is definitely on the top of my list! I would most certainly watch this thriller again and again. This film may be some what predictable, however, Spielberg most definitely spices it up with all the full – throttle fun and gut-wrenching action!
To find out who the next victim will be, you must watch this gripping adventure movie!
By Nikita Damania
