JAWS 2: More than just a shark sequel, it was also a teen slasher movie
It's 1978 and a killer is on the loose, sending panic through a small town. It's target, a group of teenagers...but this isn't John Carpenter's Halloween, this is JAWS 2.
JAWS 2 was a summer movie that made lots of summer dollars when it was released on June 16, 1978.
It looks and feels a lot like the first film in many ways, how could it not with a return to Amity Island and Chief Brody (Roy Scheider), but then – very shark like – it changes direction and becomes a teen slasher.
It beat out the teens in repeated danger from an unstoppable force in Halloween by several months, and although Michael Myers may have had one giant knife, this shark had a mouthful of them!
Plus, thanks to a ski-boat accident, it has a scarred face, besting out the likes of Freddy Krueger from A Nightmare on Elm Street by six years.
Black Christmas (1974) came out before all of them, but Halloween (1978) is often held up as the one that started the trend for us our teen terror fix, as seen in the likes of Friday The 13th, numerous Elm Streets and returns to Haddonfield.
And just like with those films, the prospect of sex kills, just ask Eddie and Tina. With the death of Eddie as he is dragged into the side of Tina’s Joy (the name of the boat) matching any of the shock and excitement of its Steven Spielberg predecessor.
Think of JAWS 2 as American Graffiti with boats and a killer shark, the teen ensemble in the JAWS sequel stranded together in boats is no different than a similar group stuck in the woods Jason, this is the shark’s territory.
In Jaws 2, the film's protagonists find themselves isolated at sea, with limited resources and no immediate means of escape. This feeling of helplessness and vulnerability is a common element in slasher films. As the shark relentlessly pursues the characters, they become trapped in a confined space, reminiscent of the classic "final girl" scenario in slasher movies. The tension builds as the audience witnesses the characters' struggle to survive against an unstoppable force.
And that struggle gives us characters like Jackie, who although is often found annoying to many viewers, how else do we think any of us might react to seeing a shark devour our friends. In actual fact, her reaction may just secretly be one of greatest things about JAWS 2.
The slasher movie terms, the shark in JAWS 2 is an unseen, relentless killer stalking its victims, mirroring the masked killers that would follow on the silver screen.
And in JAWS 2 the group of teens have the additional peril of floating to oblivion (or Ireland) if they don’t manage to stop at Cable Junction. In many ways that people in danger feeling is far greater in JAWS 2 than the original Steven Spielberg classic, as Brody, Quint and Hooper went out with the purpose and catching and killing the shark, and at least were prepared (of sorts) with guns and yellow barrels – these guys were just having a wonderful time, and the next…
While Jaws 2 follows a similar narrative structure to the original film, it incorporates subversive elements that align with the slasher genre. In slasher films, audiences have come to expect the unexpected, with the killer often striking when least expected. Jaws 2 employs this technique by introducing false scares and unexpected attacks, keeping the audience on edge throughout the film. This unpredictability contributes to the slasher-like atmosphere, heightening the suspense and fear, which perhaps culminates best in the shocking one gulp and she is gone sudden death of Marge. It’s not just a standout moment in that film, but the entire franchise.
Another characteristic of slasher films is the focus on a group of characters facing a high body count. Jaws 2 embraces this trope by introducing a larger cast of potential victims. While the original Jaws had a limited number of deaths, Jaws 2 increases the stakes by featuring a higher body count and showcasing the shark's relentless pursuit of its prey. This element of multiple deaths and the fear of an unknown killer aligns with the conventions of slasher horror.
All these kids wanted to do was get drunk and fool around, they didn’t expect to swim for their lives and see some of their friends end up as a hot lunch for a large great white. In JAWS the crew of the Orca – although sometimes at odds with one another – were prepared what lay ahead and Quint was very much in charge, but here you can feel the sense of panic and that no one is really in control, which helps add to the tension.
Quite literally, they are thrust together - when their boats collide - and various individuals rise to the occasion, although that doesn’t always mean they will make the end credits. Like JAWS, JAWS 2 feels like two very different halves, the first part spent on Amity Island and mostly dealing with Chief Brody, the second – like the first – is all at sea and focuses on the teens. Both those worlds cross over at various points in the film, with the two combining for the electrifying finale.
To the casual observer, JAWS 2 may look and feel like JAWS, but this is a different beast of a movie, creating a rousing and unique entry in the pantheon of teen slasher films from the period.
And that legacy continues in shark films to this day, in everything from Shark Night to Shark Bait, showing that it isn’t just the original JAWS that has left its (tooth)mark, it is its sequel as well.
The young actors and actresses in JAWS 2 bonded so much that many of them are still in close contact with one another, to this day. The Daily Jaws caught up with them (as well as its two directors, production designer and associate producer Joe Alves and Deputy Henricks actor Jeffrey Kramer) , asking them about the filming of the JAWS sequel and their many memories of being on set, in the sea and that mechanical – and real sharks – in the water.
Words by Dean Newman
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