Review: Mako aka The Jaws of Death (1976)

Sharks have been popular in cinema for many decades and the high quality of films that they appear in give them legendary status as nightmarish entities, loitering just under the surface of your subconscious mind. Just think of some of those titles – Jaws: The Revenge...erm, Shark Attack 3... Okay, maybe shark films aren't always known for their quality.

However, a steady stream of releases over the years, included plenty of recent pictures, have increased the quantity of shark films to the point where they are a mini genre of horror and thriller films. Few animals have managed to inspire as many creature features as sharks. But surely, they can't all be terrible, right? And even if they are terrible, surely that doesn't mean that they can't be enjoyed on some level, right?

The first shark film I ever saw, Jaws: The Revenge, is commonly considered one of the worst films ever made and yet still has the banana boat scene, one of the more graphic moments in the series. On top of that, the sound of bells on buoys still reminds me of the aftermath of the attack on Sean Brody whenever I am near the sea and makes me uneasy at the thought that a psychic shark could be waiting for me out there, somewhere.

At one end of the quality scale, you have (in my opinion and quite possibly yours if you are reading) the greatest film ever made in Jaws and, by common consensus, one of the worst ever made in Jaws: The Revenge at the other. That is a huge range in quality.

SCORING

Perhaps comparison with the original is unfair in a sense. Comparison with Revenge must surely see improvement (perhaps not if you peruse the titles). With that in mind, I am going to attempt to score shark films from down the years. They'll be ranked by the following criteria:

Quality of Shark/s – Bruce was known as a pain to work with but how do other sharks stack up? /10

Underwater photography – As sharks live in seas and oceans (shut up, Ghost Shark) these environments are key settings in shark films. /10

Suspense – The key to Jaws scaring people out of the water was its suspense. Do other shark films manage to keep the viewer on edge? /10

Characters and story – Are the human subjects of the story in depth characters we can relate to or even root for or are they mere chum in the ocean? /10

Watchability – Many of these films are shark attacks with interspersed human interactions along the way. Do these interactions make time drag or are they an interesting aside? /5

Other factors – Believe it or not, films like Sharknado and 3-Headed Shark Attack are not supposed to be taken entirely seriously. This rating allows me to add points for comedy, references to Jaws or anything else that may be appreciated by fans of shark films. /5

Added up, these will give us a total out of 50.

PLOT

What do you get if you cross The Horse Whisperer with makos harks that look suspiciously like tiger sharks? The film Mako Mako aka The Jaws of Death (1976), of course!

I decided to start off the list with Mako: The Jaws of Death because it is unusual among shark films in the sense that it doesn't portray sharks as mindless killing machines but rather intelligent animals that are the victims of exploitation and often pointless deaths at the hands of nature's greatest killing machine, human beings. It is a genuinely different shark story from the standard fare and this is notable as it is one of the numerous films released to capitalise on the success of Jaws.

Released in 1976, Mako is the story of Vietnam War veteran Sonny Stein, played by Richard Jaeckel. Stein was saved from certain death in 'Nam by a Mako shark and developed an affinity for finned friends as a result.

Our first meeting with the character sees Jaeckel hiding under the sea amongst his chums before making his way onto a fishing boat. The three fisherman aboard are trying to snare a tiger shark (there are literally no mako sharks in this film), much to the chagrin of Stein. According to director William Grefe, Jaeckel actually swam amongst the sharks for some of these stunning underwater shots and the footage of real sharks make this feel like a very different shark film to Jaws from the off.

For one, Jaws relied on not seeing the shark. Once you saw the shark in Jaws it didn't seem quite as scary with its glass eyes and fiberglass features. Spielberg knew to rely on our fear of the unknown, hence why Chrissie Watkins' death is so iconic. With this film, you see sharks almost straight away. Real ones with a reputation for man eating at that. I'm genuinely astounded by some of the shots and not entirely sure how (or if) they were filmed safely. Indeed, the camera crew are thanked for risking their lives a little later in the film.

Additionally, Grefe has said in interviews that he wrote the story years before Jaws was released by Universal and that he had put it to one side as no studio was interested until 1975 and the release of Spielberg's blockbuster. At that point, studios began offering him money to film Mako. He attempted to gain publicity in Europe during showings of Jaws but it feels like any connection between the two films end there.

After the fisherman have been thrown overboard and the dinner bell rang we see some more underwater shots underneath a credits scene. Straight away, we begin to get an idea of Stein's feelings for the sharks when he talks with a creepy scientist who wants to study the sharks to understand why they attack people. Stein becomes angry when the subject of bounties on sharks comes up. It is unclear whether the bounties were paid in cash or cheque.

There then follows one of the more unusual scenes from any shark film that I have ever witnessed, namely Stein conversing with a tiger shark named Sammy. He does this on multiple occasions throughout the film, sometimes talking to another shark named Matilda too. There is a definite comedic element to this film which I was not expecting from something containing Jaws of Death in the title. We're left in no doubt by the end of the film that he can converse with sharks but it does look bizarre when you first see it. On the plus side, Stein can say he had a psychic connection with a shark a whole 11 years before Ellen Brody did.

We then meet two other important characters: sleazy bar owner Barney, played by Buffy Dee and underwater dancer Karen, played by Jennifer Bishop. Barney is irritated that more of the local men aren't ogling Karen. The two are married which makes me a little confused about the nature of their relationship. Certainly there is not the love that Sonny shares with Matilda and Sammy.

Two of Barney's friends, Pete (played by Harold 'Oddjob' Tanaka) and Charlie (played by John Chandler) drunkenly attempt to force themselves on Karen, only to be thwarted by Sonny. There is a definite exploitation aspect to this film. Exploitation was a popular subgenre at the time, particularly at drive-ins. As the drive in died out, the exploitation genre went with it but has had something of a renaissance with films like Inglorious Basterds.

After fighting off the attackers we learn that Sonny lives on his own and that the source of his power is a shark tooth medallion given to him by a Filipino shaman after the sharks rescue Sonny. I'm not entirely sure what tiger sharks are doing in a swamp. Then again, maybe the sharks aren't either. However, bull sharks are well known for being able to swim in both freshwater and saltwater. Perhaps that was the inspiration. Indeed there is speculation that a bull shark was at least partly responsible for the Jersey Shore attacks of 1916, which were the inspiration for Jaws. How different cinema could be...

Sonny's two friends get loaned out, Matilda to an aquarium and Sammy to Barney's bar in order to liven up Karen's act. They place a plastic sheet between the shark and Karen because nothing bad could possibly come from such a situation. Karen then kisses Sonny, further complicating her relationship with Barney. Barney, for his part, shows his wife some controls that play high frequency noises that will irritate the shark. He still sees no issues with his plans.

Sonny's murderous inclinations return when he sees a hammerhead strung up, the victim of a harpooning by Pete and Charlie. He harpoons Charlie in the head whilst stood next to fake looking sharks (fako sharks?) whilst Pete ends up attached to a hook and chain, being dragged behind his boat. I do like the grey morality of Sonny. I'm not sure the makers of the film wanted him to be seen as a typical good or bad guy and this scene is a demonstration of that. Pete being pulled along could easily belong in a Bond film with Pete being the victim of some scheming supervillain.

We return to Barney's bar for Karen's new act where, surprisingly, all goes to plan until Barney starts to annoy the shark with the high frequency noises. Realising he has been double crossed, Sonny endeavours to get his sharks back. He wants to release Matilda first but finds her and her babies dead at the hands of the creepy scientist. Driven into a grief stricken rage, Sonny feeds the doctor to some sharks in an enclosure at the aquarium.

Next for the chop is Barney. Taking a dip out the back of his house, he is unaware that Sonny has cut a hole in his shark net. Sonny's sharky shining powers do the rest. Sonny heads to the bar in which all the trouble began, having killed four people, but his revenge is not yet complete. Having cut the plastic lining that is there to protect Karen, he returns to his seat and waits for the show. Karen is brutally attacked by the shark although I'm not sure how she was unaware of the enormous rip in the plastic. According to Grefe, they found the shark in this shot on a beach whilst they were filming and believed it dead. Having removed its teeth to sell they began filming the scene only for the shark to try and genuinely attack Jennifer Bishop, or 'gum her to death' as Grefe put it.

Finally, Sonny escapes the bar as a hurricane hits the Keys, forcing another hapless victim into the water to succumb to the sharks. Deciding that he doesn't wish to go on, Sonny asks one of his shark friends (who he calls Sammy despite Sammy gumming on Karen at the bar) to make people fear the water so they don't go in, oblivious to the fact that Bruce accomplished this a year earlier. Sans medallion, he jumps into the water and is mauled by multiple sharks.

RATINGS

Quality of sharks – a big step up on Bruce as they are real sharks. Some of the footage is remarkable, including one shot which saw a shark try to eat a camera. Walt Disney Productions even bought that shot. The only downsides are the fako sharks (even if they actually are real they manage to look fake) and the fact that the sharks seem a little mistreated, such as a scene near the beginning that has a shark with a hook stuck in its mouth. Score: 8/10

Underwater photography – Quite possibly the best thing about the film. There are some beautiful underwater shots. The only thing that could've possibly improved this would be a greater variety of wildlife. Score: 9/10

Suspense – There is very little suspense in this film. Almost straight away we see the 'monster' in the form of a tiger shark and we see the killer. Any shark (or Sonny) attacks that do happen occur in such quick succession that it is nigh on impossible to build any tension. In between the opening attacks on the fisherman and the later spate of attacks there is a lot of time in which not very much happens to create uncertainty. The use of real sharks does help however. Score: 3/10

Characters and Story – Possibly the weakest aspect of the film. A good story needs to give you something or someone to root for. The closest thing we get to that is a man who sets large carnivorous fish on to his enemies or the large carnivorous fish themselves. Admittedly, they are much easier to empathise with when they are called Sammy and Matilda. None of the other characters are likeable and essentially just exist to be shark bait. Perhaps in the more eco-friendly modern era we live in Sonny could be seen as a more sympathetic character which makes me ponder exactly how he was meant to come across in the 1970s. Score: 2/10

Watchability – Worth a watch for B-movie aficionados, fans of shark films and fans of underwater life but very unlikely to appeal to the average film watcher. It's low budget and camp style may also appeal to some ironically. Score: 2/5

Other factors – I felt the music used was good quality although the low budget doesn't always aid the sound quality. There weren't any obvious Jaws references that jumped out at me. I also enjoyed the shark's names and other comedic aspects of the film, such as Barney's OTT laugh when he devises his plan for the shark in the bar. Score: 3/5

TOTAL: 27/50

I did enjoy this film, although as I mentioned earlier, it will not appeal to everyone. I appreciate that Grefe went in a completely different direction to practically every other shark film in existence and tried to make them the victims rather than the aggressor. Even when they attack, they are doing so at the behest of Sonny. This is an innovative film in that sense as well as the underwater shots which I must admit I'm very fond of. It's just a shame that the humans in the film do not inspire the same affection and so their deaths rarely mean that much to us.

The two characters who really deserved to be chum, namely the would be rapists Pete and Charlie, don't even get eaten by sharks. Every horror film needs that moment of satisfaction for the audience in which you see someone get their comeuppance. In most shark films, that role belongs to the shark. When they are the victims, they must have their revenge. All this being said, I think a lot of people will still enjoy the film on some level and it is certainly not the worst shark film out there.

Words by Jamie Tingle

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