The 10 Scariest Movie Beach Scenes That Aren’t JAWS
Jaws isn’t just the definitive shark movie, it gave us some of the most iconic movie moments ever. The shark attack on Alex Kintner while swimming off Amity State beach being one of them. The attack itself lasts only seconds with the scene really being about the reaction of lead character Cheif Brody. This is Spielberg at playful best and arguably the scariest beach scene in cinema. Other movies have tried to emulate, spoof or just pay tribute. We take at 10 of the scariest movie beach scenes that aren’t Jaws.
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Perhaps the most visceral and brutal assault on the senses of any war film. There are battle scenes pre-Private Ryan and there are battle scenes post-Private Ryan. You hear the (now familiar) sound effects as bullets whip past your ear, there’s the madness, the uncontrolled chaos and the feeling that anyone in the cast could die at any moment. According to Tom Hanks he had an extra next to him on one of the landing craft who couldn’t swim and the star had to help him through the scene. The shots of the soldiers desperate to escape the horror but being cut down by bullets, the desperation and fear on the beach and the final rush to capture the higher ground, make this one of the most authentic depictions of the menace and slaughter of war.
The Shallows
One of the few worthy ‘shark movies’ in my book. Blake Lively is near enough the only human in the movie and she’s up against a properly scary shark (even if it’s mostly CG). All she’s got to help her is an ear ring, a camera and a seagull. It beats other shark movies because (other than the inclusion of a buoy with a ringing bell) it doesn’t try to be Jaws. It’s got a great lead actor who can actually…act - and a simple, lean script, but with enough going on to keep you interested. We care about whether this woman gets back to the beach. And even though it mostly takes place on the water, this is all about the beach. It’s a place she comes to to get escape the world, a fabled ‘secret spot’ that surfers guard so as not to become over-crowded and also a place of mental salvation. She goes there to grieve for her mother who has recently died and to regroup in her head. Then, when being hunted by the shark, the beach once again becomes a sanctuary - but this time a physical one. It’s the only place she will be safe. The frustration when she sees the two men leave the beach without realising she needs help, is terrifying. It’s at this point that the audience knows she’s on her own.
The Beach
Leonardo DiCaprio puts in a great performance as a thrill-seeking back-packer who heads to Thailand to lose himself. Once there, he hears about a mythical beach, cut off from the tourist rat run, where a secret utopia exists. It’s an adaptation of the book by Alex Garland that delves into Vietnam War imagery and drug use and how easy it is to become wrapped up in a fantasy, only to discover that the reality is far from fun. It’s part Lord of the Flies, part Lost Horizon and dripping in late 90s/early 2000s hedonism. If you were around the same age as the characters at that time, you really do identify with it. It’s not a classic ‘scary’ movie but the shark attack at the beach is a real nerve-jangler plus the sinister underbelly of some of the group and what people will do to survive gives it a real edge. I will admit though, the book’s better.
Jurassic Park: The Lost World
Another slice of classic Spielberg, with a young girl making the mistake of feeding her roast beef sandwich to a group of little Compsognathus. Cathy Bowman is on holiday with her super rich parents (having tea served to them by the uniformed crew from their mega yacht) when Cathy’s mother hears the shrieks and screams of her young daughter as the ‘Compys’ attack. There’s lots of hints that these arrogant rich folk are in the wrong place. First off, surely they’ve heard about the dinosaur island? Wouldn’t they maybe be a bit more careful on this one? They’re your classic ‘nothing bad will happen to us because we’re fabulously wealthy types’ so you just know it’s going to go wrong. The towering black clouds glowering behind them really do spell out trouble in store and of course Spielberg loves to stick it to people who think they know everything. It’s got a nice ‘don’t mess with nature’ vibe to it.
Blood Beach
A wonderfully silly movie about something really nasty living under the sand. The tagline for the movie even dared to have a pop at Jaws 2 “Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water…you can’t even get to it!” Which is just brilliant. Lots of stupid people get sucked into the ground and others run around screaming. What more could you possibly want?
The Bay
It’s the 4th of July and people near the Chesapeake Bay are off to the beach. But danger is lurking in the water! I know, sounds very familiar but hold on, because this is no shark movie. It’s a nifty found footage epidemic thriller with a virus that’s transmitted through water. Made by Barry Levinson (Good Morning Vietnam, Rain Man, Tootsie…) this is a low budget winner.
The Lost Boys
I’m not really sure if it’s that scary but it’s great fun. It’s also the movie that gave the world the original ‘vampire face makeup’. Before this you had Christopher Lee being all suave as Count Dracula but other than his red eyes, he was just a tall bloke in an opera cape. With Lost Boys there were big protruding foreheads, extra sharp cheekbones and sunken eyes. Once this came out, every vampire movie had the same look - from Buffy to Interview with a Vampire. It takes place in Santa Carla (actually just Santa Cruz) and down on the seashore is a gang of of bloodsucking bikers led by a young Kiefer Sutherland with a most excellent mullet. All the Lost Boys are dressed like Jim Morrison at a Jimi Hendrix fancy dress party, there are caves cut into the cliffs, bats (of course) and a spooky fairground too. This is classic 80s horror. Plus you get the Frog Brothers. Epic.
Crabs
One of the most ridiculous but brilliantly staged horrors of recent years. A small town is plagued by man-eating crabs and…that’s it! It’s funny and well made, a good script and some pretty nasty scares in it too. This is modern day B movie perfection. There’s a nod to Jaws 2 with a washed up whale and police officers stying to figure it all out. And lots of blood.
Piranha
We’re talking the original here, made by Joe Dante in 1978. It’s part horror, part throwback to all those 1950s atomic sci-fi B-Pictures. And it’s great. With Jaws you had one big monster eating a single person at a time but with Piranha there’s hundreds of them! Just happily chomping away on the swimmers at a nearby river. The plot tells us fish were part of a Top Secret Vietnam War era project called Operation: Razorteeth (someone needs to make a prequel and use this as the title) which used genetically modified killer fish to attack the Vietnam Cong. But of course, all sounds perfectly logical. As ever, it all goes wrong when the piranha get released into America’s waterways and start eating the tourists. Lots of fun, lots of screams and even named the best of the Jaws rip-offs by Steven Spielberg.
Sweetheart
This one’s hiding on Netflix, if you can, seek it out. There’s something creepy and dangerous hiding in the water and it’s up to Kiersey Clemons to deal with it. Her character Jenn washes up on a deserted island and ends up all alone when her friend Brad dies. Then she starts finding graves of others who’ve ended up there. Jenn realises that this is not a good sign. She has to convince other late arrivals on the island that there’s a big creepy thing out there but, in true horror movie style, they don’t believe her. Anyway, ‘skip to the end’ (for all you Spaced fans) and Jenn’s alone (in true Brody style) and its up to her to take on the monster. Which she does - big time.
And there’s the list. It’s not definitive and if there’s any others you think should’ve been on there - please let us know.
Words by Tim Armitage
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