Why the shark explodes at the end of Jaws The Revenge

“What just happened?” is a question asked alot by viewers watching the shark’s death in Jaws The Revenge for the first time.

Depending on which cut you’re watching, you get two very different endings. In the theatrical / TV version (US), Jake dies and the shark is killed by being impaled by the broken bowsprit of Michael and Jake’s boat, Neptune’s Folly.

After being impaled, the dead weight of the dying shark breaks off the front of the ship and sinks to the ocean floor taking the front portion of the boat with it as we hear it’s heartbeat slow and eventually stop.

A really cool way for the shark to die. This idea was was what got director Joseph Sargent the gig. The then head of Univeral Pictures Sid Sheinberg wanted another Jaws movie but needed a new way for the shark to die and Joe Sargant came to the rescue.

The International / DVD ending is…. different. And definitely not as cool. It’s an extremely hot mess. As in the theatrical / TV (US) version, the shark is impaled on the Neptune Folly’s broken bowsprit, but here is where the similarities end.

Cutting to a minaiture model (below), we glimpse a very poor recreation of the shark and front of Neptune’s Folly.

Then chaos. Bood. Water. Shark. Everywhere.

Several quick cuts of madness later and it’s all over. The shark has apparenty exploded. But why? The theatrical / US version of the shark death makes sense and is a spectacular co-ordination of live practical effects. Arguably the coolest shark death in the Jaws movie franchise.

So how do we explain the shark spontaneously exploding?

Well, it’s all to do with the electromagntic device Jake rigged. Sharks rely on electromagntism to navagiate their environment and detect prey - as expained in the original Jaws.

Jake’s device (one of the all time great movie MacGuffins) is designed to create electrical impulses inside the shark whenever activated by the receiver Michael uses in the shark’s final moments. Putting this device inside the shark cost Jake his life (in the theatrical / US version anyway).

The shark explodes because it is impaled at the exact spot where the device is inside it. This impalation (somehow) turns Jake’s MacGuffin into a bomb, which causes the shark's explosive demise. Well that’s one explanation anyway. Tell me your theories in the comments!

Words by Ross Williams

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