October is all the rage for horror movies, as it’s the month that includes Halloween, and it’s right in between the end of summer and November. Before we know it, Thanksgiving and Christmas will both be here, and scary movies just aren’t as fun during that time of year. (Well, maybe The Shining is good if you’re snowed in and it’s not too close to Christmas.)
You’ve probably seen countless lists from various outlets through the years, and the question is to be begged: Is Jaws a horror movie?
The majority of people most definitely believe the 1975 classic from Steven Spielberg is a horror film, with many categorizing it as the greatest horror film ever made. But many just don’t buy it. Let’s go through each of the arguments.
Jaws Is Not A Horror Movie
One of the main reasons Jaws should not be considered a horror movie is because it features an animal. If you think about it, is Jurassic Park a horror movie? The answer to that would be no. Jurassic Park just so happens to be another blockbuster by Steven Spielberg. Yeah, getting chased by dinosaurs and hunted in the water by a shark is no doubt terrifying, but those feel more like thrills than horror.
Also, horror movies, for the most part, should involve something inescapable or supernatural. No one is forcing the characters in Jaws to go into the water, as sad as it is that the killer shark claimed the lives of a few.
To those opposed to Jaws as a horror film, it’s more of an adventure movie—again, not dissimilar to Jurassic Park. Martin, Matt, and Quint are actually hunting the shark while the shark hunts them, and they (well, except for Quint) ultimately prevail.
And does Jaws feel like a horror movie? Those on the side of Jaws not being a horror movie will argue there is a distinct feel to the genre. There should be a level of darkness or creepiness in it, which isn’t necessarily found in Jaws.
It’s also worth noting IMDb classifies Jaws as: Adventure, Drama, Thriller.
Jaws Is A Horror Movie
While it’s not supernatural, spooky, or exceedingly gory, there’s a giant fish murdering people in Jaws. And the realism of the film is what makes it that much more in the horror genre.
During its release in theaters, Jaws was an absolute phenomenon—and it was also absolutely terrifying at the time. People wouldn’t go within ten miles of a beach after watching the movie, and it really was a huge part in making people frightened of sharks—and the ocean. And isn’t that part of what a horror movie is supposed to do? Make you be frightened of something in real life? Thinking of it that way, it’s a great argument.
Despite the IMDb page saying otherwise, the establishment clearly defined Jaws as a horror movie. Given the hysteria it caused, the popularity that surrounded it, and the fact that I don’t mess with the ocean in large part because of the awareness after watching, you can call Jaws horror if you want.
Horror or not, Jaws was one of the original summer classics and is an all-time great film. But I’ll stick with some other movies during the month of October.
Interesting… I would say not a horror
hmm intriguing question to be posed. I say thriller/psychological, even at the time I would have considered that though there weren’t many horror movies yet.
Good point about Jurassic Park. I don’t believe its genre should be horror.
Jaws and Jurassic Park are both horror movies.
The novelization of Jaws IV involves Voodoo apparently. Does that qualify?
Cujo is a Horror movie. Wolfman is also a Horror movie. A wolfman is just as much an animal as a biogenetically-engineered dinosaur or a thinking shark. I can’t think of any real Horror movie buff that doesn’t consider Jaws as a Horror movie (let alone as one of THE classic horror movies of all time).
Btw this is literally the structure my English teacher uses when he wants us to write an SA
I say not Horror mainly because the Shark in Jaws is not a being of the Supernatural like most Horror Movie Monsters/Villains.