Jaws Is the Scariest Movie Ever Made

What’s the scariest movie ever made? Is it The Exorcist? Hereditary? The Texas Chain Saw Massacre? Those films all come up in conversation when debating what horror movie deserves the terrifying title, but there’s only one real answer. Sure, they’re scary, but none of them have had the impact of the actual scariest movie ever made. You might not even think of it as a horror movie, but you won’t be able to fully escape it whenever you’re at the beach.

Steven Spielberg’s 1975 shark attack summer blockbuster, Jaws, is unquestionably the scariest movie ever made. 

Jaws, which is now streaming on Peacock along with its three sequels, is a fantastically entertaining movie. An adaptation of Peter Benchley’s 1974 book of the same name, Jaws follows a small island beach community as they deal with a man-eating great white shark that’s taken up residence off the coast. 

Thanks to Spielberg’s masterful filmmaking and John Williams’ iconic score, the shark’s attacks are tense, gripping, and scary. But it would be absurd to argue that Jaws — which was rated PG, at a time before the introduction of the PG-13 rating — contains the scariest scenes ever committed to film. The shark is scary, and the moments where it drags an unsuspecting beachgoer to their death or pops out of the water to surprise Roy Schnider’s Chief Brody will make you jump upon first viewing. But the act of watching Jaws isn’t as scary as the act of watching something like The Exorcist, which has even more terrifying imagery. 

Why Jaws Is the Scariest Movie Ever

Crowds run out of the water in Jaws (1975). Photo: Universal/Getty Images

So why, then, is Jaws the scariest movie ever made? It’s not because of how scared you are while watching it. It’s because of that little inescapable fear that will linger in the back of your mind the next time you get in the water. The Exorcist is probably a scarier viewing experience, but the average person does not encounter demonic possession. Heck — the average person probably doesn’t even believe in such a thing. So much of horror is supernatural fantasy. Even something that could be real, like a chainsaw-wielding serial killer, feels much further out of the realm of possibility than, say, a shark attack. 

Shark attacks are extremely rare. You’re significantly more likely to die driving to the beach than by getting chomped on by a shark once you’re there. Last year, there were a mere 14 fatal shark attacks in the entire world. Meanwhile, dogs are responsible for an average of 40 deaths per year in the United States alone. But people aren’t scared every time they hear Fido bark. Dogs aren’t inherently as scary as sharks — and Cujo, while a good movie, isn’t as effective as Jaws. 

It’s hard to believe, but sharks weren’t always thought of as scary killers. Sure, they had the potential to be dangerous, but not especially more so than any other dangerous animal. The release of Jaws, which does such a great job of making sharks out to be the bloodthirsty monsters they’re not in reality, supercharged the public’s fears. Jaws was so scary that the fearful response to it led to a decline in shark populations, as worried beachgoers and fishermen hunted the supposed monsters in the water.

Benchley, who wrote the book Jaws was based on, regretted his role in making sharks out to be dangerous killers and devoted a lot of his later life to ocean conservation efforts. Spielberg has expressed remorse as well.

Luckily, there has been a broad change in the public’s views of sharks. Increased education and a focus on environmentalism have shown people that sharks are not the mindless maneaters depicted in Jaws. When you go to the beach, you probably know that. You’re aware of the statistics proving how rare shark attacks really are. 

And yet, because Jaws is so good and so scary, chances are you’re not 100 percent convinced that there isn’t a shark out there. Cue the John Williams score in your head. 

Jaws is streaming on Peacock.