Caught up the “Wake” of “Jaws”: Pre-“Meg” Movies that were inspired by Spielberg’s Seminal Summer Blockbuster

By Michael Lyons

They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.  If that’s the case, then Hollywood is a VERY flattering place.

This was especially true in the mid-to-late ‘70’s, when every Studio was trying to replicate the success of the world’s first Summer Blockbuster, “Jaws.”  What followed was a series of not-as-thrilling movies in which an animal/force of nature launches an attack.

One of the decendants of this trend, “The Meg,” hits theaters this weekend.  The film, based on the best selling book by Steve Alten, is about a giant, prehistoric shark seemingly swimming out of the past and into our world.

There’s no better way to commemorate this latest Hollywood “attack,” by looking back at the “Jaws clones” that rampaged through theaters, after Steven Spielberg’s landmark film debuted in 1975.

“Grizzly” (1976)

This movie may seem like a low-budget B movie that was made quickly and released one year after “Jaws,” to cash in on that movie’s success...actually...it doesn’t seem that way...that’s exactly what it is.

Substituting a grizzly bear for a shark and a national park for Amity Island, this film unabashedly carbon copies the “Jaws” model.  However, this tale of a killer grizzly attacking campers lacks the suspense and ingenuity that made Spielberg’s film an unforgettable masterpiece.

What “Grizzly” does have is a parade of recognizable character actors of the time, such as Christopher George and Richard Jaeckel and also boasts one of the most Drive-In Movie worthy posters of the decade!

“The Deep” (1977)

Another movie that rode the “coatfins” of “Jaws,” this one at least did so with an original plot.  In “The Deep,” a young couple (Nick Nolte and Jacqueline Bisset) uncover artifacts while diving through a shipwreck, off the coast of Bermuda and wind up getting caught up with local, drug dealing criminals.

With an underwater setting, based on a book by “Jaws” author Peter Benchley and co-starring Quint himself, Robert Shaw,“The Deep” is definitely doing all it can to reach audiences who were eager for a “Jaws fix.”

However, today the movie is more remembered for Jacqueline Bisset’s now famous wet T-shirt scene and less for its action sequences involving a giant eel. 

“Piranha” (1978)

This movie should be next to the definition of the phrase “Cult Movie.”  Produced by B-Movie maestro Roger Corman and directed by Joe Dante (who would go on to helm blockbusters like “Gremlins”), “Piranha” unabashedly copied “Jaws,” but has also emerged as something all it’s own, with a following that has grown through the years.

“Piranha” is about the nasty-looking, flesh eating titular fish, who are accidentally dumped into the water at a resort...and it’s meal time!

With a surprisingly clever script penned by John Sayles (who would go on to have a very distinguished, Oscar nominated film career) and a cast of veteran actors, including Keenan Wynn and Kevin McCarthy, “Piranha” is an unabashed, all-out horror gorefest.  In fact, “Piranha” has such a devoted following that it was re-made (loosely) in 2010...in 3D, no less.

“The Swarm” (1978)

“Jaws” meets a disaster movie.  That’s probably how this movie was pitched.  This makes sense seeing that “The Swarm” is from director Irwin Allen, the disaster movie maestro behind such films as “The Poseidon Adventure” and “The Towering inferno.”

In this outing, the country is under attack by a massive swarm of killer bees, which includes the usual large scale mayhem, including scenes in which the bees cause helicopters to crash and a train to derail.

While the nature on attack angle owes a lot to “Jaws,” the rest of the film looks and feels like a full on disaster movie, from it’s all-star cast (Michael Caine, Katherine Ross, Olivia de Havilland, Richard Chamberlain, Fred MacMurray and Henry Fonda) to its conclusion in which an entire city is torched in order to kill the bees.

Made at the tail end of the disaster movie craze, “The Swarm” almost seems like a parody of itself at times, but movie fans of a time gone by will no doubt find it still has some...sting.

So, as “The Meg” splashes across screens this weekend, it may feel overwhelmed by the shadow of the Great White Shark that first captivated audiences 43 summers ago.  However, the film can take comfort in the fact that there have been plenty of other movies who have also wanted to take a bite out of the “Jaws” box office.

Sources:

IMDb

Wikipedia