User reviews

With Cruel Jaws, director Bruno Mattei not only takes the Michael with his cheeky 'Jaws V' alternative title, but also borrows liberally from Steven Spielberg's 1975 killer shark classic in terms of plot, padding his film out with footage from other Jaws rip-offs. Mattei's movie takes place in Hampton Bay, where a tiger shark (trained by the navy to attack!) is chowing down on those who venture into the water. Needless to say, the local sheriff wants to close the beaches and postpone the town's regatta, but influential businessman Sam Lewis (George Barnes Jr.) insists that the show must go on, his decision resulting in an all-you-can-eat buffet for the hungry fish.

Bruno Mattei's trademark inept direction, a lousy script, terrible action and zero excitement make this bottom-of-the-barrel-scraping movie-making at its most awful, which does, of course, qualify it as essential viewing for fans of really bad rip-offs (you know who you are). Frequent scenes of extreme tedium are thankfully interspersed with unintentional laughs, just about making the film worth the effort if you absolutely must see every bad shark movie ever made.

Guaranteed to raise a few chuckles are aquarium owner Dag, who looks like he's been taking style tips from Hulk Hogan, his wheelchair-bound daughter who is not only disabled but rather stupid as well (some of the things she says are priceless), and a scene in which a helicopter is pulled into the sea by the shark, which is hanging from the chopper's winch. Viewers might also be amused by the music, which sounds suspiciously like the Star Wars theme at times, and, during the regatta sailboard race, is almost identical to The Race by Swiss electronic duo Yello.

Those looking for a little gore to help pass the time will most likely be disappointed - all we get is a mouldy mangled corpse and some blood in the water - but Mattei compensates somewhat by chucking in lots of hotties in bikinis (although, rather surprisingly for a Mattei movie, there is no nudity).

Ok, first let me say that this movie stole from Jaws in pretty much every way possible. The plot is exactly the same as Jaws from the beginning up to the point where they go searching for the shark. No really, it's literally the same: as shark attack happens, the sheriff wants to close the beach, the mayor convinces him not to because it was just a boating accident and they need the summer tourist money, another attack happens, this time involving one of the main character's kids, they catch a shark but it's not the same shark (straight down to the shark expert saying how the bite radius doesn't match the victims and they need to cut it open to know for sure, but the mayor won't allow it because it's not the time or place), to another attack happening and then everyone goes after the shark (though they do try and force in these ridiculous subplots). They literally took dialogue from the script for Jaws and just reworded it, but it's exactly the same. Hell, there's even a moment where they try to catch the shark from a helicopter, and someone says "We're going to need a bigger helicopter." Even after that, they still copy the scenes, even blowing up the shark. Now, if this was a parody/spoof that would be one thing, but the movie plays it off as serious.

But we're not done with the copying yet. There are literally over a dozen scenes in the movie (I stopped counting after that many), where the footage of the shark is literally straight out of Jaws and Jaws 2. No, seriously, they took scenes from Jaws, and zoomed in a bit, but they are the actual scenes. And then other scenes of the shark feeding are actual stock footage of sharks being fed, like they just took some shots out of Shark Week and stuck them in the movie.

Oh, but we're still not done with the stealing yet. Even the music is stolen. They stole the Jaws theme and gave it a remix. You can so obviously tell that it's still the Jaws theme music (the first 10 seconds of the music weren't even remixed at all, it's the actual Jaws score). But not just Jaws, they also, for some reason, used the Star Wars theme. No, really, they took the theme for Star Wars, did nothing with the first 20 seconds of the score, and then remixed the rest, but even the remixed portion is still recognizable as Star Wars, but the first 20 seconds are the exact score of Star Wars.

And if all this copyright infringement and theft wasn't enough, the movie is absolutely horrible and boring. The scenes with the shark are boring and lame, the acting is atrocious, and none of the characters are likable or believable. Even the scenes with the shark attacks are a joke. It's just people splashing around and screaming, and then they just obviously submerge themselves, and there's not even any blood. Oh, and what more, they keep saying that the shark is a tiger shark, but it's very obviously a Great White they used. The movie is 97 minutes, but it's so dull and boring that it feels twice as long.

So seriously, how did this movie get made, and how were the people who made it not sued for copyright infringement? The plot is so identical to Jaws that it's like a horrible remake, and they have literal stolen scenes and music from Star Wars and Jaws in it. Do yourself a favor and skip this boring trash, unless you want to laugh at the stupidity of it.

As co-founder of Nicko & Joe's Bad Film Club Show here in the UK, all I can do is stand on my chair and applaud wildly. A true, true instance of a great bad movie, it's come a very close second to Shark Attack 3, which is of course THE BEST bad shark movie EVER.

The best thing about the film though is being able to see all of my favourite shark movies in the one film! Genius idea. So many times I've been stuck watching a movie like Star Wars and thought, jeesh, this movie is great, but it could do with a few Star Trek cut aways.

There are moments of true hilarity and you have to admire the balls it takes to put a film like this out there

Bravo, no, really, BRAVO.

Am I almost unique? I had the sheer joy of seeing Cruel Jaws in a cinema, when it was shown in the 95 or 96 Cannes film market, not the Film Festival you understand, but the commerical side of it you don't need a tux for. I was buying movies for a video label at the time. Oh, what sheer joy! I too was shocked at the line about the helicopter, but was more amazed at the huge chunks of Enzo Castellari's superb Great White chopped up and dropped into Mattai's pic. It was definetly made on 35mm widescreen for theatrical release. It isn't a TV movie. Just didn't seem to play cinemas anywhere. The funniest thing to me was the hero, Richard Dew, who is an absolute clone of Hulk Hogan, even down to the moustache, beanie hat and vest. But he's the smallest man in the cast by at least three or four inches, looking up to everybody else! The effect of this is hilarious, making you think you are watching 'Hulk Hogan Goes To The Land Of The Giants'. I loved it, and Mattei is a genius. We didn't buy it for the video label though, we'd have lost a fortune! And for sheer brass neck how dare they credit Peter Benchley! Obviously his lawyers haven't seen it. If you can find it, do watch it, journeyman filmmaking unhampered by budget, originality or talent! MC.

A rogue tiger shark proceeds to dine on all the chump humans who enter its watery domain off the coast of Florida. Various concerned citizens take it upon themselves to rid the locale of the finned predator. Among our characters: an aquarium owner (Richard Dew, an obvious Hulk Hogan impersonator), an angry Sheriff (David Luther), a young shark expert (Gregg Hood), and a stereotypically greedy, sleazy land developer (George Barnes Jr.).

Complete with a dopey script, *hilariously* ridiculous lines (characters keep threatening to tear each others' manhood off), inane characters & performances, and gloriously awful shark effects (the fish here makes Bruce look good, even on his worst day), "Cruel Jaws" is one of the kings of truly bad shark cinema. What's more, this is a Bruno Mattei joint, and the late Italian schlock filmmaker never met a plot he couldn't rip off. Here he and the writers scrupulously copy (if not outright steal) characters, plots, and scenes straight from not only Hollywoods' "Jaws" franchise, but from Joe D'Amato's "Deep Blood" and Enzo G. Castellari's "The Last Shark" as well. If you are like this viewer and are intimately familiar with the "Jaws" franchise, you'll recognize the stolen shots when you see them, as brief as they are. The result is a priceless, ludicrous stew of shark movie absurdities. Even the score is imitative: sometimes emulating John Williams' classic "Jaws" theme, it even goes so far as to sound like his main "Star Wars" theme at points!

Cast with an assortment of non-union locals, the movie has definite amusements, especially Mr. Dew, who's required to give pep talks and educate locals on shark "facts". The young cast may be insipid in terms of any actual acting ability, but they're certainly attractive. Mattei and company even throw a wheelchair-bound child (Kirsten Urso) into the mix. And hey, the dolphins and that seal are of course cute. The seal is involved in two gags involving the sleazy antagonist.

Worth noting is that this flick actually incorporates the idea of the antagonist being involved with the mob, an element dropped from the original Peter Benchley novel for the classic 1974 Hollywood blockbuster, and approximates scenes from the novel such as a family of jerks who show up at the beach, hoping to see the shark, who annoy the Sheriff.

Good fun for people who can't get enough of cheesy shark cinema.

Five out of 10.

It was really difficult to believe that this movie was made in 1995, because the feel of the movie and the production value was way under even the original "Jaws" movie from 20 years earlier than this.

"Cruel Jaws" even borrowed so heavily from various movies in the "Jaws" franchise that it was embarrassing to bear witness to. It even had some music that also was blatantly taken from "Star Wars".

This movie was boring, uneventful and just downright ridiculous, and if you enjoy killer shark movies then you should stay well clear of "Cruel Jaws". I suffered through this poor man's version of "Jaws" so you don't have to.

The acting in "Cruel Jaws" was as stiff and rigid as everything else in the movie, and there weren't a single familiar face in the entire movie.

You would get more enjoyment out of covering yourself in blood and fish remains and jumping into a shark tank than you will get from this movie. Take heed and don't waste time, money or effort on this abysmal shark movie.

From the opening dialogue (the likes of which I haven't heard since my daughter stopped drama classes) you know it's going to be special.

This is an Italian remake of an Italian ripoff of Jaws. Complete with footage ripped from the Jaws movies, and Great White (1981), the original ripoff.

A shark is hunting people at a Florida beach. The mayor wants to keep the beach open and run a regatta. The mob are interested for reasons. A local marine park operator is facing foreclosure.

And it comes down to Hulk Hogan, Matt Damon and Luke Perry to stave off the stock footage monster. Okay, not actually those actors, but if you watch the movie you'll know what I mean.

This is glorious B-movie schtick.

It makes one vital improvement on Great White. I felt they missed the opportunity to critique the size of the helicopter in that movie. This revisit (with most of the same footage) addresses that omission. We cheered when we heard the line.

The star wars theme notes (and maybe Indy?) are icing on the cake...

This actually feels more like a rip-off of The Last Shark, which is a Jaws rip-off. This movie steals plot, dialog and music. The characters are terrible. I would call this a "So bad, it's good" movie. Definitely worth a watch if you're a fan of cheesy Italian movies.

this is probably the worst excuse of a film i've ever seen since Freddy Got Fingered. The creators of this piece of garbage didn't even make their own shark for the film, they just used stolen clips from other shark movies (Jaws, L'Ultimo Squalo) and used this obviously fake CGI shark that moved around like it was being controlled like a four year old. the acting is just awkward, i mean no character in this movie looks scared, and...i just can't continue. this movie is just so BAD, it's a wonder Universal Pictures didn't sue. And they thought L'Ultimo Squalo was a Jaws rip off! L'Ultimo Squalo had it's own scenes filmed, and (even though some were taken from JAWS), they made their own scenes, their own mediocre shark and their own dialogue. In "Cruel Jaws", however, the characters recite their lines like robots, and i'm actually surprised that this film actually has the nerve to call itself Jaws V. if this were Jaws 5, Jaws fans (myself included) would be so ashamed that Hollywood made a worse sequel than JTR.

Firstly, I have to thank the guy who posted the 1st comment on this film(the one with about 20 points of how absurd this film is); I was p1ss1ng myself laughing, and now I'm desperate to see it since I love appalling, rip-off Eurotrash cinema with camp music, non-existent acting/budget/originality/plot and I want to hear the infamous 'HELLICOPTER!!!' line.

Also, is Perry Pirkanen from Cannibal Holocaust really in this in an uncredited role? If this came out in 1995 and CH 1980, why wait 15 years to appear in a disgustingly s*** film?

Got to hand it to the Italians for having the balls to completely rip something off.

This movie is so boring and dated (I mean just look at the hair!!!! THE HAIR!!!! AHHHH!!!!) that you got to love it. Just never ever think about taking it serious. It´s a blatant rip off (big surprise) BUT you can get a lot of fun out of it by counting the clichés.

Favourite scene: The chick that sets herself "on fire"...very convincing.

"William Snyder" is aka Bruno Mattei, the hack behind Zombie 3 (replacing Fulci), Strike Commando, Shocking Dark, Rats and other celluloid atrocities. As many pointless hours of "entertainment" as this guy has given me, i can't hate him,if just for his sheer audacity. And true to form, Cruel Jaws is the king of bad Jaws xeroxes. Most people will feel severely ripped off, but if (like me) you're a conoisseur of this form of twisted, inverted crap worship, you should have a ball (have some beer as well). My favourite part is the slight alteration of the classic line of dialogue from Jaws, feel your jaw hit the floor as a character actually remarks "We're gonna need a bigger HELICOPTER"!!!

The most ripped-off wannabe movie I've ever seen!

Scenes, characters, even entire lines of dialogue are lifted whole or in part from the Jaws series, The Last Shark or Deep Blood. How the makers of this floating turd were never sued into oblivion, I will never understand.

That being said, curious fans, like myself, will no doubt seek this out in the future. It's fun to see how badly it was all assembled. But as a cohesive movie on its own, just forget about it making any sense whatsoever!

It's a clear Jaws rip off that lacks all the suspense and character development that's needed to make it a stand alone film.

The story seems to get put aside and the shark is thrown around to keep you watching. Not the best and not the worst just a very generic boring shark film with no risks.

Peter Benchley Should Rise From The Grave To Sue IMDb

We've all seen bad and really really really bad 'Jaws' backwash, but this one really takes the prize!

Just to clarify, 'Jaws' author Peter Benchley had NOTHING to do with this film! Nor is it based on any of his works!!!

While I can understand these sleazy filmmakers erroneously slapping his name on it, there's no reason for IMDb to outright slander Benchley's good name like this!!! I'm furious!!!

IMDb can't get basic facts right! (as usual). They refer to the shark as a "tiger shark" despite the fact that the shark is consistently referred to in the film as a "great white."

They also state the film takes place off the coast of New York despite the fact it takes place in Florida!

Now it's out of my system.

Anyway, back to the movie review. I find it difficult... no impossible to believe this was "made" in 1995. Based on the music, clothing, and poor camera work it was probably shot with a Beta camcorder in the 1980s.

Even a bad 'Jaws' ripoff should at least have some saving graces, a giant shark, lots of people being killed, bikini girls. But no, 'Cruel Jaws' has such truly horrible characters and "acting" that every single line is like nails on a chalkboard! Every SINGLE line!!!

The special FX are horrible as well, obviously unrelated stock footage of real sharks slowed down, an inflatable shark, and of course the usual air guns as props which produce no muzzle flare and eject no shells. All this is 'Ben-Hur' compared to the "acting!"

As with all 'Jaws' films, yes, there is a scene where the shark eats a helicopter ala 'Jaws 2.' "Just when you thought is was safe to go back in the sky."

Avoid this film at ALL costs! No one can be this hard up for entertainment! I can't even imagine a drinking game revolving around this movie!

This is such a BLATANT RIP OFF (and a HORRIBLE one at that) of "Jaws" that I really can't believe they didn't get sued. They actually take direct quotes from "Jaws" and deliver them miserably. There is not one good redeeming thing you can say about this train wreck of a movie. The acting is awful at BEST! When there IS a shark attack you can't tell what is going on. It's like the cameraman was having a seizure when he was TRYING to shoot an attack scene. This isn't even a so bad it's GOOD movie...it's just...plain...bad. Seriously,if you want to have a fun time watching a bad shark movie,go watch "House Shark" at least you will have some laughs with it. This movie is just a cringe fest. I wasted valuable time of my life on this disaster...If I can save just one person from doing the same...I have done my job.

Some say Director Bruno Mattei has always been "rip off" artist, but I personally found his 80s movies loads of fun, films like Hell of the Living Dead (1980), Rats: Night of Terror (1984) and The Other Hell (1985) were just great, cheesy, gory, B-movie Grindhouse fun! What is it about these Italian gore director's losing whatever charm they captured outside of that decade?! (even Dario Argento made some stinkers in the 90s) The dialogue is hard to hear, the plot a blatant rip off of Jaws, musical cues stolen from not just Jaws, but STAR WARS as well (and its OH so obvious), it even steals a few scenes from the various Jaws movies! This film lacks what the other Mattei movies I mentioned have...that cheesy B-movie "fun" feel. Cruel Jaws is just poorly made, overly long, and BORING! Go seek out his 80s Grindhouse films instead!

By the late 1980s most Italian schlockmeisters had thrown in the towel, but the tireless Bruno Mattei pretty much pursued B-Movie filmmaking until death. Eventually taking the step down to shooting on digital video and in the Philippines for films like Cannibal Trap: The Land of Death (2004) a gory throwback to the Italian cannibal films of the early 1980s. Never exactly blessed when it came to original ideas, Predator and Aliens were Mattei's two main go-to places when it came to lifting material. Mattei's final film Zombies: The Begining (2007) which manages to incorporate elements from Rambo 3, Aliens, Scarface and Invaders from Mars into the zombie genre is a fitting coda to his career.

Back in the mid-1990s, Mattei's pilfering was focused on just the one franchise with a film released as Jaws 5 anywhere they could get away with, and Cruel Jaws everywhere else. As if you couldn't already tell it is of course a spaghetti Jaws ripoff. One that pits Dag, a pint sized Hulk Hogan lookalike, against a rich, cigar sucking, businessman who wants to foreclose on Dag's aquatic theme park. To add to his woes, the Hulkster impersonator also has an adorable, crippled daughter he needs to take care of "I lost my wife, my will to live, but most of all Suzy's smile" and the local tourist trade is being threatened by a giant shark that has been chomping down on himbos and bimbos. Having balls for anything, Mattei also has a stab at William Shake-a-Spear here, re-staging Romeo and Juliet as the son of the Hulk Hogan lookalike falls for the daughter of the rich, cigar sucking businessman, much to the annoyance of her father and brother. All of which unfolds amidst shark attack footage lifted from Italian Jaws rip offs The Last Shark and Deep Blood plus the genuine article from Jaws 1 & 2, occasionally scored to bits of the Star Wars theme tune. Poor 'Jaws 3-D' and 'Jaws: The Revenge' suffer the indignity of not being good enough for even Bruno Mattei to steal from.

The funny thing is though that the people who regard Mattei as a joke figure and guffaw every time he steals titles, plots and lines of dialogue from others' movies are probably also the people who sycophantically worship Cretin Tarantino for doing exactly the same thing. Cruel Irony.

So everything about this movie is a rip off, plot, stock footage, even music from star wars! BUT it's hilariously awful in every way, from acting, editing, effects, etc. So on the one hand if you like garbage, this is definitely garbage, but if you want to watch something with even a hint of competency, then STAY FAR AWAY.