Top Ten 3D Horror Flicks!
Steve Barton
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3. Jaws 3D (1983)
Jaws 3D has taken a lot of shit over the years and while, admittedly, the special effects are sketchy at best, the movie can be quite fun. Louis Gossett Jr. steals the show as Sea World’s unscrupulous administrator Calvin Bouchard, whose greed and ineptitude lead to the destruction of the park’s underwater lagoon. Simon MacCorkindale is the hilariously ineffective shark hunter while 99% of his partner’s (P.H. Moriarity) dialogue is completely incomprehensible. Dennis Quaid might consider this sequel among the greatest embarrassments of his life, but he’s not a bad Mike Brody here. He and Bess Armstrong share some decent chemistry and his all-too-brief relationship with Sean (John Putch) provides some strong moments in the first third. And who can forget the mother shark’s climactic, slow-motion death charge? This second sequel to Steven Spielberg’s immortal classic may not be good, but if you can’t have fun with the way in which Gossett delivers the line ”we talkin’ ‘bout some damn shark’s mutha!?” then you’re beyond saving.
Having already landed one film on this list, director Jack Arnold and star Richard Carlson reteamed for another Universal genre film – one which would go onto to become one of our all time classics. From the absolutely gorgeous underwater cinematography (like when our resident Gill-Man spies the lovely Julie Adams (in that bathing suit!) to the technically impressive creature FX (sure they’re dated, but remain undeniably effective), this gets my vote for the greatest monster movie ever made. It works because The Gill-Man is both an imposing presence for our unsuccessful Amazon travelers, but not without sympathy. I haven’t yet been able to see this creature feature in 3D, but it’s how premiere audiences were introduced to this creature. Perhaps the trendy resurgence will motivate Universal to give us the original version in 3D so we, too, can suffer the Gill-Man’s wrath while in the confines of our living room!
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