#2: Jaws
Steven Spielberg’s Jaws made going to the beach feel like signing up for a shark buffet. A gigantic great white terrorizes a sleepy coastal town, pushing a police chief, marine biologist, and grizzled fisherman into a desperate boat hunt that redefined summer blockbusters.
The simple two-note theme became synonymous with impending doom, proving you don’t need fancy effects—just clever suspense and the ocean’s vast, scary unknown—to keep audiences gripping their seats.
