Jaws
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Back in cinemas Oct 2 — 1 cinema in California · 1 screenings at 1 cinema on our showtimes page
Where to watch: Not on major US streamers — check digital rental.
How it scared people
The vibe
Bruce the mechanical shark barely worked, so Spielberg shot around it — a yellow barrel, a sinking dock, two alternating notes down in the bass — and invented the suspense vocabulary everything since has borrowed from. Ben Gardner's boat still gets people fifty years on, and Robert Shaw's Indianapolis monologue is the best thing in the film.
Jaws (1975) Parents Guide
| MPA rating | Rated PG |
|---|---|
| Runtime | 124 minutes |
| Jump scares | 4/5 — genuinely scary, with sustained tension and hard-hitting scares |
| Gore | 3/5 — a moderate amount of blood and violence |
| Dread | 4/5 — heavy atmosphere — expect it to sit with you afterwards |
| Themes | monster attacks; characters cut off from help |
Jaws is rated PG by the MPA. We score it 4/5 for jump scares, 3/5 for gore and 4/5 for lingering dread, over 124 minutes. Older teens and adults — less for what it shows than for how long it stays with you.
We rate what the film does — scares, gore, dread — not scene-level content like language or nudity, which we don't track.
Before you press play
- How scary is Jaws?
- On our intensity scale, Jaws rates 8/10 for jump scares and 8/10 for dread. It is genuinely scary, with sustained tension and hard-hitting scares.
- How gory is Jaws?
- Jaws rates 6/10 for gore — expect a moderate amount of blood and violence.
- How long is Jaws?
- Jaws runs 124 minutes (2h 4m).
- What is Jaws rated?
- Jaws is rated PG by the MPA. On our own scale it rates 8/10 for jump scares, 6/10 for gore and 8/10 for dread — the PG tells you what it was certified, those tell you what it will do to you.
- Where to watch Jaws (1975)?
- Jaws is back in cinemas from Oct 2 — 1 screening at 1 cinema on our showtimes page. It is not on a major US subscription streamer yet.
