Jaws Unmade: The Lost Sequels, Prequels, Remakes, and Rip-Offs

by John LeMay, Justin Mullis (Contributor)

It was nearly 50 years ago now that Jaws swam into cinemas and shocked theater goers. In its wake it left numerous sequels and rip-offs like Orca , Jaws 2 , Piranha , The Last Shark , Jaws 3-D , Monster Shark, and The Revenge to name only a handful. But you knew about those already, didn't you? But what about the sequels and rip-offs that never surfaced to terrify audiences... movies like Bert I. Gordon's Devil Fish , Dino De Laurentiis's Orca Part II , and John Sayles' Sea Dragon of Loch Ness , ever hear about those? What about the spoof Jaws 3, People 0 , that eventually became Jaws 3-D ? Did you know Jaws 2 began shooting with a different cast, director, and a darker version of the script before it was retooled by studio executives? And lastly, were there ever any real plans for a Jaws 5 ? From the author of Kong The Lost Films of Skull Island take a deep dive into the murky history of the Jaws sequels, prequels, remakes, and rip-offs that never saw the light of day in Jaws Unmade !

340 pages, Paperback

Published June 5, 2020

Reviews

[Sophie Bowns · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved it!

Totally random, but fantastic for shark / shark film enthusiasts like myself. 😂

As a Cumbrian, I loved that ‘The Pike’ got a mention - an early 1980’s film that was meant to be filmed in Lake Windermere starring Joan Collins. How dare they scrap it!

[Nathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

At its weakest when the author is giving reviews of the films, but it’s essential text for any hardcore JAWS fan. Lots of good info in here.

[Keegan Cool · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well written engaging look through the history of Jaws & Jawsploitation films!

Like any book from John that I have reviewed to date, Jaws Unmade is a well written, thoroughly researched dive into the murky(?) waters that is the development of Jaws & Jawsploitation films. While it does cover a lot of facts and details, it never is boring or a slog to get through in part to John's voice shining through and providing a fun narration. I think in the wrong hands this could have fallen prey to feeling repetitive. Luckily, it doesn't as John seems to have a talent of delivering fun reads where others haven't (cough UFO encounters cough). It covers a plethora of films from Jaws to Orca to Grizzly, to lesser known ones like Jaws 3 People 0, Pike, even some mechanical foes inspired by Jaws. It also Dives into some more recent fishy tales (Meg) and discusses the long journey from paper to cinema. I think if your a fan of Jaws you need this on your shelf!

Overall - 8.8 / 10.0

I also really like the Hardcover design and layout, just something really nice about the blue design (perhaps mimicking water), with the Shark from Jaws 3.

[Cliff Poche · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ever wanted to know about the lost version of" Jaws 2" or those other jaws inspired films like Grizzly and its long lost sequel "Grizzly II?" or about other gems you may remember that have never scene a home video release such as "The Black Pearl"? Well this is book for you! everything you always wanted about those lost jaws films and ripoffs are all right here! This was a really fun read and even made want to pop in my copy of "The Last Shark" aka Great White and watch all over again! (I must admit that movie is favorite of mine.) The Author has a great sense of humor too, you'd have to be to write a book this! So if you are a jaws or shark movie fan you definately want this book your collection!

"Just When you thought you knew everything about Jaws,
This time its very, really, personal!"

[Michael P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book provides a fun overview of the various sequels, near sequels, and knock-offs that Hollywood has made of the Jaws franchise over the years. It is a good book for dipping in and out of, with concise overviews of various Jaws rip-offs, ranging from well-known ones like Piranha to obscurities like the aborted Orca vs. King Kong. The main complaint with this book is that it spends too much time going over the canonical Jaws sequels, which have already been dealt with thoroughly elsewhere.

[Robert Lawson · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent look at the many "Jaws" inspired films even discussing projects that were planned then abandoned for various reasons.
Gave this book an extra star for skipping the post-2000 terrible CGI shark movies!

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Both comprehensive and short and to the point, with plenty of great information condensed into an entertaining 328 pages.

[Nollaig Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great reference book for jaws

And other shark based films and jaws rip offs of which there are many

Along with other beastly films

Well researched and so on

[Bill Boswell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read about the production of Jaws and the numerous films it inspired

[Paul Bradley · Rating 2 out of 5]

A lot of solid research into the existence and backstory of the various Jaws-a-likes out there, but not a riveting read by any means.

[Paul Downey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating

This book is a comprehensive guide to the aquatic animal attack films post Jaws. A Must read for film historians