Follow TV Tropes

This is based on opinion. Please don't list it on a work's trope example list.

Following

Tear Jerker / Jaws

Go To

  • The offscreen death of Pippet the dog. Extra hard if you're an animal lover and/or dog owner.
  • Mrs. Kintner's confrontation with Brody over keeping the beaches open after Chrissie's death, resulting in her son being killed.
    • On that note, Alex Kintner's death. If the image of the poor child screaming in a torrent of his own blood doesn't do it, the sight of his bloodied, shredded raft pitifully washing to shore will.
    • Brody's reaction to Mrs. Kintner's words. It's clear he's utterly wracked with guilt for not closing the beaches after the first attack:
      Chief Brody: No, she's not.
      • Lee Fierro's death on April 5, 2020, due to complications from COVID-19, makes that scene even harder to watch.
    • The fact that Mrs. Kintner also could have prevented the tragedy. She wanted Alex to come out of the water due to him already having been in there for a long time, but he was able to convince her to let him go out for ten more minutes. She probably replayed that conversation every day for the rest of her life.
  • Chrissie's anguished screams of "God, help me!" and "I don't wanna die!" can get pretty wrenching.
    • After her remains are found, Tom, the guy she nearly went skinny-dipping with, is seen sitting at the police station with a Thousand-Yard Stare, clearly traumatised and wracked with guilt.
  • The death of Captain Quint. Godspeed, you salty old sailor.
    • The utter TERROR Quint has in that moment. Throughout the movie he is funny, arrogant, cocky, angry... but this is the moment when all of that goes away and we see him in full fright. The Shark is his greatest nightmare and all he can do is scream, hyperventalate and flail uselessly as he slowly slides towards its waiting jaws.
    • Brody tries and fails to hold onto Quint after he loses his grip. He's forced to watch as another person he couldn't save is eaten by the shark.
    • The visceral crunching sound as the shark finally bites down on his legs. Quint's scream of terror and pain as his worst nightmare occurs is the stuff of literal nightmares for many of the film's watchers to this day, especially as it bites him deeper into its mouth, with him puking blood and stabbing at it with his machete even when he's chest deep in its jaws.
  • Quint and Brody's mutual reaction when they see the mangled cage and assume Hooper is dead. For all their clashes it's clear that they'd come to respect him very much.
  • The moment where Hooper surfaces and asks "[Where's] Quint?" to Brody who just slowly shakes his head and says "No", followed by the sad look on both of their faces. It's similar to the look of two war veterans mourning a fellow soldier who died in action.
  • Sean bawling his eyes out in fright when Michael's in danger at the beach. Shows how much he loves his older brother (and could also be viewed as eerie Foreshadowing of the events of Jaws: The Revenge).
  • After the Sheriff and Mrs. Brody say their goodbyes and he gets on the Orca, she staggers back inland, understandably worried she's never going to see him again.
  • While at first Mayor Vaughn appears to be trying to find some way to keep the beaches open after the third attack, his last line reveals what is going through his mind.
    Mayor Vaughn: (tears in his eyes) Martin...Martin...my kids were on that beach, too.
    • In the book, the Mayor was in debt to the mob and was trying to save his own skin. Here, he's trying to keep Amity's economy afloat, since the town depends heavily on summer revenue. After the 4th of July incident, though, any hope of recovering that year is lost.

Top