I just don't know if I can subject myself to this movie again.

What a pity she hangs out with that nerd fish doctor, Billy.
Billy, what do we know about sharks? Well, we know that they're sort of a locomotive, with a mouth full of butcher's knives.
For once and for all Billy, it's me or the fish. What do I need to do to get your attention, grow gills?

This seems so bad it's going to be good!

Dude bros versus sharks who are sometimes dolphins set to stolen footage is a slog but sometimes amusing in it's shamelessness. Bruno Matteo [RIP] films rarely fail to disappoint like Cruel Jaws does (Shocking Dark / Terminator II might be my favorite of his) - the guy was still making wild horror crowd catering stuff even in his 70s. Cruel Jaws, legendary for straight stealing footage and music from Jaws and other films (like the Star Wars theme over a boat sendoff here), is pretty bad by conventional standards… well, any standards. It’s not just that they rip off other films but there is a lot of padding with romance subplots and dance parties. The acting isn’t great but I feel like some of the people involved didn’t realize the shamelessness of things; but budget bleached eyebrow Hulk Hogan has no excuse. A lot of the dialogue is so bad it’s almost quotable. “I’m desperately lonely, I’m free, I’m confused, generous, and above all full of love it’s written in my eyes; why don’t we go someplace else?” Universal sued to prevent the disc release but it seems like they backed off to a point Severin was able to sell it; the legal backstory to this stuff might be more entertaining than the film itself. I can understand ripping off Jaws but doing so 22 years later is an ambitious feat is tone deaf conning; I can’t imagine 1995 was the golden time to strike with a well placed shark film. Under the surface is a beach party movie (with a jiving regatta or dance scene) more willing to be upbeat than we usually see in killer movies, and even with a mobster subplot. Sometimes the marina vibe or aquarium setup feels festive but the scenes are staged so matter of fact largely absence in tension (which makes the sampled footage from other movies a bit more obvious). There are a few moments, like the end, that seem anticlimactic happening off screen (perhaps because there wasn’t stock footage from another film that matched).

I happen to like ocean/water movies and this is a water movie with sharks. So, despite the poor acting and poor story I happened to like this movie. This proves that with me there is no accounting for taste. I understand that this movie has stolen footage from other movies and the quality of the footage obviously varies. The footage of the sharks definitely is not that great and some really poor shark movies is better. But I still liked this movie and thank indiephantom for suggesting it. I know that I would never have watched it otherwise and I'm glad to have seen it.

Don't forget the dialogue.There is plenty of direct lines and LOTS of paraphrasing!

Between this, Last Shark and Mako Jaws Of Death, this is probably my favorite. Mostly because of the “Hulk Hogan” guy.

I was going to say this must have been in the prime time Hulkamania period…

Louis was on the Ship of Fools. They should have stuck with Dr. Fishboy.

That has got to ge the most anticlimactic endings ever. Good movie choice indiephantom.

Good Ole Bruno Mattei is back and he is ripping off the original jaws. I guess the italians figured, hey, its 1995, who will remember specific plot and dialogue for the original? Or, most probably , they didnt care. Either way the film is a hoot. Scenes are reinacted with amatuer actors and the dialogue is hilarious. We even get a Hulk Hogan look alike. A tour-de-force of plagiarism, complete with a final credits score that rips off sound bites from Star Wars.
7/10

Not enough here for me to make it a so bad it’s good film. I’m really interested in seeing the documentary about this film though.

It takes some sort of talent to find actors this bad and to write a script this tone-deaf. Are we sure that Tommy Wiseau didn't have something to do with Cruel Jaws?

That is exactly how I felt after rewatching this again with a more "critical" eye. And if I recall, the documentary was more interesting but not as good as I had hoped. I sold my copy with the infamous Jaws 5 slipcover right after watching this the first time a while back. Actually, I got more than I paid for it so if you can profit off an awful movie like this, then BONUS! I probably made more than the screenwriter!Due to my OCD and trying to finish the complete subset every Challenge, I suffered through a rewatch of this again.

Cruel Jaws is barely missing that "so bad, it's good" quality that a lot of films like this have that make them worth rewatching frequently or even endearing.

It is likely due to the fact that the script feels like a deadline fueled class project written by a 4th grader who procrastinated.

And the acting. How does a director not recognize that NONE of your actors can actually act? Sure, you have Great Value Hulk Hogan and GV Billy Zane but looks won't get you there.

Add in bizarre scene cutting along with non-matching stock footage and you have... well... this.

For film masochists only.