Not only is Jaws the best Film on this list but it's also quite possibly the best Film in the history of Cinema :banana:
Even though I absolutely HATE Jaws, I'm not insane- I know it's a good movie. But I'm still voting for Joe Dante's Piranha. I consider it an absolute masterpiece and, in tone, it's much darker, creepier, and more mysterious than Spielberg's quite boring movie. I mean... let's compare: you have kids in both movies but which movie's portrayal of kids is really better? Which kid(s) has/have their own character arc? The little girl in Piranha (Suzie?). She has a fear that motivates her to both stay out of the water while looking at it distrustfully and get other characters to talk (at some length) about the alleged safety of the water which has bearing on the later scene when all the other kids are placed in (unwitting) danger. She has to face that fear to save other people's lives - which she does, and she is kept in the story at the end to show another meaningful reaction as everyone looks over the horror of what they've been a part of. (Nice way of saying they were put in harm's way by the Evil Military/Military...Intelligence? Can I call Barbara Steele's character and the Colonel that?) She is just a kid but she is such an important element in why the movie works. She gives it heart, guts, and soul. And the other characters in general I find more likable and interesting. I look for little things, sometimes, or I just appreciate the way lower budgeted movies do character business in such an unpretentious way. You don't even have to be told that Jaws will engage in these endless, overlong piles of scenes that stretch out character thisthatandtheother just to give the actors something to have fun with. The movie withholds character ttato (shorter way of saying thisthatandtheother - sorry, I should have said "stuff") you could be given in one scene which sorta just pads the running time (and, of course, changes the movie into Charater Study or whatever, rather than Plot Study, or whatever- I think you know what I mean). When Heather Menzies shows up, you know you're going to have fun with her. And the movie isn't going to make you wait for it. She's quirky, direct, and she MOVES the story along. The movie doesn't resort to a lot of tech stuff or pacing to give the movie a thrust, the characters do it. In Jaws... you're meant to stop waiting for the plot to go, you're meant to pull up a chair and watch the characters. For a long time. Like you've been invited to view a private discussion between "interesting" people. How rewarding... if you're not there to watch a horror movie. Just one area, really, where I find Dante's movie superior to Spielberg's.
From that list, I chose CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON, although I hovered over HUMANOIDS FROM THE DEEP for a long time. Gotta say I love REVENGE OF THE CREATURE and CREATURE WALKS AMONG US as much as the original.
While the incredibly super obvious choice here is Jaws, I'll give my vote to the underrated Deep Rising. Everyone will vote for Jaws anyway.
I went with Deep Rising - I love that movie, and particularly the ending. I wish they'd make a sequel. The Host and Jaws are close seconds though.
I voted for The Host. You can read why here: http://www.digitalmonsterisland.com/host_ce.html Of course, Creature From the Black Lagoon and Jaws are awesome classics. I also have a lot of love for Alligator and the original Pirahna. I enjoyed Deep Rising, and Mega Pirahna is downright hilarious. I saw both Leviathan and Deepstar Six many years ago. I didn't much care for them at the time, but I would like to see them again. Open Water is overrated crap.
> Leviathan's always had a special appeal for me. Though Deep Blue Sea, Deep Rising and Lake Placid are favorites as well.
Sphere. The giant squid attack in that film is terrifying, even more so because it's unseen. The Host is the most overrated.
I had to go with Jaws. It was impossible not to mainly because it's one of the films that helped nurture my love for the genre, but Creature from the Black Lagoon and Humanoids from the Deep would have to be tied for a very close second.
