Movies & TV · 2
The suspense created by Jaws' malfunctioning shark prop in 1975 went on to shape which broader trend in filmmaking for decades afterward?
Answer
Building tension by concealing an on-screen threat
Because Spielberg had to hide the faulty shark, the film demonstrated that withholding a visual reveal could heighten dread, a technique later horror and thriller directors deliberately adopted.
💡 Did you know?
Jaws' mechanical shark was so unreliable that Spielberg showed it less, accidentally creating suspense—and influencing decades of horror filmmaking.
Other options people guess
- Increasing reliance on graphic gore to shock audiences
- Shifting horror films toward continuous jump scares
- Favoring fully visible computer-generated monsters
Topics
- practical-effects
- jaws
- suspense
- horror
- filmmaking-technique
Know your movies & tv trivia?
Play a free Movies & TV quiz and see how many you get right — no signup needed to start.
More Movies & TV facts
Movies & TV
During the filming of 'The Shining' (1980), whose real on-set exhaustion did Stanley Kubrick want captured for the typewriter scene?
Stanley Kubrick made The Shining's typewriter scene 148 times because he believed the actor's visible frustration—real after many takes—would sell the madness better.
Movies & TV
Which two studios spent over a decade disagreeing over which horror icon should win in 'Freddy vs. Jason', delaying the film's release?
The Freddy vs. Jason script spent over a decade in development hell because New Line Cinema and Paramount couldn't agree on which killer should win.
Movies & TV
Who directed the 1973 horror masterpiece 'The Exorcist'?
The Exorcist was one of the first horror films to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.
Movies & TV
In 'The Godfather' (1972), where were Marlon Brando's cue cards hidden to accommodate his refusal to memorize lines?
Marlon Brando refused to memorize lines for The Godfather, so cue cards were taped inside actors' clothing and hidden around set.
Movies & TV
Which director got his start as a child actor playing Opie Taylor on 'The Andy Griffith Show' before later directing 'Apollo 13' (1995)?
Ron Howard directed Apollo 13 after playing Opie on The Andy Griffith Show, becoming one of cinema's most reliable blockbuster directors.
Movies & TV
What was the title of the 1996 film that teamed Michael Jordan with the Looney Tunes cast to boost the movie's mainstream appeal?
Looney Tunes characters appeared in Space Jam partly because Michael Jordan's people insisted on recognizable IP to legitimize the basketball film.