Connect with us

News

Shaw and the Indianapolis: Horror’s Greatest Scene

Published

on

Sift through a buffet of classic horror scenes in search of those which elicit the precise viewer reaction and emotion as they had when they first hit theatres, and you’re sure to learn that discovering one would be rare. In fact, it’s likely that rare is insufficient as a descriptor. Nearly nonexistent would probably put a finer point on it.

Nosferatu (Max Schreck) appearing in the bedroom doorway and Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) creeping up on a showering Marion Crane (Janet Leigh), as well as our first glimpse at Leatherface (Gunnar Hansen) all have a negative impact on our collective blood pressure. While they leave our abdomens fluttering with eager anticipation, they simply cannot replicate the feelings that we experienced upon first laying eyes upon them.

No, that distinction belongs to just one film. And one scene.

Robert Shaw’s Indianapolis monologue from Steven Spielberg’s Jaws (1975).

It goes without saying that one could’ve heard a pin drop in theatres across the nation after Mr. Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) ceased laughing at his own joke about a “Mother” tattoo, and Quint described the perils that he and his shipmates endured in June, 1945.

Transitioning from a lighthearted exhibition of scars to the gravity of incomprehensible horror, Shaw’s delivery of Peter Benchley and Carl Gottlieb’s words was measured and mesmerizing over the course of three-and-a-half minutes that stop viewers dead in their tracks.

Whether watching alone during a quiet evening at home, with a group of friends or just as you’re working around the house, when the Indianapolis scene surfaces, viewers stop.

They stop surfing their phones, they stop cleaning or working on finances, and groups of loved ones stop talking. It’s silent. For a little over 200 seconds, you are hypnotized. There is nothing else.

Image credit: cdn.quotesgram.com

Quint noted that “The thing about a shark, he’s got lifeless eyes,” but housed within Shaw’s eyes was the haunting beauty of perfection.

With pacing that offered just enough detail to send a shiver down the spine, it was more than a performance, because there was an authenticity to Shaw’s moment, almost as though he were telling the story as it came to him, an incredible feat of believable delivery. It truly felt as though Shaw were recounting an event that he’d lived through. Though only in glimpses, the pain and fear were palpable, which was in keeping with an old school, hardened seaman like Quint. They’re there, however, whenever Quint’s orbs and mind drifted to flashes of what he’d witnessed and heard floating in the ocean. The entire scene captured the very essence of Bertolt Brecht’s “you can’t make a man unsee what he has seen.”

In a magical moment that has stood the test of time, and been repeated on innumerable occasions since, the intense dread displayed by Hooper and Chief Brody (Roy Scheider) were the very feelings experienced by all those who were watching in 1975, and since.

“I’ll never put on a life jacket again” is agonizing and delicious and real.

Quint’s tale of delivering the Hiroshima bomb, when 11-hundred men went into the water and only 316 came out evokes the same, frozen reaction today as it had 42 years ago. And that will never change. Whether you’re seeing it for the first or hundredth time.

Jaws is a classic in every conceivable way, but Robert Shaw’s Indianapolis sermon is more than that, even stretching beyond indelible. It is the single greatest scene and performance not just of horror, but that any genre has ever known.

Feature image credit: youtube.com

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

Movies

Another Creepy Spider Movie Hits Shudder This Month

Published

on

Good spider films are a theme this year. First, we had Sting and then there was Infested. The former is still in theaters and the latter is coming to Shudder starting April 26.

Infested has been getting some good reviews. People are saying that it’s not only a great creature feature but also a social commentary on racism in France.

According to IMDb: Writer/director Sébastien Vanicek was looking for ideas around the discrimination faced by black and Arab-looking people in France, and that led him to spiders, which are rarely welcome in homes; whenever they’re spotted, they’re swatted. As everyone in the story (people and spiders) is treated like vermin by society, the title came to him naturally.

Shudder has become the gold standard for streaming horror content. Since 2016, the service has been offering fans an expansive library of genre movies. in 2017, they began to stream exclusive content.

Since then Shudder has become a powerhouse in the film festival circuit, buying distribution rights to movies, or just producing some of their own. Just like Netflix, they give a film a short theatrical run before adding it to their library exclusively for subscribers.

Late Night With the Devil is a great example. It was released theatrically on March 22 and will begin streaming on the platform starting April 19.

While not getting the same buzz as Late Night, Infested is a festival favorite and many have said if you suffer from arachnophobia, you might want to take heed before watching it.

Infested

According to the synopsis, our main character, Kalib is turning 30 and dealing with some family issues. “He’s fighting with his sister over an inheritance and has cut ties with his best friend. Fascinated by exotic animals, he finds a venomous spider in a shop and brings it back to his apartment. It only takes a moment for the spider to escape and reproduce, turning the whole building into a dreadful web trap. The only option for Kaleb and his friends is to find a way out and survive.”

The film will be available to watch on Shudder starting April 26.

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Continue Reading

Movies

Part Concert, Part Horror Movie M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Trap’ Trailer Released

Published

on

In true Shyamalan form, he sets his film Trap inside a social situation where we aren’t sure what is going on. Hopefully, there is a twist at the end. Furthermore, we hope it’s better than the one in his divisive 2021 movie Old.

The trailer seemingly gives away a lot, but, as in the past, you can’t rely on his trailers because they are often red herrings and you are being gaslit to think a certain way. For instance, his movie Knock at the Cabin was completely different than what the trailer implied and if you hadn’t read the book on which the film is based it was still like going in blind.

The plot for Trap is being dubbed an “experience” and we aren’t quite sure what that means. If we were to guess based on the trailer, it’s a concert movie wrapped around a horror mystery. There are original songs performed by Saleka, who plays Lady Raven, a kind of Taylor Swift/Lady Gaga hybrid. They have even set up a Lady Raven website to further the illusion.

Here is the fresh trailer:

According to the synopsis, a father takes his daughter to one of Lady Raven’s jam-packed concerts, “where they realize they’re at the center of a dark and sinister event.”

Written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, Trap stars Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, Saleka Shyamalan, Hayley Mills and Allison Pill. The film is produced by Ashwin Rajan, Marc Bienstock and M. Night Shyamalan. The executive producer is Steven Schneider.

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Continue Reading

News

Woman Brings Corpse Into Bank To Sign Loan Papers

Published

on

Warning: This is a disturbing story.

You have to be pretty desperate for money to do what this Brazilian woman did at the bank to get a loan. She wheeled in a fresh corpse to endorse the contract and she seemingly thought the bank employees wouldn’t notice. They did.

This weird and disturbing story comes via ScreenGeek an entertainment digital publication. They write that a woman identified as Erika de Souza Vieira Nunes pushed a man she identified as her uncle into the bank pleading with him to sign loan papers for $3,400. 

If you’re squeamish or easily triggered, be aware that the video captured of the situation is disturbing. 

Latin America’s largest commercial network, TV Globo, reported on the crime, and according to ScreenGeek this is what Nunes says in Portuguese during the attempted transaction. 

“Uncle, are you paying attention? You must sign [the loan contract]. If you don’t sign, there’s no way, as I cannot sign on your behalf!”

She then adds: “Sign so you can spare me further headaches; I can’t bear it any longer.” 

At first we thought this might be a hoax, but according to Brazilian police, the uncle, 68-year-old Paulo Roberto Braga had passed away earlier that day.

 “She attempted to feign his signature for the loan. He entered the bank already deceased,” Police Chief Fábio Luiz said in an interview with TV Globo. “Our priority is to continue investigating to identify other family members and gather more information regarding this loan.”

If convicted Nunes could be facing jail time on charges of fraud, embezzlement, and desecration of a corpse.

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Continue Reading