Variety Distribution released The Last Shark in the United States on 2 April 1981.
This film is a variation (or parody) of Jaws. But that was not acceptable to Universal Pictures. So when the film came to the US, Universal sued the producers. and eventually got it banned. And it is ridiculous! There are many similarities. But the producers do not plagiarize Jaws. In fact, the plot itself is quite different. Everything else is an allusion.
The Last Shark is a response to Jaws. Almost everything in the film comments on it. Some are just tropes that don’t matter. For example, the mayor who cares more about his career than the people he represents. But in Jaws, his bad decision humiliates him. Here, the shark eats him!
Or the shark that eats through the netting. A buoy gets attached to the shark. So it is just like the barrels in Jaws. But only one scene uses it.
But what is this all about? Universal released Jaws in 1975. By 1981, it had made its money. But as I have long said: if a corporation could make a penny by shipping a million jobs overseas, they would do it. The question is whether we as a society should accept that. Currently, we do.
The Last Shark is a perfectly respectable monster movie. But as meta-cinema — as a film to watch in the context of Jaws — it is wonderful. The two films would make a great double feature. But the Rentier Class (which totally controls our courts) doesn’t want to allow this. Rather than let art run wild, they think it is more important for rich people to make every cent they can from their investments.
I will admit one problem with this film: Lucio Fulci should have directed it. It would have included the gore this film is sadly lacking. This is why, websites like OK.RU are so important. Watch!
The Last Shark (1981) poster via Wikipedia under Fair Use.
