Cruel Jaws Cruel Jaws Cruel Jaws, also known as The Beast, is a 1995 direct-to-video Italian thriller film shot in Florida including the Theater of the Sea. The film stars Richard Dew and David Luther and was directed by Bruno Mattei (under the name of William Snyder). It was released on VHS and DVD in relative obscurity, mostly outside of the United States. While marketed in many areas as Jaws 5: Cruel Jaws, it is actually not part of the "Jaws" franchise. The coastal town of Hampton Bay is threatened when a 25-foot great white shark starts chomping up their vacationers. Days
Jaws (film) directed his first theatrical film, "The Sugarland Express", for Zanuck and Brown. At the end of a meeting in their office, Spielberg noticed their copy of the still-unpublished Benchley novel, and after reading it was immediately captivated. He later observed that it was similar to his 1971 television film "Duel" in that both deal with "these leviathans targeting everymen". After Richards's departure, the producers signed Spielberg to direct in June 1973, before the release of "The Sugarland Express". Before production began, however, Spielberg grew reluctant to continue with "Jaws", in fear of becoming typecast as the "truck and shark director".