Jaws

Jaws gives me a wonderfully unpleasant question to sit with: how safe does the sea feel when something in it has already attacked people? A great white shark is killing beachgoers near a resort town, and police chief Martin Brody sets out to find it with a marine biologist and a shark hunter. That is all the set-up you need. I would rather leave the rest in the water.

The fear is immediate and easy to understand. You can look at the surface all you like; it tells you very little about what is underneath. That makes this a strong choice if you like your horror grounded in a danger you can picture, with people trying to do something about it. I would put it at a four for scares. The idea of getting into the sea afterwards is quite enough to make a perfectly ordinary beach trip feel like poor planning.

It is a good film for a dark evening when you want tension you can share with someone else, provided they will let you watch in peace. If your ideal cosy night involves staying firmly on the sofa while other people make questionable decisions near open water, I understand completely. I will be keeping my feet dry.