Before we reveal the big two here is a brief recap of the others that made the list: #10 The Last Winter- drilling for oil in the vanishing polar ice releases a dangerous revenge; #9 Squirm- high voltage electricity makes some nasty bloodworms very hungry; #8 Long Weekend- unhappy couple made uhappier after mistreating their environment; #7 Mimic- genetically engineered bugs get much larger in subway tunnels; #6 Monkey Shines- supersmart monkey taps into her master's rage; #5 Day of the Animals- depleting ozone layer makes the wildlife go berserk; #4 Cujo- rabid St. Bernard terrorizes a woman and her child; #3 Them!- nuclear radiation makes the ants grow to enormous proportions.
So, this is it. These are them. We've got terror from the air and sea, two films that made the most lasting impression on the American psyche from two of the top directors of all time. These classics have withstood the test of time, scrutiny and the many films since that have tried to best them:
#2 The Birds (1963)
Alfred Hitchcock's second most popular movie is a masterpiece of tension and fostered a whole generation of ornithophobes. The plot is very simple. Pretty Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren) meets a hunky potential beau in a pet store, and like all sort of weird stalkers follows him to his hometown, a small Northern California coastal community. But something isn't quite right with the local avian population, at first the incidents are minor (an angry seagull divebombing Melanie in a rowboat, for example), but they soon escalate until the whole town is blitzed by thousands of birds of all species that cause widespread death and destruction.
The most interesting thing about The Birds is the complete lack of an explanation as to why the birds have suddenly turned vicious. No reason is given, and no reason is needed because any attempt to do so would diminish the film's power. Although the screenplay's labored machinations to get Melanie into the doomed town are a bit of a stretch, the bare bones story is just right to tell this kind of tale.
The all around technical credits are perfect. Everything from the widescreen photography (check out the brilliant shots of birds congregating around a playground behind our oblivious heroine), the sound design (Hitchcock wisely used no score during the film's more violent scenes, just focusing on the sounds of the birds and their victims), and the special effects in which live and phony birds are seamlessly blended together is phenomenal.
The Birds was the top 'nature attacks' horror film for over a decade, that is until the summer of 1975...
#1 Jaws (1975)
The obvious choice. From the opening notes of John Williams's famous score to the climactic showdown of man vs. shark, this monster hit grabs the viewer and never lets go. This is the film that made Steven Spielberg a household name and emptied beaches nationwide. Jaws has never been topped (or equaled) despite a slew of imitators and a trio of very inferior sequels, and to think the film's success was borne out of necessity.
The main reason the film was so darn scary is the fact that we don't even see the shark until very late into it. But it was all because the mechanical shark was always malfunctioning and there just wasn't any choice. Funny how things work out.
But none of that would've mattered if the script (adapted from the rather underwhelming Peter Benchley novel) and the performances of the three main characters weren't so effortlessly good. Roy Scheider as the skittish police chief, Richard Dreyfuss as a shark expert and the mighty Robert Shaw as hard as nails fisherman and shark hunter, are all note perfect in their roles and solidify a story which could've devolved into parody.
Jaws is classic touchstone in film history, and it deserves it. Despite claims to the contrary, there hasn't been (and probably will never be) a better film of its kind. The bar was set very high and no one has been able to see that bar let alone jump over it.
That's the best 10 'when nature attacks' films of all time with worms, bears, dogs and sharks, so next time we'll look at the other side. Coming soon, the worst 10 'when nature attacks' films of all time with crocodiles, bees, bats and...well...more sharks.
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