There are bad movies, and then there are movies like Jaws: The Revenge. A film so unequivocally unwatchable that no one dare defend it, and yet beyond reason, a feature flick like this transcends its cult status to become something truly special. Even more confusing, then, is the fact that actors like Michael Cane, Lorraine Gary, or Lance Guest attached themselves to the project in the first place — yet to my surprise, Guest doesn’t seem to mind all the hate.
During an interview with author Mark Edlitz amidst the pages of his new book Movies Go Forth, Lance Guest opened up about his time in Jaws: The Revenge and why being a part of something off the beaten path isn’t always a bad thing.
“At the time it was my worst fear to be in something that was going to fall apart like this. But every actor has that fear. But it didn’t affect me as much as I thought it would. Filmmakers who grew up with The Last Starfighter appreciate it. I would rather be in a cult movie than be a big deal. I would rather be in a movie where people had to find it. It makes it feel special when people discover it.”
It’s true that one of the coolest aspect of any cult following is that the material must be found. Instead of seeing whatever niche thing you like on billboards, YouTube, or TikTok — it demands to be discovered elsewhere, and there’s something about that process that feels much more personal.
Now it’s worth mentioning that Jaws: The Revenge had some pretty big shoes to fill back in 1987. As the fourth film in the Jaws franchise, this iteration of everyone’s favorite man-eating shark was about as far away from its source material as possible.
Spielberg’s chilling blockbuster had quickly morphed into an overblown, unbelievable tale of a shark seeking revenge during a time when all anyone had to do was stay out of the water. Seriously, that’s it. You want to know how to stay alive until the end credits during a Jaws movie? Just don’t go for a swim, and boom, you made it.
Regardless of the semantics though, it’s cool to see someone like Lance Guest take a box-office bomb like Jaws: The Revenge in stride. Granted it came out 36 ago years ago, so he’s had plenty of time to get over it, but still —not every movie in Hollywood is Oscar-worthy, and not every Oscar winner is worth it.