Oddball loner shark conservationist Sonny Stein (well played with tremendous gusto by Richard Jaeckel) has a special psychic link with and a strong abiding affinity for sharks. Stein declares war on no-count shark poachers and anyone else who's cruel to animals.Director William Grefe, working from a compelling script by Robert Morgan, relates the enjoyable story at a steady pace, maintains a likable sincere tone throughout, and stages the shark attack set pieces with flair. While Jaeckel dominates the proceedings with his delightfully vibrant and unbridled go-for-it enthusiasm, he nonetheless receives sturdy support from Jennifer Bishop as bitchy exotic dancer Karen (Bishop fills out a sparkly silver bikini quite nicely, too), John Davis Chandler as the slimy Charlie, Harold Sakata as Charlie's equally scuzzy pal Pete, Buffy Dee as fat slob bar owner Barney, and Ben Kronen as smarmy marine biologist Whitney. The shark sequences possess a genuinely harrowing sense of real danger. Julio C. Chavez's bright cinematography provides an attractive sunny look. The funky syncopated score by William Loose and Paul Ruthland hits the get-down groovy spot. A fun flick.

Sonny loves sharks.He feeds them and swims with them.But when a group of fisherman set out to exploit and kill the sharks Sonny and his carnivorous friends take bloody revenge."Mako:Jaws of Death" by William Grefe is an average animal attack film with unspectacular death scenes.The performances are weak and there is no suspense.The cinematography is murky and there is very little blood.However some underwater shots look impressive.I have seen "Whiskey Mountain" by William Grefe and I must say that I enjoyed that movie more than "Mako:The Jaws of Death".Still if you are into low-budget 70's horror "Mako" is definitely one to check out.6 sharks out of 10.

Mako: The Jaws of Death (1976) * (out of 4)William Grefe's film about a lonely man who befriends the sharks and soon trains them to kill. Universal sued the filmmakers of this claiming it was a Jaws rip-off, which it somewhat is but the film owes more to the director's Stanley, which was nothing more than a Willard rip. Either way, this is a pretty bad movie that doesn't have too much going for it except for some of the underwater scenes with the sharks. None of these rips will ever be as good as Jaws but there aren't too many as bad as this one here.

I just purchased a DVD copy of this film, having subsisted on an ancient VHS tape for a few years. Alas, the DVD appears to have been mastered from either very poor stock, or from a VHS tape. The opening sequence is almost unwatchable. Even the credits appear blurry. The picture is dark and seems out of focus. I don't remember it being this way when I saw it in the theaters. Then again, I was six, so what did I know? I still like the psychic/psychotic connection Jaeckel has with the sharks, although I could definitely lose the hokey "shark medallion" sequence, which accomplished nothing. I've ordered a new DVD edition put out by a different company. Both versions sell very cheaply on Ebay. We'll see how it goes.