Brave Austin-area moviegoers will get to immerse themselves in one of the most iconic thrillers of all time when Alamo Drafthouse celebrates the 50th Anniversary of Jaws this summer. The theater chain is bringing back its Jaws On The Water series, which sets the audience up in floaties for outdoor screenings in Lake Travis.
There will be four screenings at Volente Beach Resort and Waterpark, about an hour outside of Austin. They'll be held June 7 and 21, and July 12 and July 26 — all Saturdays. Tickets (starting at $41.95 if you bring your own inner tube) are going fast.
The movie will be projected on the Rolling Roadshow movie screen, which allows Alamo to take films on the go.
It may not actually sound scary to watch Jaws in a harmless lake. Well, that's as long as being in 60-foot-deep water at night doesn't freak you out. But Alamo is adding another playful level of danger: scuba divers will be stalking viewers from below, ready to give toes a startling shark nibble when it's least expected. (How do we sign up for this job?)
A web page announcing the screenings also promises "an epic finale that coincides with a particularly explosive moment in the film."
Although Jaws is the more famous choice, it's not the only movie floaters can see at Lake Travis. Dangerous Animals, a shark-focused Australian horror film that just premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on May 17, will also be shown on the water, complete with devious divers and fireworks. The new film will be shown once on Saturday, May 31.
However reckless you'd be in a shark movie, be sure to check details on age restrictions, life vests, and other preparation attendees should know about. More information is available on each screening's respective Eventbrite page; they can all be found here.
The festivities continue beyond Lake Travis, with several more scary movies about animal attacks in regular Alamo Drafthouse theaters. Other titles in the Great Bites film series include Piranha (1978), The Shallows (2016), Alligator (1980), Deep Blue Sea (1999), and Grizzly (1976). The series lasts from July 1-30 and is sponsored by the Texas Lottery. Starting June 2, the lottery will also sell Jaws-themed scratch tickets with prizes of up to $100,000.