He gave his crew a number of films to watch before they shot this one and Jaws and Close Encounters of the Third Kind were on that list. I likened the entire movie to Jaws in its feel because its all domestic stuff in the foront folowed by the thrilling chase adventure second half. We even got a character with a traumatic backstory telling it to another character explaining why he is the way he is.

It doesnt map entirely onto Jaws but it has a lot in common with it.