Jaws of Darkness

''So you disliked Temple Ruins? You'll hate Jaws of Darkness! There are more death traps and vicious snakes - to avoid them, move carefully. Don't forget to find Cortex's bonus stage with a KEY for reward!'' -Level description

thumb|500px|right Jaws Of Darkness is the twenty-second level in Crash Bandicoot. The level takes place under Cortex's castle is the second and last ancient temple level. It is also the second and last stage in the game with a Cortex bonus round and key, which unlocks the secret level Fumbling In The Dark. The Blue Gem is required to fully clear this stage. It is very difficult to obtain the Gem for this level due to the nature of the level and the split pathway.

Trivia

 * This level's name is a witty pun on the "jaws of life" - hydraulic tools used to rescue people from horrific automobile wreckages. In exactly the same way as real-world jaws of life save people from the frightful deathgrip of twisted metal, the Crash universe's "Jaws of Darkness" save Crash from the lightgrip of a pleasant gameplay experience.
 * The key in this level unlocks another stage with the word "dark" in its name - Fumbling in the Dark. For this reason, many mature fans maintain that Crash Bandicoot had, by far, a darker storyline than the rest of the games in the series, and shun the "kiddy" series of sequels. It is in response to these criticisms that Naughty Dog gave Crash a gun in Warped, but to no avail.