Open Water (2003)

Shot on digital video with a pair of unknown actors (Blanchard Ryan and Daniel Travis) who tread water for most of the film's brisk 79-minute running time, Open Water is a fact-based exercise in primal fear that will scare the socks off anyone who dreads death from the deep, but it's familiar stuff if you've ever watched "Shark Week" on the Discovery Channel (which is mentioned in writer-director Chris Kentis's economical screenplay). If you can't accept that a trendy young couple could be accidentally abandoned during an open-sea diving excursion (but hey, it really happened!), then you'll surely be hooked by the intense what's-gonna-happen anxiety that escalates when the horrified vacationers realize they've got unwanted company. It's too easy to call Open Water a poor man's Jaws, and the movie's too realistically frightening to be compared to the popcorn thrills of Deep Blue Sea, so what you've got here is a shark movie that creates its own little low-budget niche. Before placing his actors in actual proximity to sharks, Kentis betrays them with some silly, bickering dialogue, but with adequate realism in its favor, Open Water offers a perfect excuse to stay on the beach. --Jeff Shannon Amazon.com

Must see for those who enjoy terror, the sea or the unexpected

A couple, both highly stressed from work decide on a vacation. All plans are made. They get on a boat with others--one a screw-up & three crew
members--and head out to the open sea. On arriving, all suit up in their diving suits & gear, enter the water & are told to return in 35 minutes.
The couple loses track of time. The crewmaster miscounts the number of returning divers, thinks he has everyone & returns to shore. The couple,
emerging about 25 min later see there is no boat and their fears begin to set in. The movie is based on a true story but its producers state they are not responsible for any content/views. What would you do if stranded in the open sea--in nowhere? The couple has been told how to react when
sharks approach. Now the crewmaster parks the boat and doesn't check it out upon landing. There are lots of people partying & dancing in the area behind the docks. And the couple is (at least at that moment) stranded in the open sea with no one knowing their plight.

The movie is short and very powerful. Those who do not like Jaws movies
or gore should avoid this. Those who appreciate the plight & varying emotions that the lovers face as hours go by will find this movie very
worthwhile. So what if it is a bit short? I have seen countless long movies that are empty and meaningless. I recommend it as stated. Dr. K.
that the two lovers July 6, 2008

Sharks Everywhere

The movies runs a little slow, but I actually enjoyed it. I had to watch it a couple of times before I did though. I did find the ending a little scary and sad. May 27, 2007

Very well done

Anyone who has ever been in the ocean can appreciate this movie. If you just actually imagine this happening to you, it is terrifying. I'm not surprised by some of the negative reviews, because most of them are people who need monsters jumping out of closets to be scared. This is a psychologically frightening movie that doesn't need constant special effects to get it's point across. All of the emotions that the couple goes through seem so realistic to me. Just imagine being in a dark ocean miles away from land and being bumped by something underneath. If that doesn't scare you then you've never been swimming. March 21, 2007

I put it at the top of the scale

There are over a hundred reviews of this movie on this sight and most are either one star or five stars. This is probably a pretty accurate way to describe this movie. If you are looking for blood and gore and horror, this probably isn't your kind of movie. If you are looking for tension and just an overall feeling of uneasiness, you will enjoy this. I gave it 5 stars because this film left an impact. Just before Blanchard Ryan performed the final act of desperation, I said "you know what I would do..." Then she did it. This movie could give you nightmares. This is a great example of a low budget movie being done well. The actors did a wonderful job. I own this one and it still gives me chills after numerous viewings. December 8, 2006

NOT FOR THE "SHALLOW"

I was not surprised at the poor reviews by "shallow" viewers, who missed the whole crux of this movie. This was not meant to be a Hollywood "hype type" movie. It is based on actual events that came upon a very unfortunate couple who were literally abandoned by an incompetent crew of a licensed charter boat. Although no one can truly know what transpired verbally, psychologically or physically to this couple, as they were never found, I believe that the portrayal of what happened in this movie is ingenius. The myriad of emotions that must have been present as they first, were in disbelief that they could have been left behind, then the hope that surely the boat would come back for them, followed by sheer terror as the hours passed by and dehydration set in, almost certainly being bitten by jellyfish, harrassed by sharks, etc. Whatever really happened to them is immaterial to the content of this movie. All I have to do is imagine how I would have felt if that were me and my husband. Can you imagine true and real terror? How about clear and present danger? If you want fiction, get your JAWS movies back out and take a look at the "real" FAKE shark they used. You call that scary??? This tragedy happened to a real couple and I don't believe this movie was meant to be entertaining, but a true documentation of probable possibilities of what horror that man and woman endured before they were lost at sea, never to be found. Give it some thought, people... August 22, 2006

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