User Reviews

It really doesn't surprise me that some people don't like this film. After all to truly enjoy Open Water one must open their mind and think. In this day and age that hardly ever happens anymore. Most filmmakers just decide to blow things up and hope that it's enough to entertain their audiences. Society in general has become numb what with the plots just laid out in front of us never questioning or asking us to use our imaginations. Open Water is a film that asks its viewers to place themselves at the heart of the movie; to feel the desperation, the hopelessness and the absolute terrifying ordeal. And for a change the movie is shot in a way that allows the viewer to feel as if truly there. Is it Jaws? No and its not meant to be. Maybe that's where the confusion lays. Open Water is a suspenseful film, excellent at that. If you're someone who actually enjoys figuring out the movie for yourself instead of being told in the first five minutes this is the film for you. Score: A.

First of all congratulations to Chris Kentis for spotting this topic and writing and directing the film. Now you can tell after praising the film maker up front the rest of this review is going to be quite critical! This film unnerved me, it made me feel uncomfortable as well and that's the problem - it should have frightened the absolute living daylights out of me! Because I rate being deserted at sea in shark-infested waters right up there in the scary-stakes with being buried alive. Now I respect Mr Kentis and his collaborators decision to tell the story in a very minimalist way, I guess they considered this story was powerful enough on its own not to require a heavy hand, and I could have agreed with them pre production. But now having seen it I don't think it was. I'm not saying they needed full on John Williams score and masses of special effects but perhaps varying the camera angles a bit more would have worked better.

Most of the story is told with the camera in an elevated position looking down on the protagonists, i.e a boat! This means I am divorced from any threat or the action. Couldn't we have got down to eye level more allowing us to feel we were more apart of the story? It was our toes about be chomped off? I'm afraid in the drama stakes this movie never got anymore dramatic than the average TV docu-drama and that's a real shame for after coming up with this concept and creating a half decent script Mr Kentis has missed an opportunity to create a classic.

Open Water might be a bit too low budget for many audience members.

But this is a prime example of how budget should not hold back a brilliant concept.

This is as realistic as it comes, from the scene in the hotel room where the couple lounge around completely nude (like people do in real life!), to the anxiety and horror of being in the Open Water, alone.

This might very well be an underrated masterpiece that has spawned numerous awful sequels.

An excellent example of how a very high-quality survival film can be made for a low budget. The emphasis in the film is on the development of relationships in a couple thrown into the sea. Sharks appear in moments, which is not surprising for such a budget, but closer and closer each time. This is enough to understand the hopelessness of the situation. Shots with a couple in the water and parties on the shore alternate very successfully. Everyone is having fun and is not even aware of the tragedy unfolding at the same time. The actors play great, especially given the shooting conditions. An excellent film about how people find themselves helpless and defenseless on the open sea.

Uses a minimalist budget, a vast outdoor setting, a very small cast, and a narrative that meticulously builds a pervasive sense of dread without giving too much away

Director Chris Kentis and his wife, Laura Lau, are Manhattanites with one previous film to their credit, "Grind." "Open Water" is a labor of love and a fine exemplar of unflagging commitment and energy. It took the couple several years to get this Indie flick filmed, screened and - mirabile dictu - caught up in the kind of sudden rapture that allows the real powerhouses of the film industry to boast that they're always looking for that non-studio gem from outsiders just waiting for deserved discovery.

Well, they haven't a gem here but it's not a disaster either. Based on the actual disappearance of an American couple in the Pacific who were scuba diving and were left by their guide boat (a story that has some crime/conspiracy addicts claiming the couple is either still alive somewhere or there was a murder/suicide: take your pick), Kentis and Lau created a similar tale.

Newcomers to the movie screen, very pretty Blanchard Ryan plays Susan and Daniel Travis, Daniel. They're a couple (not clear if they're married but who cares) with a very nice suburban house and good jobs. Susan's job is a real 24/7 deal causing the couple to have to book a scuba diving vacation in the Caribbean at the last minute - their original and safer plans succumbed to her work priorities.

This couple graduated seamlessly and affluently from Yuppiehood to DINK (Double Income-No Kids) status. So they can afford this great vacation.

They dive with about twenty other people. An SOP exists for making sure that everyone is aboard before the boat departs the area but Susan and Daniel are left high and dry. Actually low and wet. Why? Because that greatest of all universal forces, Negligence, permitted a fatal miscount.

What follows is a conversation flick as Daniel and Susan alternately hug and cuddle and then argue. Daniel starts off giving the not initially worried Susan tips based on his viewing of "Shark Week" and other armchair adventure cable shows. But as the situation becomes more serious with no sign of rescue the couple cathartically exhumes the domestic grievances that are as common as the cold for young professionals.

The sharks (actually corralled by unseen herders) make regular appearances. The excellent sound system in the Loew's Lincoln Square theater was augmented today by frequent cries from at least three viewers strategically seated around the perimeter of the audience.

This isn't an anti-shark movie. It's a pale story but the two leads give it their best. Susan's Dramamine wears off soon, she announces. Actually it's at the point where some motion sickness-sensitive moviegoers might well need the little pill themselves as the digital cameras rise and fall, rise and fall, rise and fall.

Perhaps because Ryan and Travis are so inexperienced as actors there's a certain innocent believability in their behavior and conversation.

Blanchard Ryan said in an interview that she didn't mind doing a nude scene early in the movie because she thought no one would see it. Wrong. By word of mouth and with some extravagant reviews this movie is packing them in, at least here in Gotham.

Digital Video movies are still clearly inferior to those shot on standard stock. When the story and characters are really interesting, as in "Pieces of April," the washed out quality can be ignored. Not here as the ocean swells rise and fall, rise and fall, rise and fall.

6/10

While vacationing in Barbados, a married couple (Blanchard Ryan and Daniel Travis) are left out at sea by their scuba diving boat, leaving them at the mercy of the elements including a few hundred very hungry sharks.

Open Water is a love it or hate it type of movie. You will either hate the fact that all they do is float in the middle of the ocean or you will love that idea and enjoy watching the film. For the most part, I enjoyed the movie. It was suspenseful and scary without really being over the top and gory. The fact that the story is based on true events just makes the whole thing scarier. I usually don't really like movies that are "based on true events" since it is usually a cheap gimmick. However, it worked for Open Water and the movie was a little more believable. There were some unrealistic moments but most of the film seemed to be realistic.

Blanchard Ryan and Daniel Travis play the stranded couple and this is their first real starring roles. They both give good performances adding more suspense to the movie. Chris Kentis did a fantastic job at directing. He knows how to get under the viewer's skin. He offers some very intense and scary moments. While there was plenty of suspense, there were a few yawns as well. There were times when nothing was happening and the film was kind of dull.

This shouldn't really be surprisingly considering the movie is really just about people floating. It didn't bother me too much since the film is pretty short. Chris Kentis may have done a good job behind the camera but the script is kind of weak. There were too many unrealistic moments that kind of hurt the movie. There were a few nagging plot holes that were hard to ignore. They weren't severe or anything, just a mild distraction from the film. I wished there had been some more action to explain what had happened. However, the director wants the viewer to use his/her imagination. The ending was pretty good and it was different from your typical Hollywood ending. In the end, there are enough chills and thrills to make up for the sluggish pace. Rating 7/10

The terror doesn't come from gruesome shark attacks. So if that's what you're looking for, you'll be disappointed. This movie strikes a deeper chord than typical blood-and-gore, shock-fest horror movies; and it may be that desensitized viewers who are incapable of genuine human emotion and empathy will not appreciate it. This film is about real psychological, existential terror -- similar to the effect achieved by Werner Herzog's Grizzly Man.

Based on true events, a couple on a holiday in the Caribbean decide to spend the day on a scuba diving trip. But was it the wrong decision? When a miss-count happens on the boat, Susan and Daniel are left behind in the middle of the ocean, with the boat long gone. With all their hopes set on the boat coming back to rescue them, they try to keep themselves safe, especially when sharks start to appear.

Made for half a million, starring mainly two people in the ocean from the entire movie, "Open Water" is great for what it has. It's a little gem, fortunately, already seen by a lot of people. This movie isn't for everybody. It's a slow paced movie and it's like that for the entire film. It's best to say if you're a really impatient human being who wants something to happen fast, you aren't going to like this.

To explain this film, I'll just say it's terror unfolding within each scene. The scares in here are really quite genuine, although it doesn't have the buckets of gore and violence. I just loved how the movie showed us little to nothing yet had my heart pumping. On top of that, you get real sharks! I also liked the performances by the two main leads, Blanchard Ryan and Daniel Travis.

Overall, if you think you would be bored seeing two people stuck in the ocean for the most part of the movie, you probably shouldn't watch it. I found it very tense, disturbing, and suspenseful with some great performances and some great scares (close to the end, of course). See this if you like a real "horror film," I guess people would call it.

Blanchard Ryan and Daniel Travis play a busy couple forcing themselves to take some time out to relax. They go to the Caribbean for R & R. Once there they take a scuba diving trip, dive into the water, and then are ...forgotten by the scuba ship. Open Water then chronicles what this couple will endure out at sea. I watch a lot of scary pictures, but this film really affected me a lot more than many I have seen with monsters and blood and whatever else is usually hurled at you in a horror movie. It was downright scary. Much of that is due to the "This really happened in real life" quality the film exudes. It is in fact based on just such an incidence off the coast of Australia. But the frightening aspect also is due in large part to the ordinary nature of the two main characters, everybody else in the film, the simple yet direct direction, and the total lack of "HOLLYWOOD" to be found anywhere. I felt like I could have been Daniel. A film that can make you feel like the possibility even remotely exists for that to happen is working on some level. Open Water works on real fears: negligence, sharks, impending doom, and the horror that sometimes can be wide, wet, empty tracts of nothing but miles and miles of sea water. The meaningless of man can really be measured in those scenes where Daniel and Susan tread for life amidst a background of endless waves with predators all around them. Both Ryan and Travis do very good jobs with this type of material. The director Curtis deserves a lot of praise for his ability to make this whole thing come off so effectively.

Chris Kentis directed his second movie, after the Billy Crudup-led disaster that was "Grind", about a couple who misses their boat and has to fend for themselves, contending with sharks, barracudas, puke, diarrhea and lack of food or water. Think of this as a "Blair Witch project", but in the water, better dialog, and you know, actually good. Come to think of it, this isn't like the abysmal Blair Witch film at all. The dialog seems authentic enough, even if the main character's decisions of what to do don't. It kept my attention, and for a low-budget film that's enough for me. Oh and plus Susan Ryan is Hot with a capital H.

My Grade: C+

DVD Extras: Commantary with Susan Ryan and Daniel Travis; Second commentary with Chris Kentis and Laura Lau; The Indie Essentials featurette; Making-of; On-location footage; 7 Deleted Scenes; and theatrical Trailer

Eye Candy: Susan Ryan shows it all and it's so VERY good

One wonders if Open Water would even exist if it were not for The Blair Witch Project. The film, photographed with digital video cameras, using actors with limited professional experience, and staged in a very documentary style, owes a lot to the old Witch. But the debt is very easily repaid. Despite some weak scenes towards the beginning of the film, Open Water proves to be a rather tense, involving experience.

The film's plot is rather unsophisticated: Susan (Blanchard Ryan) and Daniel (Daniel Travis) are going on a vacation together on a warm Caribbean island. It begins innocently enough: swimming, shopping, fooling around in the hotel. Then the two decide to go scuba diving with a charter operation and, through a twist of fate (and some rather poor counting skills by the crew of the boat), the two are accidentally left stranded in the water, in the middle of nowhere. A powerful current moves them along, they spot boats in the distance but don't think they can swim to them, and then they begin to argue. This is all before the sharks begin appearing, leaving the divers with a significant sense of dread.

As promised, Open Water is a rather minimalist experience. In the film's early scenes, the amateurish nature of the production is readily apparent. The scenes between the two lovers (it's a bit unclear whether they are married or not) are obviously not being performed by seasoned professionals. Both actors are not terrible, but they are not exactly polished either, taking away some of the sense of disbelief. The digital video photography is also a double edged sword: at times it gives the film a sense of verisimilitude, at others it makes it feel like we are watching something filmed by your buddy who is an aspiring filmmaker with his camcorder on a five dollar budget.

Most of these gripes disappear once the divers are stranded alone in the ocean. What seemed like an exercise in minimalist film-making that was quickly becoming mediocre suddenly becomes involving. The film poses a great what if question: what would you do, trapped in the middle of the ocean by yourself, miles from land and with no help in sight. These characters do what probably most of us would do, second guess themselves, panic, allow anger and feelings of guilt take hold of themselves, and begin wishing for a miracle when trouble appears in the form of a shark. Or, in this film's case, multiple sharks. There was a bit of media hoopla when Open Water was released concerning the fact that the actors were filmed in waters with real live sharks, but the material works wonderfully. We really believe these two are in danger and the imagery of sharks in the water hasn't contained this kind of power since Jaws.

Blanchard Ryan and Daniel Travis both had very limited acting resumes before this film, and their early scenes reveal a somewhat amateurish feel to their performances, but the two acquit themselves fairly well in the latter scenes in the water. There, they perform as I believe people probably would in that situation, first with disbelief, then anger, then fear. They may not be perfect, but they get the job done well.

The film's strongest sequence is set at night, when the two are surrounded by sharks, with the only lighting we are given are occasional flashes of lightning from a distant storm. The sense of dread is palpable in this scene, and director Chris Kentis should be given credit for assembling a very tense piece of work.

Open Water is by no means a masterpiece, it's a little rough around the edges at times, but overall it is a involving piece of cinema that is worth a rent.

This movie will not win any awards. At least not for the categories which we've come to know. What it will do is awaken your senses to just how easily a good situation can turn bad. They should create a motion picture award for most realistic storyline. This movie would then be the winner.

I found this story disturbing. In such a manner that it raises some of the basic fears we carry around with us. The fact that the movie was shot without a huge budget and relative unknown celebrities, puts it at the level of the everyday person. Many times throughout the story, you could easily place yourself in the shoes of these people. Everyday people, busy with their jobs, looking for a little relaxation in a tropical paradise....sound familiar? As disturbing as this movie is, you must remember that much of it is based on speculation. If you do some research on the real life event, you will find that we really don't know what took place. Regardless, this is one of those pictures for which you should reset your expectations. No glitz or glamour, but a strong dose of reality.