Horror Movie Reviews

More Details... Price: $14.98

Title: Open Water (Widescreen Edition) (2004) Starring: Blanchard Ryan, Daniel Travis (II), Saul Stein, Estelle Lau, and Michael E. Williamson Director: Chris Kentis Rating: R (Restricted) Runtime: 81 minutes Avg. Score: 3 Submit Comment Hits: 10

Review of Open Water (Widescreen Edition)

[ Back to Homepage | Back to Horror Movie Reviews Index ]

HellHorror.com not responsible for reviews/comments and they may be removed at any time.

Submit Comment

Comments for Open Water (Widescreen Edition)

• Posted on 2008-06-24
  Better than Jaws or Deep Blue Sea.
  
  Of all the shark movies that have come out of Hollywood.
  I'd have to say Open Water is the best of the bunch.
  Why you ask?
  It's more realistic than either Jaws or Deep Blue Sea.
  The shaky camera is annoying at first but you'll adjust in no time.
  I think the actors, if you can call them actors should have gotten some sort of nomination for even doing this movie.
  There were no fx sharks or robot sharks.
  They swam with the real life thing the whole time and I gotta tip my hat to them for that.
  Jaws had a better story, Deep Blue Sea was more entertaining.
  This movie borders on disturbing since it was based on a true story.
  And the ending.............I want to tell but I wont.
  I mean........ I REALLY WANT TO TELL........
  Go rent it, if you don't like it you can blame it on me.
  Highly recommended.
  
  Score: 5
• Posted on 2008-06-09
  "Oh God! Something's rubbing against my foot!"
  
  The nightmare that one can only imagine in their mind becomes reality for a vacationing couple on an island getaway in OPEN WATER. Daniel (Daniel Travis) and Susan (Blanchard Ryan) lead hectic lives and desperately need a vacation. Their vacation goes awry (sounds a lot like my vacations) while open-water scuba diving. After frolicking with all the underwater sea creatures, their fun abruptly ends when they surface to find that their guide boat has left them. Why did it leave? Is it coming back? Will they ever make it back to the island? Daniel and Susan are cold, alone, miles from land, and now adrift in shark-infested waters. Their only support now is with each other.
  
  OPEN WATER is based loosely on the true events surrounding the disappearance of Thomas and Eileen Lonergan, an American couple who were left behind during a dive off of the Great Barrier Reef in Northern Queensland, Australia in 1998. The error was due to the Lonergans' dive details not being entered into the boat's divemaster's log book and a possible botched head count. Over 48 hours after the couple were left behind, the crew of the Outer Edge realized their error and a search was issued with 17 aircraft, helicopters, and boats. The Lonergans were never found and many rumors of their ultimate fate have surfaced since. Talks of marriage trouble provided the theory that that they committed suicide, or a murder-suicide took place. Another scenario has the Lonergans using the dive boat as part of an elaborate hoax to fake their deaths. Most diving experts, however, believe that they died on the reef. A few weeks after they'd gone missing, some of the couple's personal dive gear washed up on a beach 75 miles from the dive site. Six months later, a weathered dive slate - used to communicate underwater - with contact information for Eileen's father and the words, ""[Mo]nday Jan 26; 1998 08am. To anyone [who] can help us: We have been abandoned on A[gin]court Reef by MV Outer Edge 25 Jan 98 3pm. Please help us [come] to rescue us before we die. Help!!!"
  
  While nobody will ever know what truly happened to the Lonergans, OPEN WATER takes a stab at one possible scenario. This is not, however, meant to explain the story of the Lonergans. It is simply a fictional tale based "loosely" on their tragic story. The location is left intentionally ambiguous and no characters are based on real people. Shot completely on digital video, OPEN WATER may be a very new experience for many watching it on the big screen. The audio is simply horrendous in parts, and much of it looks like you're watching your in-law's boring vacation video. Though, I think it's akin to watching a film with subtitles. It's a bit distracting at first, but soon you won't even notice it. For a film such as this, combined with the real sharks, it has a much more "real" feel to it. It's believable, and for the most part, I was immersed in the story and their dilemma, and could ignore the shaky cam and technical shortcomings.
  
  It must also be said that this is not a shark movie, though it's not surprising that many are buying tickets with that in mind, seeing that Lions Gate has marketed it that way. It will end up getting people into the theater, but ultimately may backfire as audiences will feel like they were mislead. The sharks are important to the story, but really, they take a back seat to the third main character of the film, the water itself. The ocean serves as the biggest antagonist in the film. They're stuck in it, they can't drink it, it houses innumerable dangers underneath (including sharks), and they're completely at its mercy. They're going to go where its currents want to take them.
  
  I don't think everyone will like OPEN WATER. In fact, some people will hate it. Marketing it as a great shark movie may ultimately annoy audiences after it's all said and done. Whether Lions Gate actually cares or not, who knows. While not a great film, at least it's original and a little different. It does give off a certain amount of uneasiness and helplessness, which at times can have you on the edge of your seat. And afterwards, maybe you won't feel so bad having to go back to your crappy 9 to 5 job everyday. That everyday tedium and our unsteady relationships are often taken for granted, just keep telling yourself, "At least I'm not stuck in the middle of the ocean surrounded by sharks," and your day will go much better. Now let's hope I don't slip on some bait and fall overboard next time I go deep sea fishing!
  Score: 3
• Posted on 2008-04-04
  Open Water
  
  Plot: A young married couple goes on vacation. When they arrive in the Bahamas they decide to go on a scuba-diving adventure. While off diving the crew forgets them. They end up getting left out in the ocean in shark infested waters. As they wait and try to struggle to live you get to see the interactions between the characters and what they do in a life or death situation. Imagine knowing you were most likely going to die or get eaten by sharks and not be able to do anything about it. Just float and wait, Hoping someone would come find you.
  
  This movie Looks like someone took a regular video camera and just started recording. At first I did not like the way this was filmed and the sound quality wasn't that great. During the first 20 minutes I wasn't liking it but as the movie progressed it got better and better. It's a simple story with a deeper message. A message about life and the human spirit. Overall, It was an interesting movie. 3.5 stars.
  
  
  Score: 3
• Posted on 2008-04-04
  I liked it
  
  The beginning was a bit slow and low-budget-like which was about the only thing I "didn't" like about the movie. Other than that, when it picked up I really liked it. There's no real action scenes or shark attacks but that was okay for me. What appealed to me the most was imagining anyone in that situation--alone in the ocean--and how you become desperate and afraid -- that was more scary to me than any shark attack. Really liked the ending and imagined what I would do in that situation...
  Score: 4
• Posted on 2008-03-30
  Trash...just trash.
  
  I don't recall who said that this was better than Jaws, but they were wrong. I watched it and was ashamed that I had spent 2.99 on the rental fee, because this is not worth a penny. Jaws is great cinema. This doesn't qualify as a film or even a movie as far as I'm concerned. Between terrible writing, horrendous acting and pointless nudity, this film is just offensive. Don't waste your time here. Just back away, because any sensible person would wish he or she did.
  Score: 1