Customer Reviews

Open Water (Full Screen Edition)

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(26)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(15)
1 star:		(28)

 

 

You may already know the main story: a couple is accidentally left behind while diving in the ocean. I actually enjoyed this movie but most people either love it or hate it (2 other friends hated it, another loved it).
After talking to them, came up with some questions and additional info to help you make up your mind about whether to spend the bucks to see this in the theatre or wait for it to appear on cable, at your local video store, etc: :

1. Does it bother you if movies are filmed in the style of the Blair Witch Project, looking like they are home video? If so, stay away, because that is the way this movie was filmed, very similar. Choppy. Didn't bother me, might annoy the heck out of YOU.

2. Do you want constant suspense and tension? That isn't the case here. The tension builds but there are slower parts as well, including an exploration of the couple's relationship. You have to wait a LONG time to get to the climax. Again, didn't bother me, just don't expect this to be Jaws...or anything resembling it.

3. The ending is atypical. Some may find it a letdown (I didn't). I don't want to give anything away but I will aay it may not be what you expect. Woul;dn't call it exactly upbeat but will say that what you think may happen does not. Unpredictable ending.

4. Finally, do you want a story "based on true events" to reflect mostly the truth of that event? This one doesn't. In the real incident (not the movie), the couple disappeared and were never found again. It was never proven that they were eaten or attacked by sharks and, to make things even murkier, the husband had indicated that he planned to kill himself and his wife at some point. So who knows what really happened to them. I'd call this speculative fiction, not anything based on "true events".

Perhaps these are all small points to you; perhaps not. Hope this gives you more info to make a decision on whether to see this one.

The True Story-

The movie is based on the following true story-


© Lions Gate Films
It has been six and a half years (January 25th, 1998 ) since the two American tourists (From Baton Rouge, Louisiana) disappeared diving on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. If one thing has become clear in this bizarre case it is that Tom and Eileen Lonergans' story will never fade and haunts many to this day.

Tom (33) and Eileen (29) Lonergan had just finished three years in the Peace Corps in the South Pacific and were on their way to Hawaii to re-enter college to obtain masters degrees. Diving some 40 miles offshore, the Lonergans were experienced divers enjoying a three-week vacation in Austraila before heading off to school. They had met and married at Louisiana State University, where Eileen had taken up scuba diving and persuaded Tom to join in her hobby. For two years they had taught for the Peace Corps in the Pacific island country of Tuvalu, before spending a further year in Fiji.

During a diving expedition near St. Crispin reef off Port Douglas, Tom and Eileen had been the last divers out of the water on the other dives that day, so it was not hard to assume they may have been a little tardy on the final dive.

The Lonergans advised a diving instructor employed on the Outer Edge, Ms. Katherine Traverso, that they would "go off and do their own thing" (quote from Mr. Richard Triggs of Cairns, a diver on the trip. This action by the Lonergans is nothing unusual as most experienced divers would know, but of which some media made adverse comments soon after the incident.

When they did surface after less than an hour underwater, they either saw the boat (Outer Edge) leaving or saw nothing but open seas.


© Lions Gate Films
Outer Edge Dive Co. did not report the couple missing until two days after they were left at sea. When the boat had docked, the crew apparently noticed that there was at least one bag left behind by the passengers but they do not appear to have investigated this further and simply moved the bag to another location on the boat. In fact, there were two bags. One was a plastic bag containing the Lonergans' dry clothes and Mr Lonergans' glasses. In addition, there was a nearly empty dive bag and the boat was missing two tanks and two weight belts!

It was two days later, when Jack Nairn (Skipper of the boat) claimed to have found a bag containing the Lonergans' wallet and passports on the boat, that the alarm was raised. He called the Police, 51 hours after the Lonergans disappeared. On January 28, 1998 a search by 17 aircraft, helicopters and boats, Police, Navy and civilian divers began.

A massive search ensued. Documentation of their fist night was evidenced by what fishermen 100 miles north of the site found: a dive slate which records their thoughts as dawn broke that morning. In a wobbly scrawl faded by months in the water, Tom Lonergans had written: "Monday Jan 26; 1998 08am. To anyone who can help us: We have been abandoned on Agin court Reef by MV Outer Edge 25 Jan 98 3pm. Please help us come to rescue us before we die. Help!!!"

Being experienced divers, the normal procedure would be to inflate the BCD (Buoyancy Control Device for diving) and dump the weight belts.

The day after the incident the Outer Edge brought another tour party to the area, and one diver found six dive weights resting on the bottom. Oblivious to what had happened the previous day, a crew member described the find as a bonus.

When the boat failed to return, the next course of action would be to discard the tanks. Exposure to the water and the heat from the sun rapidly accelerates dehydration.

One of the few criticisms of the movie was that it was hard to believe that the boat just left the couple, however it is true and this is what the official investigation of this incident discovered-

~ No proper head count was performed before the dive vessel left.
~ The Lonergans were not checked back on board by the crew.
~ The Lonergans' dive details were not recorded in the divemaster's log book
at the end of the dive.
~ No dedicated lookout was on duty at the time of the relevant dive.
~ The boat left at a time when it was reasonable to assume that divers could
still be under the water.

Former Skipper, Jack Nairn still lives in the area despite losing his business as a result of the publicity and debts surrounding his trial. He initially refused to talk about the case, and would only discuss how the fallout from the case had affected him. "The reality of it is that the thing creates emotional turmoil for all of the people involved," he said.

We will avoid providing more details on the true story at this point so as not to ruin the movie for those who wish to see it.

But What Is Amazing Is That It Happened Again-

After the Lonergans went missing in Queensland in 1998, you'd think it could never happen again. But it seems it has. An 80-year-old American woman went missing after an excursion to the Barrier Reef in 2000. Police in Port Douglas in far north Queensland once again had to search the coastline.

Do you remember 'Jaws,' its haunting music swimming up beneath your legs? Do you remember how that shark just kept coming back to the same beach, over and over, killing? The wonder of that film was that the scares came from artificiality. Do sharks really think of humans as food? Do they hold grudges? No. But what that offers is fine cinema; under the hands of Spielberg, that concept became worthy of a best picture nomination. There was even refined characterization to top off the danger. However, in this year's 'Open Water,' you aren't just thrilled: you are worried for your own safety.

Director Chris Kentis' stripped-down, digital photography only furthers the film's visceral quality with its sense of humanity, as if it were no more than a home movie. 'Open Water' does not feel stylized, it does not feel fake, it does not feel like the sharks are being portrayed as creatures with a vendetta for human blood. When Susan (Blanchard Ryan) and Daniel (Daniel Travis) are accidentally left behind by their tour boat, their fear feels bone-chillingly real. You can credit that to the fact that the sharks they're left with were 100% authentic, -- not chubby studio creations-- to wonderful dialogue (the constant rationalizing, the impossible solutions) and to pitch-perfect performances full of desperation.

I tell you right now, I was scared to look at the screen at times. The sharks were so brilliantly filmed. They weren't shown sneaking up with an equally-frightening underscore and, worst of all, there certainly wasn't a single shark that had some unusual desire to eat the couple. Susan and Daniel were surrounded at times, alone at times. The camera cleverly remains above the surface, occasionally peaking under only when the couple check for landmarks or jellyfish. During some parts of the film, you think, "For all I know, they could be two feet away, there could be a frenzy fifty feet away, there could be nothing." That's when you begin to realize the underlying genius. You understand that terror is more effective when what you're seeing could easily happen to you...or is it happening to you right now? While you're watching 'Open Water,' the two choices perfectly blend into one, heart-pounding fear. And while 'Jaws' gained its credibility with a few scenes showing its crew comparing their battle scars from past oceanic explorations, 'Open Water' only increases its own with an ending of immediate power that lingers in your mind like the very scars on an unlucky surfer's leg.

There were two players in the script of Open Water, "Susan & Daniel" They both explored the wonderful worlds of what I like to call God's Greatest Creation; "Open Water Diving" via a tropical Island Vacation. Susan and Daniel venture off with a tour of divers miles away from the coast with your "MOST TYPICAL DIVER GUIDES" and I mean TYPICAL. The plot thickens as what I would assume, the PADI Certified Divers go into the buddy up system (two divers per deployment). Now I don't want to throw in a spoiler so let's just say that you'll always have one "Cocky Tour Diver" amongst the crew that's hungry for salt. The tour guides duty is to oversee that the independent divers are displaying divers ethics and responsibilities.

Now I'm going to pause right there!

I said earlier that the Tour guides were "Most Typical" so That fact alone made this movie a Thriller.

Now being that tour guides are so up on their jobs with an awesome display of a muster report, Susan and Daniel decide to cove off approx 1.5 atmospheres deep as independent as an open water dive could be. Well the "BLEEPING" Boat musters up all divers after a 30 min divers deployment except for guess who.....?

Susan & Daniel both realized during a guage check that time had ellapsed and no other divers were in their goggled view, so they emerged to splash water level and low and behold, the divers tour boat was... (zooma zoom zooming) away from the diver down mark.

Now I've dove with sharks before and it's an adrenaline RUSH! However, I've never spent the night with them.

I love to dive so I loved this movie. There were plenty of factual basis in it. Example: It was hard for the boat to see them because there was an overcast and it made the water rough (wavy).

Overall: Some say You All... Some say Y'all either way This Movie is an experience suspence for all diver geeks.

I can't believe so many people gave this bad reviews. This movie was amazing, brilliant, exceptional. I feel this must be pointed out; the sharks were not the antagonists in the story. as the title implies the movie was about the "open water," not sharks. The terror in this movie was almost all psychological, so I suppose if you have no imagination at all, well you wont like it. I have much more I could say about this movie, I just don't feel the need to.

Open Water was a pretty interesting and very unconventional suspense film just released. It has its share of logical consistency and bad acting but the movie manages to grip you by the hand and take you on a very intriguing ride created by Chris Kentis.

Hard to believe this is his second feature film, he really has started to mold his craft, apart from his first film "Grind" a largely ignored movie by movie critics.

I noticed when reading the other reviews, there seems to be some questions about the origins of the movie and other questions. I had the same questions and gripes about the movie, but I went online and quickly saw some answers.

The Premise.

Susan and Daniel a couple who decide on vacation to take a diving expedition in the Caribbean with their host of friends are mysteriously left behind by their "crew". They are then forced to fend themselves from the deadly sharks, and other dangers in the sea. The actors Daniel Travis , in his stellar acting debut plays Daniel, while Blanchard Ryan plays Susan

Travis and Ryan probably give the best performances of their young careers here. Travis in his debut is nothing short of excellent. I was impressed, I think many people were impressed as the movie has received for the most part great reviews. That's not so much because of the story, it's bleak and depressing, but had to do with the acting. Blanchard Ryan, is beautiful and hot, and she also puts up a huge performance.

Both actors deserve all the praises they've received, from what I heard they spent over 100 hours on location, in sea, while shooting the film. No stunt double, nothing, now that's commitment !!!

The real tale about the divers is taken from events in 1998 , almost seven years ago. Tom and Eileen Lonergan took an expedition dive in the Great Barrier Reef near Austrailia on vacation, were left behind by their so called professional crew MV Outer Edge. Just like Susan and Daniel, from all recollections they seemed to be good people but what happened was an awful twist of fate permutated by some really irresponsible idiots, who were too busy partying instead of doing their jobs right.


The couple is never found again, despite search efforts, no bodies or any signs of life have been recovered.

With that information, it's pretty clear that while "Open Water" is a helluva movie, it is open for interpretation to what happens to our hopeless victims. I did for the long ride bought the director's interpretation; he firmly gives a great portrait of this couple. They were kind and thoughtful and didn't deserve what happened. He also gives by the incredible acting by Mr. Travis and Ms. Ryan a tribute of sorts to the couple. They don't go down without a fight. They argue and fight about their situation, and regrettably they panic. As soon as they panic, things go bad to worse. Susan gets bit by a jellyfish and while Daniel gets bit by a shark though it's not a life threatening bite. The couple eventually make up, and as the end grows near we see them grasping one another for dear life, and saying how much they love each other. This is one of the most powerful scenes in the whole movie.

We eventually see a search start for them, but it's pretty obvious, it's a bit a late for that.

The ending is what I didn't like about the movie, that's part of the interpretation that I didn't quite buy into, I think the director was overhead with the schedule and "wrapped" things up as quick as he can, so he gives us this unsatisfying ending.


Still I highly recommend this film, I was really surprised. I imagine most people went into this film with the assumption that this would be just another shark rip-off film like "Jaws" or "Deep Blue Sea", but they were incredibly wrong.


It's a film that's really directed well, once the tension and scary moments of the sharks entering the picture come into play the movie is really scary. The director has us thinking that the couple could die at any moment and that's what really shoots the movie above all shark rip-offs when you already know when the end is coming.

My wife is an experienced scuba diver who used to work in dive outfits abroad (Carribean and South Pacific), and she said that this scenario is entirely plausible given how not everyone will always comply with the safety rules on a dive boat. Because she finds the premise too upsetting and too close to home, she will not watch the film. As a result, I (who recently got my dive certification) had to watch it myself and get squeezed like a vise from anxiety and dread watching the story unfold. I could easily imagine myself and my wife stuck in that same awful situation.

If you're expecting a typical Hollywood film where you can be assured of a happy ending or sorts, then this movie is definitely not for you. If you are expecting great production values typical of a Hollywood feature and a script where the characters miraculously come up with an ingenious way to save themselves, again you will be disappointed. This is barebones film making, using only the power of suggestion and brief glimpses of what is underneath the waves to make your insides tighten with dread. Based loosely on an infamous 1998 incident in the Great Barrier Reef in Australia where an American couple was left behind by their dive boat and never found again, this fictional movie tries to put the audience in the same situation as the two main characters slowly realize that they are descending into a hell that they are powerless to escape. Nature is shown to be completely indifferent to us and that, stripped of all our connections to civilization, we are just another part of the food chain. The movie ultimately is about the fear of being abandoned in a hostile place and suggests that, in the end, we are really alone in this universe. That is what is most disturbing about this horror film and will stick in your mind for a long time as you leave the theatre.

For a low budget flick, this movie is decent and does the job of entertaining the viewer for a little over an hour. The majority of the film takes place in the "Open Water" with a minimal cast so its short time length is a major plus. It is not a movie made for big effects with scary gruesome torture scenes. It is more along the lines of a psychological thriller and if you have ever been in the ocean or are afraid of sharks, you will be scared. The thought of being left by a diving boat in the middle of the Ocean is (mentally) scary enough and is the true event that inspired this movie.

Open Water was a great thriller and if you are a diver then you should see this movie!! It is based on a true story of a couple that is taking a vacation on a tropical island and they decide to take a diveing tour and they go by themselves to explore the waters below and losing the rest of the group!!!!! What happens is the boat leaves them behind and they are stuck in the middle of the ocean with sharks surrounding their every move!!!! It makes you feel like you are really there and it is so intense that you don't know what is going to happen,because it has different angles of intense and i thought it was a awesome movie because it leaves my on the edge of my seat the whole time so if you are in the video store rent it and after you rent then go buy this movie,because it is a really great intense thriller that pretty much asks the question can this really happen to us for real????

I went to see OPEN WATER because a friend of mine told me about it; mainly that real sharks were used in the filming. When I went to the theatre I saw a tagline on the movie's poster that said something like "Based on a True Story." After seeing the movie, I chuckled to myself because I thought that tag line was part of the BLAIR WITCH type hype that was surrounding the movie. Later, I discovered that the tag line wasn't just a gimmick, because the movie really is based upon the true story of Tom and Eileen Lonergan who disappeared in a very similar fashion off the Great Barrior Reef in 1998.

With that said, OPEN WATER is not a great movie, but is a fairly good one. Considering the low budget and that the movie stars no big names whatsoever with a director that hardly anyone has ever heard of before, it's an extraordinary accomplishment. OPEN WATER will probably pry open a few cracks for other struggling filmmakers and make the big studios more open to distributing inexpensively-made independent films. The acting in the film is very realistic and fits in with the grainy, home-movie feel. The editing and direction are also well done, e.g. the audience is given a break from the tension in the ocean with interspersed shots of the exotic locale that the movie's main characters, Daniel and Susan, were vacationing at. The sharks are kind of nice to look at too because they are real. In addition, the build up of the characterization between Daniel and Susan as they flounder deeper and deeper into the ocean works wonderfully.

However, with all it has going for it, OPEN WATER's major flaw is that the film's conclusion is forgone before Daniel and Susan even leave their home. The movie is also only about 75 minutes in length. Therefore, there really isn't much movie here and it leaves the audience wondering "Is that all?"

Still, everything the movie does get right balances out most of the negatives. Much better than THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, but not as good as JAWS.