Movie Review

Open Water

Open Water tells the story of a married couple, Susan (Blanchard Ryan) and Daniel (Daniel Travis), desperately in need of a break from their jobs. They decide to drop everything at the last minute and take a deep-sea diving expedition, only what happens next is both unbelievable and shocking. Due to an error on the part of the captain, the boat leaves without them, stranding them in the middle of the ocean.

As the hours roll by, their predicament becomes more extreme; they're tired, hungry, nauseous, and vulnerable to whatever may lay below the surface of the ocean. In addition to stinging jellyfish, sharks are they're biggest opponent and the only way to avoid them is to remain completely still.

Director Chris Kentis isn't going for big thrills here. Instead of relying on big shark attacks, this movie is more mental. He asks the audience to put themselves in this couple's position and leaves them to wonder what they would do. When allowed, Ryan and Travis make this a very compelling nightmare but of course the real stars here are the sharks. Every once and a while Kentis shows us a fin or one swimming right below them and the scenes are worthy of a startled jump.

Much like The Blair Witch Project, the brilliant part of Open Water is that we never get any idea of how this situation will end. Hope becomes their ally, even as nature becomes their compromise. This is a scary little end of the summer chiller that knows what to show and what not to show. It's a very worthy addition to the shark movie genre.

Craig's Grade: B

A	10.9%
B	41.8%
C	31.8%
D	15.3%
F	0.3%