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Open Water

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Open Water (2004)

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Reviews Counted:187

Fresh:134

Rotten:53

Average Rating:6.6/10

Consensus: A low budget thriller with some intense moments.

Runtime: 81 mins

Genre: Horror/Suspense

Theatrical Release:Aug 6, 2004 Limited

Box Office: $30,500,882

Synopsis: Proving that the power of imagination is much more terrifying than what meets the eye, OPEN WATER is Chris Kentis's intensely realistic deep-sea drama, "based on true events." The film's leering... Proving that the power of imagination is much more terrifying than what meets the eye, OPEN WATER is Chris Kentis's intensely realistic deep-sea drama, "based on true events." The film's leering digital video camera allows viewers to float like shark-bait, stranded in the middle of the ocean with Susan and Daniel (Blanchard Ryan and Daniel Travis), a bickering married couple who have just been abandoned by their scuba-diving boat in the Caribbean. As the tension escalates between the troubled twosome--who are cold, tired, dehydrated, and more than a little scared--the tragedy of the situation is exacerbated by a series of very unfortunate conditions. While a current sweeps them far from where the boat left them, and deep dark clouds pass menacingly overhead, the sea-life just below the surface is clearly not of the friendly variety. Yes, those are real sharks, folks. Meanwhile, Daniel, who watched Shark Week on television, is no stranger to the perils at hand, and finds himself battling shock. Minutes pass like hours, with the light shifting on the water and the constant motion of the waves adding to this unfathomable nightmare. The shimmering blues of wide expanses of sea are offset by dazzling underwater photography, yet the mood remains bleak. And while no special effects, abrupt developments, or abrasive gore are present here, the film instills such fear that viewers will be frozen awaiting the surprising conclusion. A day at the beach will never be quite the same again. [More]

Starring: Blanchard Ryan, Daniel Travis, Saul Stein, Estelle Lau

Starring: Blanchard Ryan, Daniel Travis, Saul Stein, Estelle Lau, Michael E. Willimson, Christina Zenarro, Jon Charles

Director: Chris Kentis

Director: Chris Kentis
Producer: Laura Lau
Studio: Lions Gate Films

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Nov 30, 1999

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Reviews for Open Water

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121 - 140 (sorted by date)
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It should make you think hard about assuming only a big, effects-driven adventure can really give you your money's worth.

Full Review Source: Newark Star-Ledger | comment Comment
08/06/04
Stephen Whitty
Stephen Whitty
Newark Star-Ledger
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Kentis keeps it simple and direct, and the effect is devastating.

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
08/06/04
Jami Bernard
Jami Bernard
New York Daily News
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A low-budget indie film whose tension and realism are augmented by unknown actors who fully inhabit their roles.

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
08/06/04
Bruce Westbrook
Bruce Westbrook
Houston Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

If you want to be consumed by special effects, go to any of the many formulaic thrillers in theaters these days. If you want to feel the real chill of fear, go for a swim.

Full Review Source: Detroit News | comment Comment
08/06/04
Tom Long
Tom Long
Detroit News

It's ridiculously cheap and terrifying at the same time.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
08/06/04
Ty Burr
Ty Burr
Boston Globe

The real achievement here belongs to a director who understands that economy (in storytelling as well as in budget) can work in his favor.

Full Review Source: Denver Rocky Mountain News | comment Comment
08/06/04
Robert Denerstein
Robert Denerstein
Denver Rocky Mountain News
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Although the movie was produced with few frills, Kentis keeps you watching. He adds to the tension gradually, and by the end, you're gripping the arms of your seat, wondering whether this pair will be rescued before, um, lunchtime.

Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
08/06/04
Bill Muller
Bill Muller
Arizona Republic
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

I'm here to tell you that Jaws is nothing. Jaws is now merely Flipper: Episode 127.

Full Review Source: Denver Post | comment Comment
08/06/04
Michael Booth
Michael Booth
Denver Post

What differentiates Open Water from similar stories recounted endlessly on cable television's Shark Weeks is its scrupulous avoidance of anything remotely contrived.

Full Review Source: Detroit Free Press | comment Comment
08/06/04
Terry Lawson
Terry Lawson
Detroit Free Press
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

I can't think of any movie that so well captures how the sea can be hostile to human existence the way it most commonly is.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Daily News | comment Comment
08/06/04
Bob Strauss
Bob Strauss
Los Angeles Daily News

Wrings every possible drop of tension out of a simple premise and a micro budget.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
08/06/04
Megan Lehmann
Megan Lehmann
New York Post

It's a scything fin in the pit of your stomach, a gathering shark storm beneath the surface of the life you take for granted.

Full Review Source: San Jose Mercury News | comment Comment
08/06/04
Bruce Newman
Bruce Newman
San Jose Mercury News
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Seen in a movie theater, preferably in the company of some shriek-prone friends, Open Water is nasty, discomfiting fun.

Full Review Source: Miami Herald | comment Comment
08/06/04
Rene Rodriguez
Rene Rodriguez
Miami Herald

Rarely, but sometimes, a movie can have an actual physical effect on you. It gets under your defenses and sidesteps the 'it's only a movie' reflex and creates a visceral feeling that might as well be real.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
08/06/04
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

...uses simple methods to tap into simple fears - and the movie is all the more frightening for it.

Full Review Source: Sun Publications (Chicago, IL) | comment Comment
08/06/04
Josh Larsen
Josh Larsen
Sun Publications (Chicago, IL)

Bad drama, bad cinema, and worst of all, bad horror.

Full Review Source: About.com | comment Comment
08/06/04
Jurgen Fauth
Jurgen Fauth
About.com

...a bare bones tale of survival horror that reverberates with emotional drama, realistic terror, and an overall sense of foreboding futility.

Full Review Source: IGN Movies | comment Comment
08/06/04
Spence D.
Spence D.
IGN Movies

Jaws... has nothing on this thing, which features up-close underwater photography of a school of sharks brushing up against our hapless divers' legs.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
08/06/04
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

It'll leave you with the creeps and make you think twice about swimming in the ocean for the rest of the summer.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
08/06/04
E! Online

The back story may be a little weak, but when the tide shifts to terror, it's effective - boy, do they know how to play on our phobias.

Full Review Source: TheMovieChicks.com | comment Comment
08/06/04
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
TheMovieChicks.com
 
 
121 - 140 (sorted by date)
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