Daniel - "God no honey.. if it was a shark, your leg would be gone.. At most it was a tiny little barracuda just checking to see if you tasted good."

   Admittingly, I was very skeptical on my initial viewing of Open Water considering the very sporadic reviews flowing around that were inconsistent with each other. This is a film in which you have to experience with a clean, open point of view, and allow yourself to settle in with full concentration. Now you must keep in mind this is a low budget Indie flick with a production cost of around $130,000, financed completely by the director Chris Kentis and his wife Estelle Lau. In Hollywood, they blow up cars and houses for more than the budget of this entire film. Understanding the circumstances surrounding the shoot indeed help you gain a better appreciation for the film.

   While based on true events, the story unfolds as the young couple Susan (Blanchard Ryan) and Daniel (Daniel Travis) take a break from their busy lives and travel down to paradise allowing them to book a couple Scuba trips. Now the only gripe I have about this film is how the first 10 minutes into it has the carbon copy feel and setup for a late night adult 'skinamax' flick (although a surprisingly nude Blanchard Ryan proved very pleasant.. A+). The beginning of the film is hard to get involved with and scenes are dull and the performances are very bland. That slow-paced dragging feeling all stops as soon as they board the dive boat.

   As you probably already know about the story, Susan and Daniel roam away from the dive group and when an error in the head count leads to suspicion that everyone is back on board, they take off and unintentionally leave the couple behind. The moment the two realize that they are left stranded in the middle of the ocean by themselves, the character performances truly come to life. The spectrum and feel that was presented in the earlier portion of the film is completely inverted and you actually sense a deal of drama. While they decide to stay in the area and not swim hoping that the dive boat returns to pick them up, they start to drift with the current and every hope to flag down distant boats prove useless. The argument scene could have been toned down a bit however being stranded and helpless creates abnormal mental frustrations that were clearly displayed.

   After drifting a while they are encountered by their first of MANY sharks. At first the unwanted predators seem quite curious and mostly harmless for the time being. One of the reasons why this film works on its limited scale is the amount of shear fear and helplessness presented by the actors and their performances with the real Carribean Reef Sharks in the middle of the ocean. There are NO special FX in this film and all scenes were played out with 100% real sharks adding to the chilling experience. The actors had to sign a waiver in order to shoot that denies liability to the production team in the event something did go wrong with the encounters. The majority of the film (excluding  the intro, dive boat ,and island scenes) was shot daily at sea with 4 or 5 people (2 actors, 2-3 production crew) and with the two main actors having little or no shark experience at all. The horrific looks and portrays by the actors are very real.

   Add in the various survival elements such as hypothermia, starvation, and other aquatic threats like pods of stinging jellyfish, you are then left with a very frightening experience to endure. The performances and overall feeling suck you in the more the film moves along and while I won't give away any spoilers, the film ultimately takes several unexpected chilling turns near the end. Unlike the start of the film, you begin to grow on these characters and get locked into the scenes. The performances are scary until the film comes to an end.

   Now this film is not for everyone and can seem quite dull at times if you have no interest at all in the aquatic setting. However, if you have ever had the fortunate/unfortunate ability to relate to this particular environment, you will find this film quite haunting. Divers know this is the absolute worst nightmare that they could encounter. I myself swam reefs in the Carribean with a mask and fins (mostly alone) for several months non-stop. I was involved in scary predicaments such as being alone a half mile from shore encountering different sharks underwater or various strong currents causing underwater storms instantly turning gin clear water into a low vis murk. To be alone and out at the edge of the reefs with no one in sight and encounter predatory fish such as sharks underwater in their natural element is a very scary feeling. To unexpectedly have jellies come drift towards you in masses while you are alone is a very helpless feeling. When you put together all the factors that the characters Susan and Daniel were faced with it creates for a most terrifying experience.

   Despite the low production cost that is very apparent throughout the film, forgiveness is all made up for by the horrific and helpless situations choreographed by the team. The lack of character performances are also forgiven shortly into the film when Blanchard Ryan and Daniel Travis step out of their shadows and into the water. Make no mistake, you can not compare this film to Jaws, it would not even be fair. These are two very different films and different circumstances. In one film you are going after the shark, and the other the sharks are going after you. Jaws had a production cost of $7 million (note: over a quarter century ago), which is over 50 TIMES that of todays current Open Water budget. So instead of comparing these films, take Open Water for what it is.. a low budget indie flick that somehow manages to get you wet and drive chills down your spine. View it at a screening if you can, otherwise buy the DVD and turn out the lights because you will be thrown in the middle of the ocean on one helpless terrifying ride.

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