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Amazon.co.uk Review
Shot on digital video with a pair of unknown actors (Blanchard Ryan and Daniel Travis) who tread water for most of the film's brisk 79-minute running time, Open Water is a fact-based exercise in primal fear that will scare the socks off anyone who dreads death from the deep, but it's familiar stuff if you've ever watched "Shark Week" on the Discovery Channel (which is mentioned in writer-director Chris Kentis's economical screenplay). If you can't accept that a trendy young couple could be accidentally abandoned during an open-sea diving excursion (but hey, it really happened!), then you'll surely be hooked by the intense what's-gonna-happen anxiety that escalates when the horrified vacationers realize they've got unwanted company. It's too easy to call Open Water a poor man's Jaws, and the movie's too realistically frightening to be compared to the popcorn thrills of Deep Blue Sea, so what you've got here is a shark movie that creates its own little low-budget niche. Before placing his actors in actual proximity to sharks, Kentis betrays them with some silly, bickering dialogue, but with adequate realism in its favour, Open Water offers a perfect excuse to stay on the beach. --Jeff Shannon
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Having read through some of the (frankly shocking) number of negative reviews, I have to quote this from one of them which says it all really:
"The only thing which kept me watching it until the end was the hope that it would conclude with an action packed shark attack and fight with a load of sharks or something like that."
This type of person is NOT going to enjoy this film. This is not a Hollywood big budget, brainless movie. It's filmmaking, stripped to the bare bones, where empathy and allowing yourself to be drawn in is necessary.
Based loosely on a real story (Google for the true story of Tom and Eileen Lonergan), the events and plight of this poor couple is truly too awful to contemplate. One cannot begin to imagine the fear and desolation of being stranded in the middle of the Ocean with almost zero chance of being discovered. The way the film is shot draws you in, shakes you about and should you allow yourself to be immersed in, almost as if you're out there with them, you will find this one of the most terrifying films you've ever seen. It is also very disturbing.
The acting is strong from two unknowns with the female role being played particularly well. At certain points later in the film, putting yourself in her shoes will haunt you.
My only criticism is that the film is a bit too short - the water sequence is fine but we needed more time to get to know and connect with the characters before they embarked on that fateful boat trip.
If however, you are one of those people (no offence) who relies on a film to create all your stimulation without allowing yourself to use your own imagination and ability to empathise or involve yourself with it, then you will probably not enjoy Open Water.
For those who do drift away with them for 80 mins, you'll be thankful you're safe on your sofa in your nice dry living room when the credits roll.
"The only thing which kept me watching it until the end was the hope that it would conclude with an action packed shark attack and fight with a load of sharks or something like that."
This type of person is NOT going to enjoy this film. This is not a Hollywood big budget, brainless movie. It's filmmaking, stripped to the bare bones, where empathy and allowing yourself to be drawn in is necessary.
Based loosely on a real story (Google for the true story of Tom and Eileen Lonergan), the events and plight of this poor couple is truly too awful to contemplate. One cannot begin to imagine the fear and desolation of being stranded in the middle of the Ocean with almost zero chance of being discovered. The way the film is shot draws you in, shakes you about and should you allow yourself to be immersed in, almost as if you're out there with them, you will find this one of the most terrifying films you've ever seen. It is also very disturbing.
The acting is strong from two unknowns with the female role being played particularly well. At certain points later in the film, putting yourself in her shoes will haunt you.
My only criticism is that the film is a bit too short - the water sequence is fine but we needed more time to get to know and connect with the characters before they embarked on that fateful boat trip.
If however, you are one of those people (no offence) who relies on a film to create all your stimulation without allowing yourself to use your own imagination and ability to empathise or involve yourself with it, then you will probably not enjoy Open Water.
For those who do drift away with them for 80 mins, you'll be thankful you're safe on your sofa in your nice dry living room when the credits roll.
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I have just seen this film and read the reviews thinking there would be lots of positive comments.
However, I was baffled by the so many negative comments towards this film; I really don't get what this people expected from this film.
It was simply enthralling.
The most terrifying moment is when the couple realized that they were left adrift in the middle of the sea and probably there was no way back.
IMHO many people are misinterpreting this film; it has nothing to do with sharks, or how to put up a fist fight against them. It's all about survival in the middle of nowhere, in this instance in open sea water, when all hope of a rescue has vanished.
This is certainly nothing like Jaws or any other typical Hollywood production, but a real life tragedy. If the shoe was in the other foot you would understand their plight and feeling of hopelessness.
Given that this movie is based on a true story, and the two main protagonists never lived to tell the tale we will never know about the real circunstances surrounding their terrible ordeal; all we can do is speculate, and that's preciselly what the producers did. Perhaps sharks played no part whatsoever in their termination, then again we will never find out now, will we?
We can only imagine that whichever way they died it was a very horrible, slow and terrifying way to go. Just thinking about it sends a shiver down my spine. This is not just an horror movie, it's terror.
Trust me, this is really a good film.
But if you expect this couple to do a Jaws, then this one is definitelly not for you!
However, I was baffled by the so many negative comments towards this film; I really don't get what this people expected from this film.
It was simply enthralling.
The most terrifying moment is when the couple realized that they were left adrift in the middle of the sea and probably there was no way back.
IMHO many people are misinterpreting this film; it has nothing to do with sharks, or how to put up a fist fight against them. It's all about survival in the middle of nowhere, in this instance in open sea water, when all hope of a rescue has vanished.
This is certainly nothing like Jaws or any other typical Hollywood production, but a real life tragedy. If the shoe was in the other foot you would understand their plight and feeling of hopelessness.
Given that this movie is based on a true story, and the two main protagonists never lived to tell the tale we will never know about the real circunstances surrounding their terrible ordeal; all we can do is speculate, and that's preciselly what the producers did. Perhaps sharks played no part whatsoever in their termination, then again we will never find out now, will we?
We can only imagine that whichever way they died it was a very horrible, slow and terrifying way to go. Just thinking about it sends a shiver down my spine. This is not just an horror movie, it's terror.
Trust me, this is really a good film.
But if you expect this couple to do a Jaws, then this one is definitelly not for you!
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Having read some of the other reviews, I can only assume that this film has disappointed only because it delivers something different to what is expected.
It is not a Jaws-style action movie, but an intimately shot and challenging exploration of a horrific fate. It is about how the amazing adventure of SCUBA can turn so suddenly into a fight for survival, not on our terms but on those of the hostile ocean. It is about how fear takes hold and the role of companionship under worsening duress.
Don't expect a fast-moving plot. This portrayal is based on a true story, and in that story we can only imagine that apart from the wait to be rescued or to die, nothing much happened until the end. The drama is in the psychology, not the water.
It is not a Jaws-style action movie, but an intimately shot and challenging exploration of a horrific fate. It is about how the amazing adventure of SCUBA can turn so suddenly into a fight for survival, not on our terms but on those of the hostile ocean. It is about how fear takes hold and the role of companionship under worsening duress.
Don't expect a fast-moving plot. This portrayal is based on a true story, and in that story we can only imagine that apart from the wait to be rescued or to die, nothing much happened until the end. The drama is in the psychology, not the water.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Not easy to watch
This film takes your breath. It is not easy to watch. Great acting of the two main actors, who carry this film on their shoulders for more than an hour, mostly in cold waters,... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Profr R. Cohenalmagor
Hooked from start to finish
I was hooked on this film from start to finish. It focuses on two hapless divers who are lost at sea. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Victoria Hill
Real life not reel life
OPEN WATER
This is a movie about a human tragedy not to mention incompetence & heartbreak. If you need Saw or good old Jaws like theatre you miss the boat here. Read more
This is a movie about a human tragedy not to mention incompetence & heartbreak. If you need Saw or good old Jaws like theatre you miss the boat here. Read more
Published 9 months ago by C McGhee
all right
A friend of mine recommended this and I hesitated based on the bad reviews on this site. This movie is not as bad as other reviews make you think. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Ramses
What would I do in this situation - that is the question you need to...
It annoys me when people who don't 'get' these films say such negative things about them. You need to be on your own, and gripped with no distractions. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Lish
Awful.
An absolute insult to cinema and film. So bad, in fact, that watching it actually causes physical discomfort. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Mr. D. I. Dawson
Simple, but...
I have watched this DVD twice.
The first time, I was literally shaking by the end. This is simple, but utterly breathtaking. Can hardly be recommended too highly. Read more
The first time, I was literally shaking by the end. This is simple, but utterly breathtaking. Can hardly be recommended too highly. Read more
Published 16 months ago by fat man on a bicycle
open water,dvd
dvd was in really good nick for a second hand film & very cheap,did'nt watch film as it was for someone else!
Published 17 months ago by Mr. J. D. Mccabe
Gripping
I was worried this film may be gruesome but thankfully it wasnt. I cannot believe they made such a good film from 2 people bobbing up and down in water. Read more
Published 21 months ago by S. Renshaw
Nothing happens
this film, starts bad.... and goes down hill from there. The highlight is the end, which for the sake of not being an arse hole, I won't post here. Read more
Published 21 months ago by A. Laidlaw
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