Open Water is a 2003 American independent survival horror film loosely based on the true story of the disappearance of Tom and Eileen Lonergan. The first entry of the Open Water film series. The film follows an American couple who go scuba diving while on vacation, only to find themselves stranded miles from shore in shark-filled waters when the crew of their boat accidentally leaves them behind.
The film was financed by the husband and wife team of writer/director Chris Kentis and producer Laura Lau, both avid scuba divers. It cost $500,000 to make and was bought by Lions Gate Entertainment for $2.5 million after its screening at the Sundance Film Festival. Lions Gate spent a further $8 million on distribution and marketing. The film ultimately grossed $55.5 million worldwide (including $30 million from the North American box office alone).
Plot To spend more time together as a couple, Daniel Kintner and Susan Watkins go on a vacation to the Caribbean. On their second day, they join a group scuba dive tour.
While underwater, Daniel and Susan briefly separate from the group to explore the coral reef on their own. As the group returns to the boat, the dive master conducts a rushed inaccurate headcount. Believing everyone is back on board, the boat leaves the dive site, stranding Daniel and Susan behind.
Stranded at sea, it slowly dawns on Daniel and Susan that their boat is not coming back for them. They battle bouts of hunger, thirst and mental exhaustion, realizing they have probably drifted far from the dive site. They also notice sharks circling them below the surface. Soon, jellyfish appear, stinging them both. Susan receives a small shark bite on the leg but does not immediately realize it. Daniel goes under and discovers a small fish feeding on the exposed flesh of her bite wound. Later, a shark bites Daniel, and the wound begins to bleed profusely. Susan removes her weight belt and uses it to apply pressure to Daniel's wound, but he appears to go into shock.
After night falls, sharks return and attack Daniel during a storm, killing him. The next morning, Daniel and Susan's belongings are finally noticed on the boat by a crew member, and he realizes that they must have been left at the dive site. A massive search for the couple begins immediately.
Susan realizes that Daniel is dead and releases him into the water, where sharks pull him down in a feeding frenzy. After putting on her mask, she looks beneath the surface and sees several large sharks circling her. Susan looks around one last time for any sign of coming rescue. Seeing none, she removes her scuba gear and disappears below the water.
Sometime later, a fishing crew cuts open a newly caught shark's stomach, finding a diving camera, apparently that of Daniel and Susan. A fisherman offhandedly says "Wonder if it works."
Cast Blanchard Ryan as Susan Watkins Daniel Travis as Daniel Kintner Saul Stein as Seth Michael E. Williamson as Davis Cristina Zenato as Linda John Charles as Junior Estelle Lau as Affected-Ear Diver
Production The filmmakers used live sharks, as opposed to the mechanical ones used in Jaws or the computer-generated fish in Deep Blue Sea. The film strives for authentic shark behavior, shunning the stereotypical exaggerated shark behavior typical of many films. The movie was shot on digital video. As noted above, the real-life events that inspired this story took place in the southern Pacific Ocean, and this film moves the location to the Atlantic Ocean, being filmed in The Bahamas, the United States Virgin Islands, the Grenadines, and Mexico.
During the audition, Chris Kentis and Laura Lau made it clear to Blanchard Ryan and Daniel Travis there was going to be nudity in the film and that it was non-negotiable. "So it was odd, you know, I was like 'okay, that's fine' and I hadn't been offered the part or anything yet, and then when I was offered the part, that had already been negotiated," said Blanchard.
Reception Open Water received mostly positive reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 71% based on 196 reviews with an average rating of 6.57/10. The consensus reads: "A low-budget thriller with some intense moments." On Metacritic, the film holds a score of 63 out of 100, based on reviews from 38 critics' reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Most critics praised the film for its intensity and minimalist filmmaking, although it was not as well-received by audiences. Writing in the Chicago Sun-Times, Roger Ebert praised the film highly: "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". In a much less favorable review, A. O. Scott in The New York Times lamented that it "succeeds in mobilizing the audience's dread, but it fails to make us care as much as we should about the fate of its heroes".
Box office Open Water was produced for $120,000, and grossed $1 million in 47 theaters on its opening weekend. Its final worldwide gross is $54.7 million.Open Water statistics at Boxofficemojo.com . Box Office Mojo
Accolades Award Category Subject Result31st Saturn AwardsBest Horror or Thriller FilmBest ActressBlanchard RyanFangoria Chainsaw AwardsBest ActressBest Wide-Release FilmN/AWorst FilmGolden Trailer AwardsBest ThrillerGTA6 Best Thriller" . Golden Trailer Awards. Retrieved 19 December 2016Best Independent"GTA6 Best Independent" . Golden Trailer Awards. Retrieved 19 December 2016
Sequels In 2006, a film marketed as a sequel titled Open Water 2: Adrift was released, although its plot is unrelated to Open Water. A third film in the series titled, Open Water 3: Cage Dive was released in 2017, following the first film's plot of being a survival shark film, although unrelated story-wise.
See also Survival film, about the film genre, with a list of related films Low budget film List of killer shark films
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