Open Water (2003) Review

Open Water (2003) Review

One of the scariest places you could find yourself is floating in the middle of the ocean, without a boat. That’s the basic premise for Open Water, which is based on true events. A couple go on a scuba diving expedition many miles from shore, and are accidentally left behind. They find themselves adrift in shark-infested waters, hoping for rescue before the sharks close in. 

I saw this movie when it first came out. I was very young, and hoping it would be like Jaws, which the DVD cover and synopsis makes it seem like it might be, but it couldn’t be more unlike Jaws. I hated Open Water. I thought it was boring and pointless, and yet many people seemed to love it! So scary, they said! So suspenseful! I felt none of that. And yet, something about it stuck with me. I’ve since re-watched it, and now I just find it more frustrating than anything, because it’s almost great. Almost.  

The couple are introduced, and right away, they’re annoying. The annoyance factor only escalates after they find the boat is gone. We’re stuck with them, and just them, for the rest of the movie. This is kind of what makes or breaks it. Are the characters interesting? To me, the situation is more interesting than they are, but I get the point trying to be made. They are supposed to be just two average people, so viewers can put themselves in their shoes (er, flippers), and relate to their horrific situation. And it is horrific. But it’s also boring. 

The cinematography is flat and repetitive. This was one of the first movies to be shot on digital video, and it has this weird fuzzy look to it with bright borders on people’s faces and washed out colours. The filmmakers were trying to go for a realistic approach, which works to varying degrees. The stranded couple argue, they freak out, they cry, and while it feels very spontaneous and genuine, it also gets monotonous. 

As for the shark scenes, I at least give them credit for not using a bad cgi shark. Real-life sharks appear in the movie—sharks that are really swimming around the actors—but unless you have a serious fear of them, these scenes aren’t any more thrilling than the scenes without sharks. And for the record, the sharks don’t show up until late into the movie. This really should’ve been marketed more as a survival thriller, but of course they had to play up the shark angle just to trick viewers. 

Open Water is similar to a found footage film, like The Blair Witch Project, with its minimalist filmmaking and sense of realism. However, it’s not exceedingly thrilling or inventive. It’s very simple, and if you go in not expecting a shark movie, you might enjoy it for some of the suspense it manages to wring from the scary situation.